Arrived back from France at 12.45 this morning, eyes on stalks, and sank thankfully into bed. We had to unload half the wine out of the car as a bottle had broken and we had to find it to try and prevent the car smelling like a brewery, probably better than smelling of alpaca poo! Amazed by how much wine we did buy…think the joint account is going to look a little bare.
We took the overnight ferry Portsmouth Caen on Monday night. Delighted to discover sea flat calm, kiss tarmac gratefully etc. Last Plymouth Roscoff trip was really rough and unpleasant. Anyway we gave the animals water and feed on Monday night and tottered off to the bar.
We woke to the sound of the waltz from La Traviata and various other operatic excerpts, Chas desperately fumbling with sound system, unable to turn it down…so off to the restaurant for breakfast. We met John Peters from Alpaca International, Belgium, in the carpark in Caen where we handed over MEF Poseidon, a classy little brown male, a young white boy and my original black stud male APA Zarzamora plus acres of DEFRA paperwork. Zaz wil be made up as we haven’t used him for a couple of years and he is going to get a load of Belgian bonks.
We then set off with the lovely MEF Gabriella (half sister to Poseidon)and a black girl and cria belonging to Tim Hey to deliver them to Madame Lion near Vierzon. Hit a major traffic jam on the flyover on the peripherique at Caen and were in it for 45 minutes. As we neared the site of the accident I could see through the barriers these feet in a pair of black boots motionless on the other carriageway with a white sheet over the rest of the body. It was a motorcyclist who died in the crash.
For some reason our beloved Sat Nav lady decided that a motorway, not due to be completed until 2010, really WAS there which resulted in some confusion until we told her to sod off and got the map out. She recovered her composure later and was reinstated as navigator. Finally arrived at Madame Lion’s charming chateau at about two oclock. The chateau is small but stunning with a balcony emminently suitable for the balcony scenes in The Barber of Sevile and Romeo and Juliet. Our girls were let out to graze on the lawn in front of the chateau while we went off for a farm tour, lots of good alpacas, and a flock of heavily pregnant pygmy goats. Chas’s French is pretty good, mine is awful, but we managed to have lots of conversations. Madame Lion’s daughter speaks pretty good English and had a dictionary in her pocket when the going got tough. They are a charming pair and adored our Gabriella who has great presence and posed for photographs on the lawn looking the part. We took a new trailer over for her and set off to find a hotel feeling free and trailer-less.
I have asked Father Christmas for a chateau…
We drove around Blois for ages but failed to find a bed. Slightly worried drove a bit faster along the river valley for Amboise admiring all the completely over the top chateaux along the way. I had refused to stay in an Ibis or Novotel on the grounds that they are dull and I was having a night off. I was praying that Amboise would come up trumps and in the dusk I saw a building that looked promising on the other side of the river and forced Chas to drive there. Bingo! Completely marvellous, elegant and expensive hotel hoves into view stuffed with fantastic antiques. They had re-opened for the season the day before and we had a room with a super king size bed, a lovely bathroom and a view of the castle/chatueax for 110 euros. Posh restaurant next door but men without ties and women wearing jeans (new ones) not welcome. Instead joined the tie-less plebs in an excellent little brasserie in the town. Starving so put away massive warm salad with lardons etc, rabbit and pasta plus an apple crepe with ice cream…o and a small amount of white wine.
Next day the temperature reached 19 degrees, the magnolias were fantastic and we decided we should move forthwith to the Loire valley. Then set off slowly via various caves and supermarkets for Caen and the tea time ferry. A fun trip.