Hotel Du Commerce Le Mans

In my last email I talked about our car, Napolean, but not too much about the highlights of the Loire Valley... We visited the Chateau of Villandry which is actually more famous for its spectacular Gardens. There was an Ornamental Garden portraying 4 different types of love (tender, passionate, fickle and tragic), the Water Garden, and the Sun Garden. The Sun Garden had 2 areas, the 'Cloud Room' which had a blue and white colour theme and the 'Sun Room' in which ...

Thank God for the GPS and the Audi s4!! This place is really nice... our room is austrian themed. We arrived and checked the place out, we had dinner at the hotel restaurant...the menu was in French so we had a fun time translating everything....I have un petite phrase book that really helps!! We also went down the road to the cellars (cave in french), and had a wine tasting and bought some wine. Tommorrow we are going to see some Chateaux!!!

... down on a bacon con carne random meal which was suprisingly nice then did a create of beer in an attempt to rebuild team spirit. Obviously we talked quite philosophically about stuff none of us remember. It was a clear hot night and we decided to leave off the waterproofing for our tents. Yes, yes it did then decide to rain in the night.

Distance covered: 45 miles

After making a very clear plan to have lunch in Alencon we started what we thought would be a good days cycling. Myself and Alex arrived in this crazy town approximately a mile infront of Olly (because he is slow). You can imagine our concern when Olly did not meet us or try to contact us 2 or 3 hours. There was only one road leading into the town so I decided to go 7 miles back up it to try and find him. I didn't, 5 hours past ...

... 8220;maze”. So he started to scream and ran off towards the maze. Alex and I could have stayed there all day. Alex hid in a hedge and was scaring people as they walked past and Ben and I had a race to se we could get out the fastest. I won as I ran straight through all the hedges and Ben said I cheated so I said “follow me” and took him past Alex and then Alex grabbed him and pulled him into the hedge.

... his. My favourite was the tank! I am sure everyone knows what a tank is, but Leonardo’s was a cone on wheels. AND WE COULD SPIN IT!!!
I thought the Loire Valley was a nice place, especially if you like castles! And I had loads of fun.
*STATIC*
What will happen next time? Where will the next location be? Paris maybe? We don’t know so stick around for all the details!

... all around us. This place is just like out of a movie. Right on top of the mountain, with a view in all direction that stretches for miles. You can see how the city was built right around the castle walls to support all the goings-on of the royalty and such. A small river below. Just amazing. And the sky. I was obsessed. The wind and the dark clouds and the sun and the cool air ... a great afternoon. As we walk around The Ramparts towards the castle ...

... FOOD! A cheese plate full of local specialties and some fresh bread. I'm about to burst at the seams, but I can't stop! ... We get to sample Camembert, Morbier, St. Felicern (all from cow's milk) and Pandoux (goat's milk). Janice and I agree that they are all great (although the Morbier is too strong for our liking... a bit like blue cheese) ... my fav is the Camembert, Janice likes the Pandoux. ... I'm on overload at this point. We take a ten minute break to talk, and then out ...

... a travel size 'close the box' dice game for 5 euros. Hopefully the kids will like it. I also pick up some avocados, and just as I head back home I stop in to the local boulangerie and grab a baguette for lunch and some treats. The baked good selection here never fails. Just amazing the options and excellent quality of everything we've tried. Back home, Janice makes a fabulous salad, some leftover pasta, and a cheese platet to die for. Good stuff ....... the kids play inside ...

... Em is thriving on the fantastic places to run among the vineyards and the beautiful streets of the little towns we've been staying in. We're in Rousett, Provence currently, heading to Nice today for 3 nights then fly out from Nice to the Netherlands on 18th June to see Matt and Michelle. Hopefully we'll find a good deal on a van there, if not, it's on to London to find a van. Keep the news coming, we love hearing from everyone. Lots of Love, Al & Em