Hotel Marmotte 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!!....

... playing a nighttime game of darts (Steve and Sylvie won) and sharing some American whiskey and the chocolates we brought. Finally, they led us through their beautiful home to our beds and we fell asleep quickly after what Rachel called the best meal and the most wonderful day ever.<br><br>Sylvie, Jean Mi and Helene were fun to be with. They provided us with<br>Champagne, an amazing meal of a Crete salad, pork ...

... well aware of the difficulty of having the stick in the wrong place, and while trying to concentrate on driving on the opposite side of the road, the last thing you need is to be looking for your gear stick. A quick car change and we ended up with a cute little Mercedes automatic, which was much more to our liking. For the rest of the day we have been wracking our brains to give it a name but yet nothing good has come to us, so for now it will remain nameless (feel free to ...

... sign. Jack was driving behind a people carrier so he didn't see the signs but the car in front had gone down a road other cars aren't allowed down so the security bollard was down for him &amp; when we went over it it came back up onto our engine. After a whole lot of fuss &amp; commotion (passers by called the police!) the car was towed to a nearby garage. We've since ...

... 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 ...

... changing designs and sculptures. It's an incredible feat of Gothic architecture, and I'm glad I went even though I was all by myself. I hadn't even realized that Chartres is part of the Pilgrimage of St. James of Compostela, which ends in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. There are indications for the trail all around the town, though I can't say I saw any actual pilgrims. Outside the Cathedral, there is a beautiful park from which you can descend down into the historic ...

... getting ready again. The wedding is at 5:30. People are discussing going for drinks in the Latin Quarter after the reception at George V (Four Seasons) which sounds like fun, but I'll have to see how my feet and dress are doing at that point. Tomorrow, with our greatest chance for rain, will probably be our museum day... D'orsy is actually our first choice, and maybe then l'orangarie, and then possibly the Louvre but we're not ...

... a ticket window posted as english speaking and purchased our round-trip train tickets to Chartres. We settled comfortably into our seats and the train pulled out of the station... there was now an inch of snow on the ground and more falling! Began to wonder if we'd get back to Paris that afternoon.... It was bitter cold in Chartres when we left the train station, and we were hungry and in need of a ladies' room, so we stopped at the first cafe we saw, directly across from ...

... on mine ?) until the sun went away and the wind picked up and it got just a tad bit chilly. I find it amazing what a nice little catnap can do for a person. While walking around this little play land of a past queen (Marie-Antoinette I believe) I thought it was wonderful how they've kept it up after all these years and people are still farming the area. We saw flower gardens, vegetable gardens, some with pumpkins, and even grapes where guys were actually working ...