Road Trip! L’Ejumeau, Château de Chambord, Orléans

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Avis, Aya, Chambord, driving, L'Ejumeau, La cathédrale Sainte-Croix, Lisa, meals, Orléans, Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel, Sologne, Zhizhong

Friday morning Zhizhong and I met at Lisa’s place and we rented a car for a weekend visit to her family’s estate, L’Ejumeau, in the Sologne. It was the first time I’ve had to include a child seat with a rental car, for Lisa’s 8-month old daughter, Aya.

Lisa and Aya, on our road trip to L’Ejumeau.

L’Ejumeau is about 2-1/2 hours from Paris, but we stopped for lunch both ways so the drive was even easier than usual. Intermittent rain slowed us up a bit, as did some traffic on Sunday getting back into Paris, but overall this was one of the least stressful road trips I’ve done here. Apart from a few cowboys — and completely crazy motorcyclists — French drivers are relatively law-abiding. And my Garmin GPS helpfully alerts one to each of the frequent speed cameras.

The weather wasn’t too conducive to outdoor photography — or for jumping in the pool! — but a couple of photos from prior years will give you an idea of what a wonderful place L’Ejumeau is.

L’Ejumeau, a farmhouse that sleeps 13 people on a 100-acre estate in the Sologne.

Jeff, Bob and Rosé in the pool at L’Ejumeau, in 2011.

We did get out for one good walk, however, among the several large ponds (here called étangs) in the surrounding forest.

Zhizhong, Lisa and Aya, at l’étang Robert.

And nothing could stop us from enjoying each other’s company, as well as two delicious home-cooked meals.

“Uncle Bob” enjoying some quality time with Aya.

Zhizhong and Lisa at dinner on our first night at L’Ejumeau, 2014.

There’s a unique opportunity to house-sit L’Ejumeau for part or all of July in case any of my responsible friends is attracted by a rural retreat — to write a book, perhaps? A complete lack of distractions, apart from satellite Internet, can be assured. You would be responsible for utilities but would otherwise enjoy the place rent free!

On Saturday we made an excursion to the Château de Chambord, the largest of the Loire valley châteaux. It’s a dramatic pile, begun by François I but not completed until the 19th century.

Le château de Chambord, the largest of the Loire valley châteaux.

Zhizhong and Lisa at le château de Chambord.

The interior is an odd mix of period furnishing and art, with the oddest room of all being the hall of trophies.

Bob in the hall of trophies, at le château de Chambord.

Saturday lunch was at the Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel in Chambord, which we all really liked. Lisa called on baby-privilege to get us served promptly, and the meal proved to be delicious.

Bob’s entrée (appetizer) at the Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel in Chambord.

Zhizhong with his dessert at the Restaurant du Grand Saint Michel at Chambord, seemingly oblivious of the menacing sanglier looming behind him!

On Sunday we stopped at Orléans for lunch, then strolled over to La cathédrale Sainte-Croix, like Chambord built over many centuries, originally Gothic but finished in a Renaissance style.

La cathédrale Sainte-Croix in Orléans is particularly dramatic in contrast to the four-story buildings which predominate in the rest of the old city.

The facade and towers of la cathédrale Sainte-Croix in Orléans were not finished until the 18th century, and they add Renaissance confectionery to the Gothic building.

Joan of Arc getting rather dramatically burned at the stake in a late-19th century stained glass window of La cathédrale Sainte-Croix in (Old) Orléans.

Zhizhong was especially charmed by how peaceful Orléans was on a Sunday. Taken though he is by Paris, he’s also drawn to the calmer life of the French provinces.

While the driving was remarkably low-stress, Avis had a little zinger in store for me. When I dropped off the car the agent claimed that a tiny ding in the driver’s-side door was my responsibility.

Spot the tiny ding that Avis is charging me $450 for. Hint — just above the arrow. Would you notice this when looking over a rental car for preexisting damage?

I had carefully inspected the car when I rented it, but the ding was so minor that it could have been there without my noticing. I wasn’t aware of hitting anything with the door, though a car parked next to us could have made the dent in any of several lots and garages. Hopefully this year I have met the stringent requirements to get reimbursed from Master Card. Another time I will take pictures of the car when I rent it!

