Where do I start? I guess with the day of departure...
We got back yesterday from our gîte vacation in the village of Vindelle, just five miles north of the city of Angoulême. That's about three hours south of Saint-Aignan, if you take the high-speed autoroute. We didn't. We drove curvy, narrow back roads and enjoyed the beautiful countryside and the villages. The gîte itself was all we had hoped for, plus more. But the whole trip turned out to be a series of disasters.
On the first day, last Monday, we got the car all packed up in the morning and left Saint-Aignan at about 10 a.m. Walt did the driving. Our route took us south from Saint-Aignan, through Nouans-les-Fontaines, Azay-le-Ferron, Martizay, and Le Blanc. Our plan was to stop for lunch in the town of Montmorillon, about 70 miles south of Saint-Aignan. As we drove through Le Blanc, I said to Walt that I had a sinking feeling that I had forgotten to put my camera bag into the car before we left home. In it I had carefully packed two cameras, half a dozen batteries, several SD cards, and my spare pair of glasses.
The question was, did we have time or did we want to drive back 140 miles extra to return home and get the cameras. As we neared Montmorillon, I decided that it wasn't worth it. Walt said I could use his camera and he'd take pictures with his smart phone. But I've never used his camera before. Figuring it out would take a lot of the fun out of it, and the photos might not be very good. Then it occurred to me that I had packed my Android tablet. Maybe I could take pictures with that. I've done it before but not enough to feel really comfortable with it.
We got to Montmorillon at noon, parked the car, and took a walk around the town with Tasha on the leash. I said to Walt that I'd walk the dog and he could take the photos. I tried to take a picture or two with my tablet, but it was all too awkward and risky to hold the tablet and the dog's leash at the same time. I didn't want to drop the tablet and break it. Besides, the weather was so beautiful and sunny that all I could see on the screen of the tablet was the reflection of my face, and not what I was trying to photograph. I managed to take a single successful photo and then I gave up.
It was Monday and the town was very quiet. We saw a restaurant with a few customers eating at tables outdoors, so we went and asked for a table. No problem. The food was good. Delicious, actually. We both ordered the menu du jour: œufs durs mayonnaise as an appetizer, and then pâtes à la sauce bolognaise, and for dessert a slice of brioche perdue (French toast made with eggy, sweet brioche instead of bread). We relaxed over a glass of wine, observed and talked about the other customers having lunch, and enjoyed the weather.
We both had a sleepless first night at the gîte, suffering with dire digestive distress. No dinner for us that night...
We got back yesterday from our gîte vacation in the village of Vindelle, just five miles north of the city of Angoulême. That's about three hours south of Saint-Aignan, if you take the high-speed autoroute. We didn't. We drove curvy, narrow back roads and enjoyed the beautiful countryside and the villages. The gîte itself was all we had hoped for, plus more. But the whole trip turned out to be a series of disasters.
On the first day, last Monday, we got the car all packed up in the morning and left Saint-Aignan at about 10 a.m. Walt did the driving. Our route took us south from Saint-Aignan, through Nouans-les-Fontaines, Azay-le-Ferron, Martizay, and Le Blanc. Our plan was to stop for lunch in the town of Montmorillon, about 70 miles south of Saint-Aignan. As we drove through Le Blanc, I said to Walt that I had a sinking feeling that I had forgotten to put my camera bag into the car before we left home. In it I had carefully packed two cameras, half a dozen batteries, several SD cards, and my spare pair of glasses.
The question was, did we have time or did we want to drive back 140 miles extra to return home and get the cameras. As we neared Montmorillon, I decided that it wasn't worth it. Walt said I could use his camera and he'd take pictures with his smart phone. But I've never used his camera before. Figuring it out would take a lot of the fun out of it, and the photos might not be very good. Then it occurred to me that I had packed my Android tablet. Maybe I could take pictures with that. I've done it before but not enough to feel really comfortable with it.
We got to Montmorillon at noon, parked the car, and took a walk around the town with Tasha on the leash. I said to Walt that I'd walk the dog and he could take the photos. I tried to take a picture or two with my tablet, but it was all too awkward and risky to hold the tablet and the dog's leash at the same time. I didn't want to drop the tablet and break it. Besides, the weather was so beautiful and sunny that all I could see on the screen of the tablet was the reflection of my face, and not what I was trying to photograph. I managed to take a single successful photo and then I gave up.
It was Monday and the town was very quiet. We saw a restaurant with a few customers eating at tables outdoors, so we went and asked for a table. No problem. The food was good. Delicious, actually. We both ordered the menu du jour: œufs durs mayonnaise as an appetizer, and then pâtes à la sauce bolognaise, and for dessert a slice of brioche perdue (French toast made with eggy, sweet brioche instead of bread). We relaxed over a glass of wine, observed and talked about the other customers having lunch, and enjoyed the weather.
We both had a sleepless first night at the gîte, suffering with dire digestive distress. No dinner for us that night...
Oh, no! What a sorry beginning to a trip you've looked forward to so long. -- Chrissoup
ReplyDeleteOh, no, dire digestive distress! Terrible!
ReplyDeleteNot a good beginning for your much-looked-for vacation. So sorry.
ReplyDelete