Aix to Beg Meil

Aug 20-22with Camille and Edna Nantes and Beg Meil Left the villa at 8:40 to return our car. Camille took Kim and boys to train station,met us at the car rental after encountering traffic after the gare.Shannon arrived at the same time to return their car so final farewells. Whaah but it had been so nice meeting Carol,such a delightful addition to the group. Left the lot close to 10. After dropping 120 Euros for a mystery owie on a front hubcap, not remembering hearing a crunch or whatever caused this. Head northwest to Toulouse,the same traffic congestion as the last two days at Arles. But this time we are in it!! Also a traffic alert regarding a kidnapping Drove on opposite side of Nimes today, very modern,high skyscrapers More congestion at Nimes Ouest so slowed down in our schedule,noon for Montpellier,not as close to Toulouse as we would like. Waited 50 minutes at toll booth, some of the strangest merging! Then when Camille asked the cashier the problem, she giggled and said " you all left at the same time" ! Then the rest stop just past the toll was CR AZY!, cars parked on sidewalks, double parked, stopped on the middle of the road. So, this is Saturday in August in France. Folks had advised us of this and suggested that September would be better. I get it now! But had no experience similar to this up to now. Narbonne. Castle Windmills Carcasonne,old walled city. Home of ckassedulait, lovely dish of white beans, sausage and pork, also duck is popular here. Camille had planned to stop at three places today and arrive at La Rochelle by 5 but that cannot happen now. Another traffic hold up! Jeepers,may only get to Toulouse instead of La Rochelle, definitely no time to explore Carcasonne or Bordeaux. Large fire burned area before Toulouse. Each toll was badly congested, the one at Toulouse took 20 minutes so we phoned ahead to our Airbnb to inform them we would arrive at 10 instead of the prearranged 7 and that toll cost 22.30 Euros! Gasps all around! Bordeaux is beautiful! A rich wine country. Next toll, 19 Euros! With all this traffic today, there's millions in the coffers These vineyards are so perfect! Turned north, seeing the Paris sign for the first time. Cognac,had planned to stop but pushed on as darkness approached. The next toll 14 Euros Yikes. Arrived in La Rochelle at 9:30,a 12 hour day in the car, but saw beautiful countryside. Take out dinner of authentic Asian food, no batters, lovely vegetable stir fry, salmon rolls, curry chicken, local grown rice,shrimp biscuits. Ate at 11 ish. , giggled about our drive with two brief stops for petrol and WC, the total of 90 minutes in toll lines and the sixty euros for tolls. Nobody had ever experienced so many travel trailers with vacationers all returning home. Wonderful to see families making holidays happening. Puy du Fou, Aug 21, 2016 Coffee, croissants and yogurt then a walkabout the beautiful harbour of La Rochelle . Boat tours leaving, cafes filling and the smell of coffee and bread set the scene before our departure for the one hour ride to the park. Flat farmland... Corn, sunflowers, no grapes. Arrived Puy du Fou at 11, easy parking C7 with the moulin in sight. Entered gate 2, confirmed dinner reservation for 7:30 and set about to get in as many shows as possible before 7. Le Secret De la Lance 12:15 Le Dernier Panache 13:00 Le Bal Des Oiseaux Fantomes 14:15 Les Chevaliers De La Table Ronde 15:15 taire De RichelieueuLes Vikings 16:00 Le Signe Du Triomphe 17:00 Mousquetaire De Richelieu 18:30 Then the dinner!!! Oh my gosh! We dined with Francis 1 and Henry VIII and the competition began. Half the diners wore English crowns and the other half French crowns. Not sure if this promotes good relations but tug of war, lancing, balance beam and racing through the dining hall. Drove to Les Epesses,found our apartment, lovely spot, recommend. Aug 22-24 with Camille and Edna After sleeping in Les Epesses at a lovely new apartment, we head to Camille's birthplace at Tillieres, saw his dad's bakery shop, the city hall where they were married, the church, the banquet hall and then visited cousin Philippe and his wife Wine at 10 am! Drove to Nantes, where he lived until the age of 18. Took the tourist train then walked past his home, the church where he was alter boy for many years, his school and the passage with the stairs he used four times a day. Lunch at a creperie, we all had galettes. Found the restaurant where Jean had his apprenticeship and Camiile's work place as well. Drove to Beg Meil, arrived at 5, very busy beach town this time of year, opened up the home, did the first big grocery shop, big dinner of monk fish and broccoli then avery long beach walk. Aug 23 Happy birthday Shannon Beach walk then drove to Locronan, a 1600 village, where all he homes are joined around the main square and church and now are artisan shops and restaurants. Bought two small water colours of lighthouses as our memory of Bretagne. Sandwich and quiche for lunch then ice cream for a treat. I had lemon, Dave had cappuccino. Drove to Quimpar to get the rental car exchanged, it needed service, so the light said. Also got our train reservations for Friday. Home after the market, beach walk, dinner and cards. Aug 24 Happy Birthday Dave. Concarneau. Old town, fortress, shopping and lunch . 100 baby mussels per potfor the three others. I had coquilles StJacques . Excellent. Our first rain in Bretagne