L’Ejumeau, Jane Mack, and an Ascension

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Aunt Jane, auto rental, Avis, bien arrosée, broken windshield, Château, Château Chenonceaux, cooler chest, credit card insurance, Gare Montparnasse, gps, hot air balloon, Humanism, hypermarché, ice, Jane Mack, L'Ejumeau, memorial, Montgolfière, stick shift, Visa insurance

The centerpiece of my visit this year was a reunion of Mack cousins at their estate 2-1/2 hours south of Paris, generally for fun but particularly to remember my Aunt Jane, who died in May.  We had all gotten together the previous year at Clear Lake, Iowa, and had an excellent time.  While I could see then that Jane was frail, it had been gratifying how much she enjoyed her growing family, including quite a few great-grandchildren.  One of her last wishes had been that the family would stay close.

I had reserved a rental car — enjoying my renewed comfort with stick shift as well as my European-enabled GPS.  Initially I had expected to drive both ways by myself but as it happened I was able to pick up Amy and Brian at Charles de Gaulle airport and drive them down, and I also drove Jackie and Lisa back up to Paris.  I enjoyed the company and it was nice to put the car to such good use.  (One annoyance was a pebble kicked up on the expressway that put a 700 euro crack in the windshield — here’s hoping Visa comes through on its auto insurance coverage!)  After an otherwise-uneventful drive it was lovely to see L’Ejumeau again:

L’Ejumeau

The house sleeps 14, but we were nearly twice that, so we also filled two nearby houses owned by family friends.  I soon spotted a critical issue: we had many thirsty Macks, lots of warm beer, and only a small refrigerator, already full of food.  Obvious solution: a couple of cooler chests filled with ice. Easier said than done!  First, nobody at the hypermarché had ever heard of cooler chests, even after I described the concept in crystal-clear French.  Undaunted, I bought several plastic clothes boxes that looked waterproof, despite also being flimsy and uninsulated.  Then I asked where I could buy ice.  Answer: nowhere!  Further answer: nowhere, except, just possibly, if I pled my case sympathetically, the fish department in the hypermarché might make extra ice for me to pick up the following day.  Result: cold beer!  And also a fun travel adventure.

Bob Bringing Home the Ice

The babies from Clear Lake — Ethan and Lilly — were running around this year, and Val’s twins were getting ready to join them.  Almost enough to make me want babies of my own!  Err, but not quite…

Moms (well, mostly) and Their Babies

The memorial for Jane Mack was moving as well as surprisingly fun.  We lit five candles, to reflect grief, courage, our memories of Jane, love and hope.  (I was touched to be invited to light one of them, which I did for Nancy’s family as well as for my brother Steve, sister-in-law Noree, and nephew Andy.)  We sang happy songs that Jane had loved, and more serious songs composed for the occasion, all led by Judy on her guitar.  There were many amusing and touching reminiscences, including a recording of Jane’s own family memories.  I realized that I probably knew Jane the longest of anyone there, since I’m a couple years older than Jackie and Judy.  The proceedings were powerfully moving, yet rigorously secular, because that’s what everyone wanted, as well as what Jane would have wanted.  I mentioned how well this fit with the principles of Humanism but my cousins were more interested in living the way they saw fit than embracing a label.

The high point of the visit — in more ways than one — was an ascension in a Montgolfière (hot air balloon) over Château de Chenonceaux and environs.  One photo will give you a taste (though it’s a different château).

Château and Shadow of Montgolfière

There’s a full photo set at this link: Montgolfière Photos.

Dropping off the car was once again stressful, since there was a demonstration at Place d’Italie that brought traffic almost completely to a stop.  At one point I was closing the gap with the car in front when a motorbike passed me on the right and cut across the closing gap to the other side of the car in front of me; I slammed on my brakes to save him; luckily the guy behind me was on the ball and didn’t rear-end me.  I ended up returning the car to the same obscure garage near Gare Montparnasse that Jared and I had found a few days previously.  It was a relief to get back to Lisa’s and Ali’s to join Jackie and David’s family for a farewell Chinese dinner, bien arrosée in my case at least.

Today I’ve done nothing but laundry, blogging and a little reading.  A day of downtime is just what the doctor ordered!  Gerry arrives tomorrow morning, for his first visit to continental Europe.

Road Trip! Chantier Guédelon and Pont Canal

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Avis, Briare, Gare Montparnasse, Guédelon, Jared, meals, périphérique, Pont Canal, Saint-Amande-en-Puisaye

On Monday Jared and I set off on a road trip, which was to prove even more of an adventure than we had imagined.  Our goal was the Chantier Médiéval de Guédelon, about two hours southeast of Paris, where a medieval castle is under construction, using original materials and construction methods.  Jared had been fascinated by Guédelon since seeing a tv show about it, and I was happy to find an excuse for an outing.

We arrived at Saint-Amande-en-Puisaye around lunch time, so we ate at a friendly and toothsome crêperie.

