Its our 54th Wedding Anniversary , who said it would not last

Well the sun was shining as we arose and headed down for breakfast and than sat out the veranda for a couple of hours reading.  The amount of people attending breakfast would indicate that the Chateau rooms have all be taken which was good sign and also the amount of guests for lunch was also quite high with multiple groups of people, some not laving until mid afternoon,

However, we did not want to have a lunch here only a snack for lunchtime for us and we went out looking for a place for some nice filled baguettes but the first shop only did cakes and so we decided to go the the big LeClerc Hyperstore which was under renovation and so in a bit of mess.

Anyway we got some food for lunch today and also for tomorrow as tonight we are in eating in the Chateau and then tomorrow we will find somewhere locale to eat. We had a relaxing afternoon and but they were busy in th restaurant tonight and somehow our reservation was for 8.45 pm which is a bit late for us, and then its started to go wrong. T he trouble with noveau cuisine its does not take in to account people like me with challenges. Although I had sent them a list of what I could and could not eat , perhaps they did not fully read it, the first plate arrive covered in cauliflower!!! which I had to send back. Also the restaurant was quite busy and the second course took ages to arrive but at least they got this right. Noveau cusine is a lot about small but elegantly prepared dishes and not like fish and chips with loads of fish and fries, Oh no its the presentation that counts rather than quantity..

Needles to say the wine list was extensive and expensive and the previous night we had a bottle of Fleury but at this late hur now nearly 10 pm it was all to late and so we had the house red, also not cheap.

Due to the lateness of the dinner we missed the Euro Cup final which I understand was walkover.

With regard to the Chateau its is quite beautiful but still some work to be done both inside and outside the building and the carpark is a it of mess, but hopefully they will get there. I would stay here again but me and the cuisine would be a problem.

Its bed time

Paris to the Chateau Du Theil in Ussel

We packed our bags and went down to breakfast which was quite a choice so no complains and left the Hotel around 1015 with an approx. 4.5 hours journey to the Correze area of France where the chateau is located.

After leaving the Hotel and not knowing the roads to well we made one small slip and headed on the the wrong direction on the A86 but soon was able to recover and turn around to go on the correct direction.

We new we were approaching a tunnel with height restriction of 2 metres and our  car is 1.640  but it seemed a lot lower but this motorway tunnel went on for 10 kilometres  and was quite interesting to drive through. So we took motorways all the way using our Bip and Go which enables you to use the Tele at the Peage (Toll Station)and saves a lot of hassle. The weather was quite warm but we stopped for some petrol which was bloody expensive and some baguettes for lunch and then carried on with Jennifer enjoying the driving for a while until we finally stopped for lunch in an Aire with the temperature around 31 Centigrade.

It was quite clear that the Dutch are now on holiday as the amount of Dutch registered cars heading south on the motorway was staggering

We carried on up the motorways and eventually joined the A89   (Lyon to Bordeaux) which we used in the past when leaving our caravan site in Ebruil and heading for the Lot Valley but mostly it was raining and so never enjoyed the magnificent views of the three Volcanos and also other mountains with the road climbing to 1000 metres and with views over the rivers , well worth driving down.

We eventually arrived at the Chateau which is finished (almost) on the inside but will still some clearing up to do on car parks and roads to those parking areas. We checked in and had a brief rest and then went down for an evening beer prior to dinner.

With Noels food restrictions I had previously advised the Hotel Chef so it was not a last minute issues but they had it well covered and being only a smallish restaurant and when we entered it was nearly empty so we could discuss everything. 

The restaurant by 9pm was virtually full and it also looked most of the bedroom , only 12, were all taken.

After dinner we went on the balcony and finished off the bottle of Fleury as the sun went down and then off to bed around 10 pm. A nice day was had by all.

Early start to the day

The alarm was buzzing at around 0700 and so an early breakfast and then  finish packing the last few bits in the cat and we departed around 0815 for ||West Byfleet en -route for the Eurotunnel at Folkestone.

The traffic to Junction 10 on the A3 was quite as expected but the finale 25 miles of max 50 mph due to so called testing of systems was a real pain and slowed us down quite a bit but  we finally arrived at the terminal at about 0940 and were put on an earlier train at 1054 which was good, The French Customs was only operating at 50% of the gates open and this caused quite some chaos with cars trying to butt in and drivers getting our cars and having shouting matches, bloody efficient  the French Ha Ha???

We finally boarded and left on time and arrived in France around 1240 and so on the the Motorway for Paris and hoping our BIP and GO would work and thank heavens it did.   Around 1400 we stopped at a services which was packed with mostly French drivers and families enjoying lunch and we had our sandwiches, used the Loos and and then departed for our Hotel on the West Side of Paris Called the Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Bourgival . There had been an accident so we had a rather slow last 30 minutes but arrived at the Hotel around 16.30 and parked in their multi story which was empty apart from us.

A quick rest followed by dinner and a couple of drinks in the restaurant Jennifer had a beef compote which looked and tasted great but due my food restrictions OI ended up with grilled salmon and French fries and washed down with a beer and a couple of glasses of red wine. And the after dinner we walked across the road  to the River Seine and a short walk in then evening sun having temp around 25 C this evening and so quite nice to sit their and watch the world go by.

After this we returned to the room and Noel did his blog and Jennifer read her book. Thee Hotel  is in need of an upgrade and re decoration but otherwise served its purpose having paid for it on Hilton Points

Oh well time for bed.

We are off again tomorrow for a couple of weeks in France

It was quite a busy day preparing  for our travels as we have to consider different weather, and what to wear and what o take with us.

Noel had a meeting with his Old Gits Coffee group in the afternoon allowing free time for Jennifer to pack  without any interruptions and also clear out the fridge.

We are leaving for France tomorrow morning around 0800 and against better judgement are using the Eurotunnel, although reasonably efficient is a pain in the but to use.

In th evening it was a time glued to the TV to watch Chelsea take on Real Betis in the European Conference  league cup final and although being one down at half time CFC came out of their shells in the second half and won 4-1 not bad really.

And so to bed