Brittany to Paris

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We decided to drive to a B & B near Paris then drive to Paris the next day. We farwelled Yveline at Kerambis on July 20th and set off around the southern coast of Brittany to Lorient. We then drove to Rennes and across to Le Mans on a motorway. We then drove to a farm house near the town of Illiers-Combray where Jean-Paul and Gisele met us in their beautiful home that they have renovated. It has huge rooms and a lovely garden. We enjoyed a 4 course dinner with freshly picked vegetables from the garden. We had an interesting conversation in French while eating our meal. Sal and I were their first guests from Australia. The house was amazing with all sorts of things that Gisele had collected on display: farm tools, old baking implements, dolls, perfumes, plates, paintings, etc. The next morning our petit dejeuner turned into a jam tasting with us trying different jams that Gisele had made on our baguettes . We both liked the fig jam the best. There was also a lemon cake for breakfast. Gisele gave us some to have along the road.

Driving in Paris was not something I was looking forward to but with Sal's navigation skills (Jean-Paul helped Sal to work out which way to go) we found the Gare de Lyon where we dropped off Chocolat. We walked to MIJE which is collection of 3 former aristocratic residences transformed into hostels. Our room is very comfortable and has all that we need: 2 beds, a basin and shower and a toilet shared with 4 other rooms. We walked alpng the Seine to where the Bateaux-Mouches leave for their cruises. The cruise was a great way for me to become orientated in Paris. We saw the beach alongside the Seine (with sunbeds, sand, water sprays), the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. We then walked around exploring Paris and found a patisserie where we bought some walnut bread and quiche for dinner. We ate it in a delightful park.

Sal and I have a little game that we play to guess the steps we have done each day (as recorded on my pedometer). For this day we both guessed about 10000 steps (about 8km) but were amazed to find we had done 26000 (about 20 km!). We had been so engrossed by the beautiful buildings, gardens and surprises around each corner we did not realise how far we had walked.

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Comments

[Helen Hall]

Wow
Hi Your travels sound wonderful. The food and the sense of the lovely fresh produce made my mouth water. Keep enjoying your fantastic adventure-I wish i was with you! i miss you at school Robyn. Love Helen and John