Etap Hotel Chartres

... a ltr bottloe of Vin rouge and a bottle of water. Not only excellent value but terrific quality and service. The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and it was difficult to tell we were foreigners abroad.<br><br>Well fed and watered we got tucked for the night ready for an early morning START!!....

... from Jean Mi's extensive wine cellar to aid in the conversation and laughter. <br><br>After dinner we all played darts until midnight, then went to bed full and exhausted and content. In the morning they gave us a large brunch with boiled eggs, more cheese, more breakfast breads and croissants. More chatting about the ways of life in our different worlds and sharing of photos. which Sylvie appreciated and commented ...

... next destination, Amboise, a small village in the Loire valley. We passed through some beautiful countryside, firstly fields of crops, as you would probably imagine French countryside to look. Then we drove along the Loire River, surrounded by small forests on one side and river on the other &#8211; truly picture postcard beautiful.<br><br>We reached our lovely hotel to discover half of it has been built in to a cave in the hill behind it. I suspect that is where the wine is ...

... Personally I don't trust the garage at all so I'm waiting to hear from Diamond to see if they'll send out an independent inspector, but even so it's more than likely the car is going to be written off - it's ******* oil &amp; the airbag went off on the drivers side which is usually bad news. We've got a hire car at the mo - AA cover paid for that as well - so we're gonna carry ...

... seemed to find it amusing to see on the adjacent minor road a strange apparition dressed like a huge wasp loom out of the mist. At least I assumed that was why they honked their horns!) Once again the sun broke through to present another clear blue sky and by 10:00 I rode into the historic cathedral city of Chartre. I love the architecture of cathedrals and this one certainly did not disappoint. But why did they have to build it on top of such a steep hill? Local people ...

I rode out of Rouen along my own route to Louviers, in defiance of the GPS . The morning was cool and grey and leaving at 07.30 meant traffic was light going out of the city, but grew increasingly heavy as those less fortunate than me made their way into work. Once through Louviers I picked up a route following the River Eure that must be one of the most beautiful in France. By now the sun was shining and the sky a brilliant blue. For yet ...

... 10,875 square meters Height of south-west tower: 105 meters Height of north-west tower: 113 meters. 176 stained-glass windows We had a look around the town, and had lunch, and i had escargots for lunch. On the way there i we stopped so i could post my postcards so i had to test out my french as the lady spoke no english. so i hope they arrive ok.

... a nice enough little town. As it's close to Le Havre but not right on the port, we might go back to stock up before going home. From there we followed the river south and stopped at Le Bec-Hellouin. This is a treasure we found 3 years ago, while camping with friends, and I hadn't realised how near it was to Le Havre. The camp site is on the hill outside the village. It's a peaceful spot in a level field, so we'll aim for that on our last night. The village is ...

... ever since Randy got back from Italy last month). I had a burger-the rarest burger I've ever eaten. I wouldn't dream of consuming beef that rare back home-but I figured "when in Rome...". It was actually really good and I did live to tell the tale. We headed back to the train station and 70 minutes later we were back in Paris. The day was still young, so we decided to head over to see Sacre Coeur.

Sorry I havent been keeping up on my travels. It is very difficult to get on the internet here. Today, we took a little trip to the small french town of Chartres. It was a beautiful little town that reminded me a lot of Galena. The town has one of the greatest of all French Gothic cathedrals which houses a tunic, known as the 'Sancta Camisia' which once belonged to the Virgin Mary. It was so interesting to actually see in person because I studied ...