Emma, our marvellous travel agent, had carefully chosen our hotel for its proximity to the train station given our early (7:53am) train to Brive. Unfortunately, it was near the wrong station - Gare St Lazare is for trains heading north; we needed Gare d'Austerlitz for our train southbound. [EDITED: Nope, just my dodgy memory - Emma was certain to make sure the hotel was near a metro station accessible to Gare d'Austerlitz, which is exactly what it was.] After consulting the map and realising there was no straightforward way between the two stations by metro, I did spot that the Gare de Lyon was only a few blocks away from our destination, and it was on our metro line.
Our alarms were set for 6am (ugh), and we were out the door by 6:40am. We picked up some breakfast at the train station, and got to our train with plenty of time. As I type this, we are in a comfortable second class carriage heading south. While not a TGV, this Intercities train is definitely travelling pretty quickly - I'd guess at speeds of up to 150km/hr.
***
Nous sont arrivees au Sireyzol! I have successfully driven on the wrong (right) side of the road, avoided hitting the curb no more than half a dozen times, and negotiated some very narrow, very winding roads. Thank heavens for GPS and JD's navigating! It is gobsmackingly picturesque - tiny hamlets of centuries-old stone buildings dotted along our route, perched on hillsides and in valleys, and all deliciously peaceful.
As we weren't sure that we'd be able to pick up our hire car before they closed for their lunch break (noon to 2pm), I told my parents that we'd arrive at either 2:30pm or 4:30pm. We managed the former; they heard the latter, so we've a little time to kill sitting in the pleasant afternoon sun until they return (JD has texted them - they're an hour away).
***
The gite (holiday house) is an old stone building, with a steeply pitched split stone roof - they get three foot of snow in winter around here - and thick walls. This one has two bedrooms upstairs, one down, a couple of bathrooms, plus a separate sitting (TV) room, plus open plan kitchen/dining/lounge.
Dad showed us some of his photos from his and Mum's time in Cheltenham (a Regency town where you took the waters*), Scotland, and Toulouse. They also overwhelmed our brains with some of the local things-to-do.
Mum & Dad made dinner - truly a homecooked meal - cheese toasts, chilled melon soup, veal tournados, apple flan type thing, and a selection of local cheeses, plus some Champagne (for me) and some random Bordeaux (merlot) JD chose from the supermarket. We collapsed into bed by 9:30pm, and slept well in the pleasantly cooler climes.
* Taking the waters meant paying to drink the magnesium-rich spring water, then going for a walk around the beautiful gardens, then paying even more to use the toilet as the purgative effects of the magnesium took hold, sluicing out your innards.
Our alarms were set for 6am (ugh), and we were out the door by 6:40am. We picked up some breakfast at the train station, and got to our train with plenty of time. As I type this, we are in a comfortable second class carriage heading south. While not a TGV, this Intercities train is definitely travelling pretty quickly - I'd guess at speeds of up to 150km/hr.
***
Nous sont arrivees au Sireyzol! I have successfully driven on the wrong (right) side of the road, avoided hitting the curb no more than half a dozen times, and negotiated some very narrow, very winding roads. Thank heavens for GPS and JD's navigating! It is gobsmackingly picturesque - tiny hamlets of centuries-old stone buildings dotted along our route, perched on hillsides and in valleys, and all deliciously peaceful.
As we weren't sure that we'd be able to pick up our hire car before they closed for their lunch break (noon to 2pm), I told my parents that we'd arrive at either 2:30pm or 4:30pm. We managed the former; they heard the latter, so we've a little time to kill sitting in the pleasant afternoon sun until they return (JD has texted them - they're an hour away).
***
The gite (holiday house) is an old stone building, with a steeply pitched split stone roof - they get three foot of snow in winter around here - and thick walls. This one has two bedrooms upstairs, one down, a couple of bathrooms, plus a separate sitting (TV) room, plus open plan kitchen/dining/lounge.
Dad showed us some of his photos from his and Mum's time in Cheltenham (a Regency town where you took the waters*), Scotland, and Toulouse. They also overwhelmed our brains with some of the local things-to-do.
Mum & Dad made dinner - truly a homecooked meal - cheese toasts, chilled melon soup, veal tournados, apple flan type thing, and a selection of local cheeses, plus some Champagne (for me) and some random Bordeaux (merlot) JD chose from the supermarket. We collapsed into bed by 9:30pm, and slept well in the pleasantly cooler climes.
* Taking the waters meant paying to drink the magnesium-rich spring water, then going for a walk around the beautiful gardens, then paying even more to use the toilet as the purgative effects of the magnesium took hold, sluicing out your innards.
I knew which station you were leaving from and wrote it would take around 30 minutes to get there from the hotel (assuming you'd be using public transport) - did it end up taking longer than this? Enjoy your time in Cahus, it looks like a lovely area.
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