On the Road Again!

Once we had finished breakfast at the Logis we packed the car where it had been parked overnight and set off down the street to the old town. Beaumont sur Sarthe At the entrance they have a wooden mock castle built over the road. I'll add some photos later as they are on the camera not phone. The new bridge and castle We had a look at the market and then went downwards hoping to find the old bridge over the river. Beaumont market Watches and Basket Weaving & Chair Repairs Old Bridge A new bridge carries current traffic across the Sarthe and it is hard to imagine how they managed before it was built. Once we had bought something for a picnic lunch we set off for the first Plus Beaux Village de France of this trip; Sainte Suzanne. St Rémy sur Sillé Once again TomTom did a good job and we arrived untroubled about 11am. It was a short walk from the parking into the village and plus beaux it is too. Photos to follow! Sainte Suzanne...

Not a Plan B as such but simply a  review of where we are at with the trip planning.   I've had a look at the three main parts of the Normandy leg. The Chelles/Disney overnight is set in stone as I had to pay for the room up front; no refunds. It's only about €35 but I'm not made of money. I sometimes wish I was one of those travellers that simply packs a toothbrush, spare pants and a bank card and sets off into the big blue yonder.  I tried it once, being spontaneous, and we ended up looking for a hotel in rural Spain about tea time (4pm to those non-British) and ended up in the Parador in Avila. It was very nice and the restaurant was also top notch, but the wallet battering was eye watering. Okay, hotels always have towels and soap in their bathrooms, some even have bottles of stuff that you can swipe before you leave. Maybe a spare pair of pants and a spare pair of socks... wash one overnight and wear the others?  Seems okay but the rea...

I have spent a few hours working on the Normandy trip. At least the part that comes after the trip to Disneyland Paris. Disney was all done and dusted months ago with the hotel booked nearby for the Sunday night so we can be at the gates bright an early (or as early as we can). The hotel is an ETAP, soon to be rebranded as an Ibis.  It's cheap, has a loo and shower in the room and is less than £30 for the night. Lovely jubbly. Of course you have to sort out a breakfast. A batch of Tesco vouchers accounted for about 80% of the fare and I had to add some cash to confirm the booking.  As we have all day to get down to the hotel at Chelles, I booked a slightly later crossing to save us getting up too early. I'll start to look for places to stop on the way to make a 200 mile motorway run a little more interesting. Maybe we'll try to avoid the A26/A1 or A16 routes down towards Paris. Plan A To make the most of the 5-day crossing I needed to look at alternatives, ...