back from holiday….
and yes, it was great, thanks!
highlights:
– it’s a long way from Cherbourg to Treguier
– going back to the chateau was brilliant – spoilt rotten, which was lovely.
– Morlaix, Granville (haute ville), Saint Malo (intra muros) and Dinan are all super places
– Breton Gateaux consumption should be mandatory
– you can’t buy fuel on a Sunday unless you have a French credit card (see below)
– it’s a long way from Treguier to Cherbourg
– ginger nuts really do prevent seasickness
I have got some piccies, but they are still in the camera – I’ll try and come up with an excuse to use the rest of the film soon, and get a few on here so you can see them. (Yes, if I had a digital camera, I wouldn’t have that problem – I know!)
Amusing petrol story in France:
on Sunday, we were driving about (as you do). Noticed fuel guage in red quartile. Also noticed that most petrol stations closed. Found some labelled “24/24” and went in. Totally unstaffed, you have to shove your credit card into the pump. And soon we discovered that you need a French credit card to make them work. This left us with a problem – miles from the chateau, with not-many-miles-worth of fuel to get us there. So we end up in Lannion, in a 24 hour service station, on a deserted road, waiting for a French person to come in, in the vague hope that with our very bad French, we can persuade him/her to let us use their card in exchange for cash.
No, I didn’t rate our chances either.
Anyway, after about 15 mniutes, a car pulls up. This guy gets out, and AW (with immense bravery) explains to him what our problem is. He agrees to help (phew) and looks in his car for his card. Which he can’t find. Great. Turns out he is meeting his “friend” in the petrol station, and says we can use his friend’s card. About five minutes later, his friend arrives. Now, I’m not one to cast aspertions (sp?), but would you arrange to meet a female friend (if you were a bloke) in a deserted service station in the middle of Sunday night? no, you wouldn’t. unless you had something to hide of course.
So whilst they were getting on with their extra-marital shenanigans, we got 200F worth of petrol, gave hearty thanks, and made a quiet exit. Tres amusant, mes amis.
Anyway, regardless of all that, we had a brilliant time, and shall be heading back in the spring for a few days – probably a bit longer next time so that we can really wind down.
And if you want to do what we did, here are some handy weblinks:
– P&O Ferries
– Chateau de Kermezen (enter “kermezen” as your search string)
– Treguier
The ferry crossing on the way back was really quite rough, although far from stormy. No hurling here though, thanks to Ginger Nuts! (can’t believe that there is no McVities website – unless I’m looking in the wrong place. The United Biscuits one is dull and doesn’t have any product info).
Other news: Connex South Central lose franchise – more on that tomorrow.