Still one day behind in getting updates to the general public… there are excuses I could offer, but would you really care?
Let’s start out with saying that yesterday’s weather was abysmal. We didn’t bother trying to ride, but instead tried planning our exit strategy for our return to the U.S. of A. My thought was that there were some hotels right around Charles de Gaulle Airport, and that they’d have airport shuttles available. The one thing I hadn’t counted on was the price. (Dear Mom… please send money… trapped in deepest, darkest France. Love, Sonny-boy.)
Seriously, I expected to pay a premium to be near by, but the cheap rooms were apparently long gone. We were getting quotes of $350 and up for a night; we settled on something a little further away from the airport with no shuttle (ah, the thrill of living dangerously!) but the assurance that it’s roughly a €20 cab fare to the airport.
Of course, getting this information should have been easy… but dial-up internet was all we have at the house we’re staying at, and comparing hotels was taking minutes between each mouse click. But all was not lost, according to our host! In town there is a library that also has a computer section with high speed internet connections. So into the car and off to Châteubriant we went.
We arrived at the “Cyber” to find that it didn’t open until 2:00 PM on Thursdays… and that they were holding a private computer class for old people. They all stared at us as if we had desecrated the temple with our arrival, while the instructor told our host where they had the hours of operation posted by the door.
So, even though my phone is relatively useless here in France, we do know of a bar in town with Wi-Fi. And that is where we sat for the next hour or so looking up hotels, having our host phone his daughter back at the house who in turned phoned the hotel to inquire about shuttle availability and then phoned us back with the results.
I’m sure that people who know me are wondering what in the world was an alcoholic doing in a bar? You mean besides using the Wi-Fi? Well… having a couple of drinks, of course. Many of the bars here also have an espresso machine so they also serve coffee drinks (and the girls working at this place have found a way to disguise the coffee with a little chocolate so I can actually get the stuff down and nearly enjoy doing so). This place also serves lunches, so it’s kind of a one-stop-for-all kind of place. There are windows with no curtains, so it's a well lit and inviting kind of place to sit and drink a beverage of your choice either inside, or at the outdoor tables, unlike so many American bars that are dark and uninviting.
From there we wandered over to our host’s favourite crêperie (hmmm… I see that the auto-correct on this computer is set to British English, hence the word “favorite” has a “u” in it – I can force it not to, but why bother?)… but back to the crêperie. We had to wait for a table so we walked a block over to the Cathedral and took a look inside. That’s today’s picture, looking from the front near the alter toward the main entrance.
Back at the crêperie… we were served some very interesting breakfasts, and were entertained as a thunderstorm rolled through the area. The crêpe is like a large pancake, with any assortment of toppings added to it. The edges are folded over toward the center, and the crêpe takes on a square appearance. Mine had an egg, ham and cheese in the mix. Valerie had an apple compote.
Back at the house, shortly after 5:00 PM we finally decided that the weather had taken a turn for the better and got ready to take a short ride. We did a fifteen mile loop through the countryside on smaller lanes, and then the whole group headed back into Châteubriant to a pizza restaurant. They also served salads and pasta dishes, the pace was slow and relaxed and each person ordered their own pizza. The crust was very thin, but the combination of toppings, cheese and crust worked well together and the meal was very tasty.
Evenings at the house often end with some kind of game being played, which is a good excuse to socialize and have a laugh or two in the process. One of the games we’ve been playing in called “Master Quiz”, a game much like America’s “Trivial Pursuit”… and this game was, coincidentally, made in the 1980’s. Many of the questions are British in nature, so we are at a disadvantage there, but they also have a fair number of American based questions that make us appear smarter than we truly are!
Today we think we may run away from home to the Loire River and see about cycling down there for a day or two. It sound like it’s about an hour’s drive from here, much easier than the trip to Ouesterham last Sunday.
Let’s start out with saying that yesterday’s weather was abysmal. We didn’t bother trying to ride, but instead tried planning our exit strategy for our return to the U.S. of A. My thought was that there were some hotels right around Charles de Gaulle Airport, and that they’d have airport shuttles available. The one thing I hadn’t counted on was the price. (Dear Mom… please send money… trapped in deepest, darkest France. Love, Sonny-boy.)
Seriously, I expected to pay a premium to be near by, but the cheap rooms were apparently long gone. We were getting quotes of $350 and up for a night; we settled on something a little further away from the airport with no shuttle (ah, the thrill of living dangerously!) but the assurance that it’s roughly a €20 cab fare to the airport.
Of course, getting this information should have been easy… but dial-up internet was all we have at the house we’re staying at, and comparing hotels was taking minutes between each mouse click. But all was not lost, according to our host! In town there is a library that also has a computer section with high speed internet connections. So into the car and off to Châteubriant we went.
We arrived at the “Cyber” to find that it didn’t open until 2:00 PM on Thursdays… and that they were holding a private computer class for old people. They all stared at us as if we had desecrated the temple with our arrival, while the instructor told our host where they had the hours of operation posted by the door.
So, even though my phone is relatively useless here in France, we do know of a bar in town with Wi-Fi. And that is where we sat for the next hour or so looking up hotels, having our host phone his daughter back at the house who in turned phoned the hotel to inquire about shuttle availability and then phoned us back with the results.
I’m sure that people who know me are wondering what in the world was an alcoholic doing in a bar? You mean besides using the Wi-Fi? Well… having a couple of drinks, of course. Many of the bars here also have an espresso machine so they also serve coffee drinks (and the girls working at this place have found a way to disguise the coffee with a little chocolate so I can actually get the stuff down and nearly enjoy doing so). This place also serves lunches, so it’s kind of a one-stop-for-all kind of place. There are windows with no curtains, so it's a well lit and inviting kind of place to sit and drink a beverage of your choice either inside, or at the outdoor tables, unlike so many American bars that are dark and uninviting.
From there we wandered over to our host’s favourite crêperie (hmmm… I see that the auto-correct on this computer is set to British English, hence the word “favorite” has a “u” in it – I can force it not to, but why bother?)… but back to the crêperie. We had to wait for a table so we walked a block over to the Cathedral and took a look inside. That’s today’s picture, looking from the front near the alter toward the main entrance.
Back at the crêperie… we were served some very interesting breakfasts, and were entertained as a thunderstorm rolled through the area. The crêpe is like a large pancake, with any assortment of toppings added to it. The edges are folded over toward the center, and the crêpe takes on a square appearance. Mine had an egg, ham and cheese in the mix. Valerie had an apple compote.
Back at the house, shortly after 5:00 PM we finally decided that the weather had taken a turn for the better and got ready to take a short ride. We did a fifteen mile loop through the countryside on smaller lanes, and then the whole group headed back into Châteubriant to a pizza restaurant. They also served salads and pasta dishes, the pace was slow and relaxed and each person ordered their own pizza. The crust was very thin, but the combination of toppings, cheese and crust worked well together and the meal was very tasty.
Evenings at the house often end with some kind of game being played, which is a good excuse to socialize and have a laugh or two in the process. One of the games we’ve been playing in called “Master Quiz”, a game much like America’s “Trivial Pursuit”… and this game was, coincidentally, made in the 1980’s. Many of the questions are British in nature, so we are at a disadvantage there, but they also have a fair number of American based questions that make us appear smarter than we truly are!
Today we think we may run away from home to the Loire River and see about cycling down there for a day or two. It sound like it’s about an hour’s drive from here, much easier than the trip to Ouesterham last Sunday.
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