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A Return To Europe To Finish Our Tour |
Four star life in a luxurious chateau is something to which we could easily become accustomed.
Not only were the grounds beautiful, spacious and well cared for, but the rooms enjoyed the same treatment.
Just to keep us in class status, our rooms were in the outbuildings that once must have home for the servants Read more
This morning was one of those picture perfect postcard days. Dew on the grass, cows in the field and the smell of salt air from the Atlantic. We all met in the chateau dining room for one fabulous breakfast.
The choices were a continental menu (breads, cheeses, juices, meats, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs) or a full English breakfast (eggs cooked to order, english bacon, bangers, pancakes, fried bread band beans.
It would have been great just to sit and relax while sipping coffee but we had plans for the day. A few minutes before nine, Matthew Cardinale, our guide for the next few days, showed up with a large VW van that could carry all eight of us. It was to be our own D Day because Matthew had an agenda and plans rivaling the original invasion. “Everyone on board,” he said courteously. “There is much to be accomplished by the end of day.” This set the pattern for the next three days. Read more
27 & 28 June, Monday and Tuesday
Trash collection starts early in Paris so we coaxed the MG out of the dark serenity of the Apollon Hotel garage and into the untypical heat of a Parisian summer day. “Oh, it’ll get cooler when we leave town,” I said, assuredly, to Louise who just finished her last load of wash at Chrise’s. Well, it didn’t. The further we went the hotter it got and, by the time we reached Normandy and our hotel in Rouen, we were fully wicked out and parched. Even our drinking water was hot. Thank God (and Lisa) that our hotel was an air conditioned 3 star.
That afternoon we rendezvoused with the family for a guided tour of old city Rouen that included beautiful examples of Norman housing. Read more
We left Le Mans with a changed attitude. Till now we assiduously avoided the autoroutes (freeways) and not just because most of them are toll roads. We wanted to smell the new-mown hay, experience the flavor of the French towns and listen to the sound of our muffler as it echoed off the village walls, etc. etc.
Well, it doesn’t take too many small towns before they all look the same and the echoes begin sounding alike. In addition, the roundabouts are numerous and all require at least two downshifts followed by two upshifts. My right hand was beginning to callous and my feet were tired of clutching and braking. Louise was, in turn, weary of the bumpy pavements in the small towns and her arm was tired of waving at old and young alike. You’d think they’d never seen an MG. For that reason we jumped on the autoroute, paid our fare by credit card and sailed into Paris for our big day. Read more
We rolled into Le Mans with a plan to exercise a sublimated desire…to drive the Le Mans racetrack while the smell of hot oil and burning rubber was still fresh. This is possible because, during the rest of the year, 80% of the track is a highway and open for public use.
Wearing our Aston Martin Racing ball caps and getting as close to the Start/Finish line as possible, I dropped the MG into first gear and headed for the first turn. With video camera in hand, just in case we set an unofficial course record, Louise documented my flawless upshifts and downshifts, deft heel and toe brake-to accelerator movements and precision setups for the best line through the many curves. Read more