World Tour

July 8 Saturday We were up, packed and out the door around 0900. There was a weekend market in the large parking lot across from the hotel. Clothes and household items mostly. We pushed our bikes through looking at the different boothes on our way to the pedestrian walkway and breakfast. We stopped for sandwiches. The bikes got lots of attenttion but people mostly let us eat in peace. I walked farther up to the grocery stores to pick up a few staples before leaving the village while Jon stayed with the bikes. In the center of the village was an even larger market - this one was the food, produce section of the weekend market and it was amazing. Every village has been a little different. This one had lots of cooked foods: rotissarie chickens, roasted, succulant pork ready to be cut and served. Gigantic pans that must have been about four feet in diameter filled with potatoes and sausage another with (how do you spell pie-ae-ah?). You would need a paddle or small shovel to stir the food in these pans. A huge pan of pizza piled with fresh veggies and cheese. There was multiple fruit and veggie booths, fresh meats, and cheeses. It was so colorful and alive. Sadly, no one was selling Nutella so I had to go to the market - only to find out that they weren't selling any Nutella either. When I reported back to Jon he immediately asked if I had bought the generic brand and gave a visible sigh of relief when I told him I didn't - he's serious about his Nutella. We left town a little later than planned which seems to becoming the norm. We passed a man cycling by himself. Talk about loaded down. He had front and back panniers that looked stuffed and was also pulling a trailer that also was packed out. He was really struggling up the hill. What could he be carrying?! We pedaled onward with pretty decent weather but we both kept our raingear handy just in case. We pulled into a small village of le Mele looking for Nutella, internet service and a bakery. Of course it was during the noon closing hours but the tourist office was open. Unfortunately the person working did not speak english. Just was we walked into the tourist office the rain started pouring down so we stayed put and looked at the pamphlets. We had planned to go to Sees but were hoping to update the journal before then not knowing how late things would stay open. Once the rain stopped we noticed a small grocery store so I went in and got some lunch and staple but still no Nutella. We had some lunch outside the tourist office since the sun had come out again. Jon wanted to get his haircut and spotted a salon. While he got his haircut I waited and looked at the camping pamphlet. There isn't much camping in Normandie other than along the coast which we weren't going to hit for a couple of days. Our camping book only listed municipals for the area and I was hoping the pamphlet had a more current listing - didn't look like it. Jon came back looking great after his haircut. We decided to celebrate with some pastries. He headed across the street while I cleaned up our lunch mess. It seemed to be taking a while but I could understand how hard I can be deciding on what to buy so I just sat and waited on the stone wall we had used as our lunch counter. Pretty soon I could hear Jon's unmistakable laugh. I squinted trying to see into the windows of the bakery. I could see some people and then Jon facing me gesturing. There he goes again. He's just so approachable and easy to talk to, ah well, it was nice outside so I just stayed put. Not long after that peal of laughter Jon came out accompanied by a man and woman. I tell ya, your husband goes off, looking to buy some pastries and a little while later he comes out with an invitation to stay at either the local chateau of a friend of these new friends or at their own manor/manoir house not far from the village. Jon walked into the pastry shop and noticed a couple speaking english and asked them where they were from. They said they were from England and so began a new friendship. They had asked Jon if we wanted to stay at their house or they could ring up a friend on theirs who owned a chateaux nearby and maybe we could pitch our tent there for the night. The three of them walked out and across the parking lot towards me and I wondered to myself - who has Jon met now. I was introduced to David and Ruan, briefly talked about the bikes. Jon told me about the invitation of a nights stay. After our experience with Bruno and his family we was just starting to appreciate genuine hospitality. We didn't really experience anything like that back in the states - we don't think we've ever been in a situation where I would be on the receiving end of such kindness. Even though mom always said not to talk to strangers and certainly never take food from a stranger for the third time in a couple weeks we were going to go into a stranger's home, stay there, and eat their food. Sorry mom. David called his friend Pierre Arnold De Romanet who owned and lived in the chateaux that had been in his family for over the last 1000 years. Pierre Arnold De Romanet's official title is Le Compte de Romanet. He wasn't available - there was a wedding on the grounds of the chateau and he knew the family. So David and Ruan offered to take us to the chateau and have a look around the grounds. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon once the rain clouds blew away. We were able to see the outside of the chateaux and all of the out buildings. Then we drove back into the village. David and Ruan new the owner of the hotel next to the visiter's center so we had left our bikes locked up in their laundry room. When we returned we had a coffee and chatted. What we ended up doing was following their car out of the village and to their home. We were on single lane roads and I was quite sure that I wouldn't be able to find my way out again with all the lefts and rights, twists and turns. The Manor was great and the old stables, servants quarters, carriage house and fromaggiary, were amazing - we could see the potential for renovation. We were given the grand tour and feel lucky to see the beginnings of what is going to be a magnificant renovation project. There were all sorts of special and unique features of the manor, one in particular was the spiral staircase railing, it was made of elm and was the trunk of a single tree carved to fit the three story staircase - which it did - perfectly. Jon wants to point out that the railing also serves as a supporting structure of the staircase. They hope to turn the manor into a facility for groups of people to stay. In France these places that are called Gites which, as best as we can describe, is a country cabin. Maybe Ruan or David will comment back to us and give a better explaination. They also hope to offer conference facilities/meeting space. The place has great bones - beautiful beams in the ceiling. They are definitely in the midst of renovating. The kitchen, two bedrooms, three bathrooms, two offices, and what will be a formal dining room are set up but there are many more rooms to work on - Jon and I are excited to see the progress as they are doing just what we hope to do some day but perhaps on a smaller scale. Can you imagine what all of that would go for in the Seattle area?! We would never be able to afford to by a manor whether it needed renovation or not! David's parents were visiting, having gone to Argentan for the Tour de France when they rode through town - we all had a lot in common and spent the rest of the night talking all about homes, bikes, politics, and on and on. David's parents had to leave early to return home to England and I'm afraid we kept them up quite late. We slept in the backyard with the nice cushiony grass. I think David and Ruan thought we were joking when we talked about how cushiony the grass was and what a treat it will be to sleep on compared to the campgrounds in Italy which could be rock hard. I did rain during the night but thankfully, Jon had put the fly on the tent since the weather had been so unpredictable that day. David was going to try to contact Jean Pierre again the next day in hopes of getting us into the chateaux for a look and a chat. It was well after midnight by the time we went to bed.