Kyriad Chartres

Tres bien...

Drove down from Dover and pulled in at the Relais Beaucoeron Hotel and restaurant which is actually an upmarket truck stop. 10E for the nigh unless you dine in and then camping is free.

What value...for the grand total of 13E pp we were treated to a three course meal ...

To Sylvie’s in the French Countryside-Sylvie, who was an exchange student at the Harty’s back in 1970 lives and works right outside of Paris. We have reconnected with much effort from Adrienne Harty (Steve’s mom) and she invited us to dinner at her country home and also to spend the night. What a generous treat. The ride to Houdan was a beautiful drive through the French country (after we managed to ...

... 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 – truly picture postcard beautiful.

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 & 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 ...

Once again I was away by 07:30 in a heavy fog that caused me to be grateful for the excellent lights on my bicycle. I shunned the scenic route - nothing to see! - and took a direct route that left the GPS totally confused as it tracked my progress across a completely blank screen: a new road had opened recently so was unknown to the software. But I trusted my map and guidance from a young man waiting at a bus stop and pushed on, with a brand new motorway to my right. (Drivers of ...

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.

... the elevators of Tour Eiffel and are hoping to climb Notre Dame as we get back in shape this week (taller than anything else we climbed 4 months ago). Anyway, we had a great Parisian morning splitting a baguette down the Camps Elysees. Jude got lost once, but I found him at the McDonalds. Just kidding, but we did think of Dad (and I kept my eyes open for any store that might sell chocolate, ice cream, and penguins so that I'd ...

Or final morning at the Chateau. We were the only ones there as it is the end of the month and people are heading home. The Comte told us a bit about himself. He and his wife moved back to the family birthplace in 2000 and restored the Chateau. They are basically there for seven months out of the year and then go on vacation for five months. He has livd previously in Chicago. His ...

... you can guess the carriages are quite expensive so it's best to go with a group and split the cost (they can take up to 7 and the prices range from 45 to 200 euros), that's why Nessa and I decided to split the cost when our friends come and visit later in the year. Another option to see the gardens and other areas is to rent a little golf cart for about 30 euros, not bad if you split it up between 4 people and you can also get little audio guides as well and you ...