Crêperie in Saint-Amande-en Puisaye

That was the closest place my GPS could find, but the restaurateur pointed us in the right direction for the final few kms.  I had expected to enjoy Guédelon, but it was much more impressive and interesting than I had supposed!  I’ll post a photo set on Picasa shortly; here’s a preview:

Guédelon

This is the castle itself, but there are also many out-buildings, in which craftspeople prepare the materials needed for the construction work.  Wood and clay and rough stone are all found on the site; only limestone for the finer stonework has to be quarried elsewhere.  As in any historical village, the staff are happy to tell you what they are doing.  Unlike most, they are actually doing useful and necessary work, on which the construction depends.  At times the anachronism is almost disorienting.  We have all wandered around marvelous medieval buildings.  But who among us has been present while one was built?

By the time we finished at Guédelon the 7 pm target was no longer feasible, so we were free to see something else if we wanted. Jared had noticed a mysterious roadside sign on the way up — “Pont Canal” (“Bridge Canal”) — and suggested that we explore it.  The GPS really shone at this task, by directing us through a maze of turns and tiny streets, with no signs except at the very end.  Initially we were a bit disappointed; there was indeed a bridge with a canal over it, but it wasn’t terribly impressive (though the massive flood gates on each side of the bridge were rather mysterious).

Pont Canal 1

But no, after we climbed the little hill we realized what was really going on.  The “Pont Canal” is a massive iron bridge, built 1890-94, carrying the Briare canal across the entire width of the Loire River (and its flood plain)!

Pont Canal 2

Needless to say, we walked across it, then back on the other side.  I’ll also post a photo set of the real Pont Canal, in a few days.

What a great road trip!

Tranport Travails:  I suggest you skip this paragraph unless you have a strong interest in Franz Kafka and/or the Marquis de Sade, or perhaps if you plan to rent a car yourself in Paris.  I had cleverly rented our car at an Avis agency in Montrouge just outside the périphérique near the Porte d’Orleans métro station, to avoid city driving. This worked perfectly for pickup; the only wrinkle being that the Montrouge office closes at 7 pm, so we would have to return the car at Gare Montparnasse if we ran later.  I wasn’t too worried, however, since I could see no reason why we couldn’t get back by closing time.  (Hah!)  The drive home was uneventful, except for darkness and rain, until we hit a detour off the A6.  At first I assumed it would bring us back to the highway right after repaving work.  But no!  We kept seeing “Deviation 2” signs, placed far beyond each decision point.  For a while we were luckily in the right lane, then we stopped seeing signs.  Our eager GPS of course urged us at each intersection to turn around and go back to the A6.  Finally, after not seeing a “Dev.” sign for too long we took an exit and tried to bushwack our way back to Paris.  At first the results were tragic: the streets got smaller and smaller, and it seemed as if we were entering one of the dread banlieus!  But finally we saw a sign to Paris and we knew that we were saved … so long as it wasn’t leading us back to the closed A6.  After an anxious twenty minutes we crossed the périphérique and headed for Montparnasse.  But wait!  We had to fill up the gas tank before turning the car in to avoid insane essence charges.  It was after 10 pm and the Total at Porte d’Orleans was closed. The GPS led us to gas station after gas station, all closed.  Finally we saw a lighted BP sign!  We were saved!  After a fill-up we confidently followed the GPS directions to the Montparnasse Avis.  The GPS led us around Gare Montparnasse by a circuitous route, then announced that we were almost there!  But, alas, I pointed out that right ahead of us was the same BP station, and no Avis.  Jared asked at the BP station, and they gave us further complex but vague directions, to an entirely different location.  We followed them to no avail until — joy! — we spotted an Avis sign!  We followed it into a parking garage, down several levels, and pulled up to the Avis drop-off!  Which was abandoned.  We wandered around the garage and eventually found an Avis office that had closed at 10:30, and had no key drop-off slot.  A call to Avis support failed because it had also closed for the night.  Finally we left the car in the garage and went to the elevator lobby, with a plan to return the key to the office the following morning. Waiting for the elevator Jared randomly read a French sign — which told people who were returning Avis cars to leave the key at their office in the station lobby!  We did so, then with huge relief exited the station and had a random meal at an odd French chain called Hippopotomus. At the start of the meal I pointed out that we had to be sure not to miss the métro, but that we had plenty of time.  At the end of the meal we realized that it was already past 12:30!  We ran down to the adjacent métro station and were delighted to find that trains were still running! Métro Delight All potential tragedies averted, we realized that our evening’s adventures were pure comedy.