A Nice Day for a Walk

April 9 – Train to Tours

We are going to miss our little hotel, Gardette Park. The rooms are small, but lovely, and the staff is so wonderful.

We took breakfast at the hotel, and got to the station with plenty of time left. Heidi was a little worried that we were going to get on the right train because of what had happened going to Versailles. I assured her that I had been on this type of train before. However, not in France. Heidi had stopped at a ticket stamp place, but I told her we didn’t have to do that, but then after we got on the train I noticed it said on the ticket we had to get it stamped. Between the two of us we can figure stuff out.

The train ride was very nice. It took two hours from Paris to Tours. Heidi slept a good part of the way. We could see one of the Chateaus we’re going to visit. It’s very exciting!

Last night when we were verifying all of our information, I noticed that we had put 1 pm as our rental pick-up time, and on the website it said pick-up ended at 1! Luckily, the train was on time, and the car rental place was right next to the station, just like it had said it was, so everything worked out. The car rental lady was super nice and helpful. We found out that the insurance we had gotten online was not through them, but through Expedia. Hopefully if we have to use it, it won’t be difficult, but I really hope we never have to use it!

I was pretty nervous about driving in a foreign country. They still drive on the right side of the road, but I’m sure some of the customs are different. They allow US drivers licenses, so the rules can’t be that different. And I’m really glad we went with the automatic instead of the manual, because I’ve already had to parallel park twice.

We’re using the gps on my phone, which is good, because the gps knows which streets are one way and which aren’t. I think that’s my biggest worry, that I’ll end up going the wrong way, or be in a lane I’m not supposed to. We survived today. It wasn’t that bad.

We have a brand new Nissan with 4510k on it.

We found our hotel and checked in, but immediately went to look for food. Our hotel is right next to another train station, so we ended up at a German burger place that caters to travelers from the station. Heidi got a rocamadour burger, which she loved, and I got a foie gras burger, which wasn’t that great. I actually just left the foie gras off it. I think I was expecting paté, and not just a seared liver. So now I know, I like paté, but not straight foie gras.

We went back to the hotel and got our laundry, and went off looking for a laundromat. The hotel does have a laundry service, but not on weekends. They also have a restaurant, but not on weekends. At least they have beds on weekends, and breakfast.

We spent a few hours at the laundromat, then decided we were done for the day. It was really too late to try to do anything. We were close to the church, however, so we decided to drive by and see what it looked like so we would know what to expect for tomorrow. It’s an actual building, with it’s own parking and everything.

We stopped by a grocery store on the way back to the hotel to get some bread and cheese and fruit and water for dinner. Neither of us felt like going out. I know I want to get to bed early tonight, and we have to get up early tomorrow.

I didn’t get many pictures today, and it’s going to be harder to take pictures now that I’ll be driving, and the phone will be the gps. We’re using my phone since I have free data in Europe.