Let's go back to the beginning of the 30th August, Sunday. Waz and I were up at 6am, and decided to go to Waffle House for a good protein filled breakfast. Having packed everything up at the boat and made ready to leave, we didn't have much left to do. Our goodbyes with various people were leisurely affairs and essential, as so many of them may not be at the Marina on our return. With Hurricane Season in full swing, as we left the country...3 in the Pacific region hovering around the Hawaiian Islands (my kids on Maui will hopefully be safe, though they wont be enjoying the 102F the last two days have given them), and Erik dissipating over the Florida Peninsula, we now only have Fred to worry about, somewhere in the Atlantic.....we did the best we could with making the boat ready for pretty much anything.
It is only a 15 minute drive to the Golden Isles Airport, Brunswick, and a fairly casual place to leave from. Parking is free, which is nice, compared to the hundreds of dollars required to park in either Jacksonville or Savanah Airports. Ticket agents checked our single large bag through on Air France, all the way to Charles De Gaulle/Roissey, Paris. We shouldered our backpacks and moved into the lounge through security, to await the arrival of our small aircraft.
On board the small jet aircraft, we sat on the tarmac with engines running for a full 45 minutes. As there is no Control Tower at Brunswick, they take all their instructions from Savannah, apparently. We waited for two planes to land, in that time, before getting the all clear. At least the Capt. kept us all informed, if a little impatient. No drink service on that 45 minute flight.
Arriving in Atlanta...wow! what a huge airport!. Caught the shuttle train to the International Terminal, found the Food Court and a healthy lunch of wraps and a Latte, of course.
Just as well we had plenty of time between the delayed Brunswick flight and our Paris flight! It took the whole hour allotted, to seat the full plane. Some unreasonable people aboard, making demands which adds stress unnecessarily to all those around. Only one of the flight attendants was a French speaker, which added to the stress, with many passengers being non-English speaking. All was sorted in time to take off, and the flight was otherwise uneventful. I took a sleeping tablet which only afforded me 2 1/2 hours sleep, and Waz stayed awake the whole time. We watched various movie choices...two I might not have seen otherwise, but was happy I watched them. Don't ask me the titles...completely flown out the other ear!:)
Arrival En France was 20 minutes early at 10 mins to 6am. It appeared that a gazillion flights had the same arrival time and the French do not believe in air conditioning their arrival hall. Waz advised me NOT to take a photo of all the people there at the same time...seriously....it was chock full of almost every nationality you could imagine. Too many Douane (customs) officers lurking around (fully armed), and I didn't want to lose my brand new spy camera!
Some photos you just HAVE to take...like this one:)
As it was so early, and we had enjoyed a small (emphasis) breakfast from a cardboard box, on the plane at 5am, we sought what any good kiwi would, when overseas...a Latte or whatever might pass for same. A Capuccino did just fine, in conjunction with a Pain Chocolat, and later two more Capucinno and a large Pain au Raisin..you have to have something to do when you have almost three hours to wait in the Gare Charles de Gaulle....waiting with large crowds in Railway Stations in the heat, with people who don't know what a deodorant looks like...seriously!!! means you seek other places with fresh (albeit polluted) air outside.
Our second Breakfast....
Outside of the main Train Station at Charles de Gaulle airport, where we attempted to find some fresh air. This is where the smokers are allowed...so it wasn't too fresh. We made do with the cooler air, anyway.
Our train to Rennes in Brittany arrived and we duly boarded, found our comfy first class seats and settled in. We were feeling pretty spacey by this stage. Sleep was hard to come by, although Waz did manage a few winks towards the end of the 3 hr trip. It was great watching the countryside whiz by, being on the TGV (Train Grande Vitesse..or Very Fast Train) and we could see all kinds of interesting sights on the way. Small towns dotted all over...Large fields of Maize and some of sunflowers, now all past their bright best, and hanging their heads ...Some church spires, the odd chateau in the distance on a hill, but mostly farm land. France is still very much like NZ, an Agrarian Country.
Little cars everywhere! You forget the necessity for small cars...big ones just wont fit down some of the skinny village streets, and besides, they are expensive to run, insure and keep. I read this morning that the French are terrible drivers...another thing they have in common with Aucklanders!...and also there is a lot of car theft in this country. It almost doesn't pay to have a new vehicle! Insurance is expensive too.
We arrived at Rennes around 1.30pm and sought a bathroom. We know they are hard to find, and the public toilets we have visited so far have been none too clean. I bought some croissants for our next two mornings breakfasts, at a boulangerie at the train station. I made the purchase successfully, in French, and we then went in search of our Rental car...or the rental car people. This was accomplished, the car inspected for dings and anything else, and away we went....albeit slowly, at first...or perhaps I should say...with a few rabbit hops, stalls and much laughter. It has been 20 something years since I drove a stick shift (manual) vehicle, and it took a lot of concentration to remember to put my foot on the clutch to change gear, and then to synchronize everything. Waz is such a patient man!
