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Published: March 28th 2016
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22/3/16 – Ferry Dover to Calais. Drive to Bayeux, Hotel d’Argouges (built before the French Revolution). Walked to Cathedral (interesting town, nice shops) and ate in Le Marsala (very good fixed menu, seafood gratin, steak with cheese and brandy sauce yummy, pineapple with cream, Den had snails, naff ravioli, crème brulee).
23/3/16 – Breakfast in La Reine Mathilde Salon de Thé (tea room built in the 1800s), had cream on coffee (supposed to be cappuccino!) – very nice! And a pain au chocolat. Visit to Bayeux Tapestry –good. Bought lunch from Carrefour and ate in car. Left at 1’ish. Arrived in Arcais, Marais Poitevin (Green Venice) at 6.30pm (Den took wrong turn at motorway and we lost half hour). Weather was cloudy in morning and early afternoon but sunny late afternoon. All local restaurants closed so bought cold meats and cheese and wine from Coop – lovely! Hotel – Maison Flore very nice.
24/3/16 – Breakfast at Maison Flore, very nice. Jazz music. Home-made yogurt, croissant, French bread, 2 hams, cheese, cereal, fruit, home-made cake/loaf. Went on walk along canal/river, lovely, sun out. Left at 11am. Drove to Chateau Mouton Rothschild, arrived 2.15pm, difficult to
Bayeux
Looking towards the cathedral find. Found Lafite Rothschild ok. Tour at Mouton Rothschild, very good. 55Euros each. 2 and a half hours. Saw large vats, barrels, museum, 1924 hall full with 2015 vintage. Saw bottles stored in cellars. Best bit was the artists’ pictures for the labels, including Joan Miro, Picasso, Salvador Dali, Prince Charles, Francis Bacon, Lucien Freud. 3 tastings – Chateau Mouton Rothschild 2007 (450 Euro per bottle), nice; Chateau Clerc Milon 2011 (50E), ok; and Chateau D’Armhailac 2008 (45E), powerful smell but not great taste. Bought poster and 3 postcards. B & B near Margaux – Maison de Soussans, beautiful room and bathroom. Went to Le St Julien restaurant, very good (65 E for two for two courses and wine and tea). I had lamb with pea puree and sweet garlic then a tartlet with orange and chocolate sorbet. Classically French. Den had scallops with mashed potatoes then an apple tartlet, she loved the scallops. Expected hot apple tart but was cold!
25/3/16 – Beautiful breakfast in Maison de Soussans, very classy look. Roaring log fire. Just the two of us. Left sharpish to catch the local ferry at Lamarque across the Gironde estuary. Nasty day, cold, cloudy,
drizzly. Drove to Villandry in the Loire Valley. I drove, Den worked on her final report for her Masters. 3 hours from ferry. Driving on freeways is not great for seeing the countryside. Mostly boring. Stayed in Le Haut des Lys, ex-convent with a clinical make-over. Room very clean and bathroom has a bath. Nice walled garden, I like these old walls. Went for walk into village and bought a croque monsieur and a millefeuille cake (yum). Lovely Chateau de Villandry in village. In the evening, ate in L’Epicerie, only ones there at 8.30pm. Artisan place, one woman with no English. Had galettes (crepes) with ham and cheese – ok, probably re-heated.
26/3/16 – Breakfast very nice with cold meats, cheeses, yogurts, croissants, different French breads, home-made chocolate spread, boil-your-own eggs. Left for Boudeville (200 miles), a small village beyond Rouen in Normandy. I had tried to book a place by the seaside but all booked up. B & B (Chambres d’Hotes de Boudeville) run by single man. Rotten weather, cloudy, windy, rain. When we arrived no one there, he had left a note to phone him. Couldn’t read the numbers and when I phoned got some
random French woman answering! 10 mins later he arrived, no English. Room decorated in African style. A bit cold. He recommended a few restaurants, so we drove to a local one in a village but it was fully booked. Got worried so bought some food as a backup at the shop. Drove to next restaurant (L’Auberge de la Saane, in Auzouville sur Saane) and got a table. First in. They were preparing for a large party group (birthday). There were various fixed price menus and we chose the 21Euro one. Décor a bit eccentric with sections of yellow, peach, green and cream with matching curtains of same colours. Large Easter bunnies on each table. I started with Terrine which came in an enormous dish all for myself! I could only eat a tenth of it! Den had mussels, nice. Main course was fish (don’t know what kind but tasted river-y). Came with a large jacket potato, green salad, and vegetables in egg (like a round flan). Tasted nice overall. Again a large plateful. Then choice of loads of cheeses. Then dessert, I had a large tarte tatin with ice cream and Den had what she thought was going to be
fruit salad but was a big chunk of something like cheese cake only lighter in texture. On the table next to me a very drunk man was very loud and embarrassing for the people he was with! All in all an interesting, eccentric and possibly ‘authentic’ Normandy evening.
27/3/16 – Breakfast – started with the man pouring our coffee into large cereal bowls which threw us! Wasn’t a mistake as the couple next to us were also drinking out of these bowls with two hands. Ham and babybels cheese. Yogurts and French bread. Den under pressure as realised the scoring system she is using for her report is wrong so she was upset and blamed me for it. Drove to seaside town of St Valery en Caux. Tense. Went for walks separately. Made up. Lunch was yesterday’s left overs. Drove to Calais. Tense again as not enough time for Den to visit The Jungle to see her friend. Caught ferry home at 5pm.
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