The Loire

Left Michelle's and drove directly to Chenonceau, the best chateau on the Loire.


This is the one that has the room that goes over the river. During WWII the line between free and occupied France ran right down the river and the resistance smuggled people out by taking them through the chateau. We also could see the kitchens and all of the equipment. They grow their own flowers for the arrangements that are everywhere.

Branwen wanted to know about every "princess bed" that she saw in the guide book, and made sure that we didn't skip any of them.

By the time we finished the chateau, it was 7:30 and we stopped in a small town and ate in an outdoor restaurant in the town square. The service gave slow a new name! The waitresses (only one and a half of them) had to go back and forth across the road. They only could do one thing at a time so it meant that they made many trips with open hands.

We still had to find our hotel and check in. The directions on line had been very strange but it was in a very very small town - how hard could it be? In the pitch dark of the French countryside? At eleven at night?

It turned out that this was an autoroute motel, but since we were not on the autoroute we couldn't drive directly to our room. You registered at the same place that you pay for gas. The lady gave us the code for the gate which was also the one for our room. The buildings looked like cell blocks from the outside, but were quite spacious and really comfortable in a minimalist kids of way.



It did have the best shower that we have had on the trip.


And free WiFi. Once I got over the weirdness of it, I would really recommend it to someone traveling on the autoroute - cheap and easy.