Farewell to the Atlantic

Thursday 17^th April

Rob got up early this morning to go for a walk to take a last look at the Atlantic and dip his toes in the water. 

Our hotel for the last 2 nights

Today we are moving east again as we zig zag our way up the map. We had plans to visit a couple of Chateaux on the way but the ones we went to were closed – one was open for an hour in the afternoon though the entry gate didn't look like it had seen traffic in a while. The other chateau was not open till June. We have been picking up tourist brochures as we go but none of them appear to have the vital information about opening times and it is not always available online either. Very frustrating!

First chateau - closed

2nd chateau - closed

We have finally got organised with lunches and today we just had to stop for a baguette to add to our cheese and sausage for lunch. We enjoyed an outdoor picnic in a very quiet town. Everything appeared to be closed, whether it is the Easter break or the norm for the town I am not sure. Even the school appeared to be deserted. The roads have also been very quiet today.

 

This chateau in the seemingly deserted town of Grignol
 - think this one was a private residence

House of the Blonde?? or the white woman??

Tonight we are staying in a little town called Lacepede.  It is in the middle of nowhere – just a lake here that is used as a nature trail and education. No castles, chateaux, churches or ruins we can find on a map. 

Rob walked around the lake

Our accommodation tonight is the first true B&B we have stayed in. Very nice and spacious and even though the owner speaks little English we are managing quite well with our minimum French. We asked about a restaurant for dinner as this little village has nothing, not even a bakery we have seen, and she suggested a restaurant in a nearby town. After driving what seemed like every street in the town we found the restaurant and it was closed. What to do now?? We headed to the next town about 8k away and started driving up and down the streets and spotted a Vietnamese restaurant which appeared to have the only lights on in town. Vietnamese it is then. Thankfully it was very nice.

Now we are back in our room and wondering how it will go with meals tomorrow, given that it is Good Friday. Stay tuned!