Caught the train from Pontorson to Rennes (only 45 minutes) to collect the car. Once we'd figured out how to change the language on the GPS to English we were on our way to our next destination. We stopped at a little place called Martigne-Ferchaud to get petrol (I mean diesel which is called gazole and I triple-checked that in our French-English dictionary before we were game enough to put any of it in the car!) and have some lunch. Went to a bar called Le Graal and had the best Chicken & Salad R
olls - the combination of very yummy bread and the dressings the French use make even salad rolls a gastronomic experience.
We arrived at the village where the chateau we'd booked for two nights was located. Well it was lucky we'd only paid a deposit because we very quickly decided we'd only stay there for that one night and go to Tours a day earlier than planned. The Chateau de la Voloniere was obviously once a magnificent place - and could be again if somebody spent a few million Euro on it - but it had fallen on hard times. About two-thirds of it was closed off and was verging on being derelict. My theory is that Claude (the owner) had inherited it but didn't have the cash to maintain it. It did have some wonderful features (for example, a rather grand carved timber staircase) and there were the odd pieces of wonderful antique furniture mixed in with some 1970s rubbish. It was also potluck whether things - such as the lights - would work. The factor that convinced us it wasn't the place for us though was the lack of any restaurants nearby.
To get dinner that night I had to drive (Lindee had done all the driving up until then so it was my turn) from Ponce-sur-le-Loir, through Ruille-sur-Loir to La Charter-sur-le-Loir. And, no, I don't know why that village in the middle doesn't have a 'le' in its name like all the others. We were lucky enough to find a traditional French restaurant called L'Estaminet in the third village. We both had the Pork Fillet Mignon and it was delicious!
I must admit that the beds at the chateau were very comfy and it was very, very quiet at night in that tiny village so I had a very good night's sleep.