With the GPS on, and instructed to take us to the Chateau Le Mur, just out of Carentoir, we had a 40 minute drive ahead of us. We found that the French like to tail gate and then zoom past you, if you are not going as fast as they think you should.
We arrived without too many hassles and wrong turns and after stopping at a Supermarket of sorts in the small town of Guer, just about 6 miles from the Chateau. This is a weird sort of supermarket that we have since returned to. Not big box, but not standard fare either. We bought wine...nearly falling off our perches when we saw the price...1.99euros! eh? yes, we had to look three times, before loading 6 bottles into our trolley:) Also bought some pate...canard (duck), which is divine!!!, some Roquefort cheese (blue) which was so inexpensive for a large wedge (2.49 euros) some grapes, tomatoes and other fruit and a few veg, some Crème Anglais (custard), and a couple of little soufflé vanille which we have enjoyed for dessert. ...have I digressed again? oh dear me!
Back to our arrival. Terry and Ernie (Owners) were at the Chateau, where they live with their daughter and grandson, as we drove on up to the front door. I guess they thought we were arriving earlier, but we had told them late afternoon. It was in fact 4pm by the time we pulled the car to a stop.
Ernie showed us to our apartment, down the drive and around the corner from the Chateau. It is one of five apartments in the Manoir, opposite the Dairy. The property is 181 acres, and includes many outbuildings, a Manoir, Chateau and Dairy Farm. This latter is leased to a French Farmer. The smell of cows is ever present, but we don't mind. We are kiwis from the 'country' (rural) , after all:)
We were left to settle in for a bit, before going up the driveway on foot to find out what is expected of us while we are here and to earn our accommodation for the 4 weeks.
We are happy to be off the boat and doing something interesting with our time. We really don't mind the exchange that is taking place because it gives us a chance to be 'local' and go to stores to buy things that we might need...building supplies mostly, and all with the idea that we might like to find our own little piece of paradise in France somewhere (near water) for a few years or more and to enjoy the lovely food, countryside and all that France has to offer...including all the History. Something about living with and discovering all this history around us.
We slept well our first night, waking initially around 4am, and then going back to sleep for another couple of hours, rising around 9am feeling very groggy. Should have risen at 4!
We spent time having some breakfast and getting up before meeting with Ernie to discuss some further progress on the building front...our jobs while here.
It was decided to go into Rennes, initially for Lunch and then to a large Home Depot type of Hardware store. We spent the best part of two hours in this store finding all the bits and pieces needed to do the job we have for the rest of our time here. Renovating the Caretakers Apartment above the garage. Ernie and Terry are hopeful they will find a Caretaker to live on the property and do all the things Ernie has been doing to date but doesn't really have time for anymore. It is a LOT to take care of, and would be pretty much a full time job. There is need of a vehicle too, as there is no public transport locally, and the two towns are rather isolated, though not far from the Chateau.
We slept well for our second night, after enjoying some delicious food... and cups of British Lipton's Tea, which tastes wonderful.
Breakfast this morning was the last of the croissants and Viennoiserie...little pain au chocolat, pain au raisin and mini croissants. VERY good. Fruit and cappuccino!
We were up and at it early, getting to the job around 7.45am....oops...I forgot to tell you about the lunch yesterday! aiee!!
They took us to a Chinese Buffet just this side of Rennes. We thought this was rather weird initially, but the food was excellent, a bit different to what we are used to in the USA at these kinds of places, and it was inexpensive at 10euros each. The ice-cream for dessert was superb! and so was the flan au citron (lemon pie) ...the other food was pretty good too:)
Back to today. Our hosts have gone and left us to it. Waz installed a new door handle and lock, removed the old oil heaters in the bathroom, installed some new lights in the kitchen and many other small tasks. I put on my overalls and began the spackling in the bathroom. I am trying to make the old walls smoother than they are...which isn't hard, frankly, and tomorrow, if they are dry, we will sand them and the living room, if we can. I still have some spackling to do in the bathroom, but that should be possible tomorrow also. Nice to be working and doing renovating...we like this kind of work!
This is giving us a good look at what it is like to live En France, and to see if we would like to live here for a while. Real Estate is not very expensive, and if we could find the right property near the ocean, we could be tempted. Lots of places to see and things to do in the meantime. We may not be able to do this for a while. The boat has to sell first! Who knows what our future holds, right now.
Tomorrow, after a good night's sleep, we will up and at it yet again. So satisfying to be working hard, using our brains and feeling tired at the end of the day so that we look forward to sleep.
Au Revoir...
Sorry for the lack of photos...having trouble uploading them.
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