Whose luggage?

After a very long day of getting off the ship with the kids and everything else, taking the Pet Taxi from Southampton through the Eurotunnel to Calais, and driving to Rouen, we settled into our hotel. Since we had to park in an unsecured area, we took most of our luggage to the room. When Steve went to retrieve his medicines from his suitcase, he found items he didn’t recognize, quickly realizing he had fallen victim to the dreaded “my bag looks like your bag” demon. So now he and some sweet little lady both didn’t have the  medications they needed. Too tired and too late to do anything, we tried to sleep.

Rouen Cathedral
Rouen Cathedral

The next morning, with plans to call Cunard to track down the owner and our own bag, we started to pack up for our first full day of driving through France. “And whose suitcase is this?” I queried. That odd feeling we had experienced the previous day that we had underestimated the amount of stuff we brought was now explained. We DID have extra stuff and we had left another person frustrated! At least this bag had a name and address to contact and return it.

On the road again, we tried to contact Cunard but were having trouble getting through. Suddenly the phone rang. Who could be calling US? Fortunately it was the family of the little lady in England calling to say that they had our suitcase and confirmed that we had hers. At least luck was in our favor to serendipitously give us the solution to our luggage problem. Now we could enjoy the beautiful green countryside of France. Green in December? Why YES. So neat and orderly and green were the fields we passed, on well maintained and easy to follow highways.

French countryside
French countryside

Our goal for that day was to see the Chateaus of the Loire region on the way to our next stop in Bourges. After seeing pictures of Chenonceau many years ago and using it as inspiration for the house I had built in San Antonio, it was our MUST SEE. And we weren’t disappointed. No time to tour the interiors and with our dogs, we toured the beautiful exteriors and gardens. The weather was perfect, further enhancing the gorgeous chateau spanning the river.

Chateau de Chenonceau
Chateau de Chenonceau

Could we squeeze in a couple more chateaux before sunset? Thanks to our amazing

Cheverny
Cheverny

navigation system, standard equipment in our rental, we did. Zipping through the towns and villages, sometimes taking us via the smallest of roads, we next took a peak at Cheverny. It was closed for the day and well off the road behind sight-limiting fences, so it was “just a peak.”Then off we went to catch a glimpse of Chambord. It too was closed but fortunately it is relatively easy to see from the road. Actually it is the largest in the Loire Valley and shares its name with the raspberry liqueur that originated in this area.

Chambord
Chambord

Not long after the ever earlier sunset approaching the Winter Solstice, we arrived at our hotel. It was like those back in the U.S., just off the highway next to a couple of chain restaurants. “Deja vu all over again” to quote Yogi Berra. It was nice enough, and comfortable, and accepting of our dogs.  It was also quite artistic , even the bathroom.

Ibis Styles Hotel Bourges
Ibis Styles Hotel Bourges

After a decent meal it was time to rest up for another day of driving.

We awoke to another beautiful day in France. Off we drove, destination – Beziers in the Languedoc region and Midi-Pyrenees. The scenery was still nice – with more hills and valleys. And our next “sight to see” spanned the deepest of those valleys. The Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, and an engineering wonder, loomed before us. With its cable stayed towers it looked more like a spiders web in this picturesque countryside.

Millau Viaduct
Millau Viaduct
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