Five of us went to breakfast, packed up, checked out of the hotel and waited in the lobby for Karen and Greg to appear. After ten minutes, we phoned their room and woke them up. Their alarm clock was not working and was three hours behind. They hastily packed up and we all piled into the van for one last drive up the circular driveway out of the parking garage.
We headed out to Avis at the airport to pick up the minivan that Greg would drive
. I also wanted to exchange the 9-seater van for a 7-seater minivan. Although it took over an hour, everything went as we had hoped and we left the airport driving two minivans.
For Greg, this was the first time he had driven a standard stick shift in forty years but he quickly adapted to the new challenge and only stalled a few times. We headed out on an expressway for a short distance before turning onto minor roads that led us to the beautiful village of Saint-Emilion, in the centre of the Bordeaux wine area. We parked the minivans and were fortunate to find a table for eight at a restaurant in the village square under a canopy with misters blowing mist across the tables to keep us comfortable. It was a great place to have a light lunch.
We wandered about the village for about half-an-hour before heading out on our way to Le Manoir des Granges in the village of Peyzac-le-Moustier, our home for the next week (or two weeks, for Anne and me)
. It was a two-hour drive along windy country roads with the usual roundabouts in the villages that we passed through. About half way along the route, we drove past the town of Bergerac to which we will be returning on Tuesday for a tour of two vineyards.
Our hosts, Philippa and Paul, greeted us when we arrived at Le Manoir and gave us a tour of the premises. It all looks wonderful although we were quite weary after our journey from Bordeaux. After putting our cases in our rooms, some of us drove to the local supermarket, about 15 minutes away, to stock up on basic provisions. Soon after we got back, we went to the local restaurant about 5 minutes away for a pleasant meal sitting in the courtyard in the warm evening air. Between us, we had lasagna, pasta and lamb chops and two of us succumbed to deserts.
The days have been reaching the low 30's and our rooms were quite warm as we headed to bed. We need to master the routine of closing the windows and shutters during the day to prevent the rooms from heating up. (Only the two rooms on the top floor have air conditioning).
Another enjoyable and full day in France!
Travel to the Manor House in the Dordogne
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Peyzac-le-Moustier, Aquitaine, France
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