Last of Roadtrip: Gite Nature to Caen (May 30, 2023)

Last Leg of Roadtrip

Our last day of driving was yesterday (May 30th). We left our lovely stone cottage at Le Cellier at 10AM, and after one stop to stretch, arrived in Caen at 1:45PM. We turned in our Europcar Fiat across from the train station and walked across the street and purchased tickets to Paris for Wednesday, May 31st. Europcar called a taxi for us afterward, because the walk to ibis Styles Caen Centre Paul Doumer was too far to walk. 

And that's when we had a new kind of adventure. Everything was fine until we got to our hotel room and I discovered my phone wasn't in my pocket. I didn't put it in my zippered pocket and knew it slipped out in the taxi. The guy working the ibis reception desk called the taxi company and assured us it would be returned. But by 10PM it hadn't been. 

Of course, I only needed a phone for GPS on our roadtrip part of this journey, so getting it returned didn't really matter. But it's the principle of the thing. This morning I took my laptop downstairs and, prepared with Google Translate, I was going to figure out what happened to the phone and why it hadn't been returned as promised. 

Cathy was working the reception desk and her English was fantastic and immediately understood my problem. She got on the phone and talked to someone at the taxi company. A little more insistently, she also wanted to know why my phone hadn't been returned as promised. I may not have French but I certainly understand tone of voice. The dispatcher called the taxi driver at home while Cathy waited on hold. 

Within minutes Cathy had the problem solved: someone would return our phone before 11AM and then a taxi would pick us up and take us to the train station. Voila! 

Lesson learned? Use the zippered pocket and don't mess with Cathy!

Check out the baguette vending machine.

We had this and cheese for our lunch
at our rest stop, of course.

The almond croissant was amazing!

This morning these roofers across the lane from
our room were hard at work.

They turned and smiled when they saw me taking
their picture. The kid sitting down gave me the peace
sign and the guy pitching him roof tiles gave me the
thumbs up sign in answer to mine.

Train from Caen to St. Lazare Station
in Paris was really nice. Free wifi too.

Parmesan tuna pate lunch, a contribution
Gabriel made for our "picnic" the other
night at Gite Nature. Didn't get eaten then
and sure came in handy today.

Local train (RER) to Asnières-sur-Seine,
our home for the next four days. We know
this neighborhood well. Feels good to be
back in familiar surrounds.

Gite Nature—Day 3-4

Memorial Day

Like at home France celebrates those who have given their lives for their country. We had hoped to visit the D Day Beaches, but contracting COVID meant extending our stay at the cottage so we could safely quarantine. And because we have to turn the car in May 30th we had to cut out the Normandy Beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry. Oh well, we now have two more reasons to return!

Today was a little cooler in the morning so we took a walk along the tow path that parallels the Loire River to Mauves and back. The round trip walk to Mauves is only four miles, but from our cottage door to the gate at the end of the drive is half a mile one way, so our walk to Gabriel's village and back came to five miles. But it's a pretty walk. We needed to take advantage of the light breezes in the morning, because it's expected to reach 80F (24C) again.

A day on the Loire on a flat bottomed pleasure boat.

Walkway under the bridge from Mauves

boat launch to public park.

The beagle's owner was capturing a  

Kodak moment and he wanted to

say hello to another dog.               

         

This boy waits patiently for his mom

and beagle.

Skiff tied up next to boat launch.

Mauves railway to Le Cellier where we live.

The Mauves train station. You can be in the center of 

Nantes in 12 minutes. Cathy takes the train to work.

The station is three minutes from home.

Mauves public park across from the train station.

Notice at the beginning of the tow path leaving Mauves.

The rings used to moor barges along
the tow path.

Gabriel said this is called Conterfeiter's

Cave (it's under the first arch on the left)

because legend has it that pirates & other

criminals used it as a hideout.

Walkers, runners, and cyclist love this path.

Railway bulkhead along tow path.

The walk from our cottage to Mauve,

where Gabriel and his family live, isn't 

far, but it feels longer because the path 

seems to stretch into infinity.

After lunch we had a rest and then met Gabriel, Cathy, and Nils at their house. They drove us into Nantes where we walked around Il de Nantes (Nantes Island), the former canning industry and ship building hub of the 1900's. Prior to that, the slave trade to America brought the city great wealth until it ended in 1827 when sugar imported from the Mascarene Islands east of Madagascar proved more profitable and legal.

Today Il de Nantes is being gentrified with start ups, a new Palace of Justice, public spaces, exhibition halls, art installations, cafes and bars. Because the island was once an industrial site the spaces are enormous. There are all kinds of play areas and several new carousels built in the style of the turn of the 20th century. The transformation of this former industrial hub is ongoing but the citizens of Nantes have reclaimed the island for recreation and entertainment.

Exhibition hall at entrance of Il de Nantes.

Art—starfish and sea urchin?

Carousel of the Seafarers' Worlds. The rides are

creatures from Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues 

Under the Sea".

The carousel is massive. 

This carousel is scaled for the little ones.

Cathy, Nils, Marie & Gabriel under

The Titan, a decommissioned crane

that has become a symbol of Nantes'

former industrial might.

The Titan, built in 1954 and used until 1987, carried

prefabricated elements for the construction of ships.

Enlarge this to read about the Estuary 

art installation pictured next.

Art—The Nest clings to the side of a cliff. It serves

as a view point you can walk on to look across the

Loire back at Il de Nantes.

Art—The White Tree several cliff ledges

left of The Nest.

Nils checks out "The Moon," an interactive art

installation that allows kids to enjoy weightlessness.

Mini tramps are at the bottom of the craters.

Dredger off Il de Nantes.

This Loire River taxi carried us across to...

...a new brew pub. We were happy to enjoy a glass
of their craft beer after walking 9.5 miles today.

Gabriel and Cathy were really generous with their time over the Memorial Day weekend and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Cathy and the kids—Alia (19), Ysee (17), and Nils (10). 

We hope they'll take us up on our invitation to come visit us on Bainbridge. Gabriel said he won't mention it to the girls right away, because Ysee is likely to immediately book a flight. I said we don't get home until June 4th and Gabriel smirked and said, "I'll tell her July 4th; you should be rested by then."

Gite Nature—Day 2

 A Lazy Sunday

We woke to a sunny morning that would prove to be another 80F (24C) day, our third in a row. Our only plans for the day are to have lunch with Gabriel's family at their home. And that's what we did. I only took a few pictures, because we were all enjoying a tasty Thai meal and lively conversation.

Sunday lunch at the Heusse home. Gabriel, Alia,
Cathy, Nils, Ysee, and Marie.

Gabriel and Cathy built their home 17
years ago. It's a stunner when you enter the 
front door. The peaked ceiling is three stories
high and you're greeted by a Madagascar
Traveler's Tree, a plant they brought back
home when it was a sapling 12 years ago.

They're going to have to move the plant

to the main floor as it's reached the ceiling.

Alia, Cathy, and Nils and the lunch spread
on the back deck. This picture doesn't do
justice to our Thai lunch. Gabriel and Cathy
lived in Rayon, Thailand while we were 
teaching there. Gabriel was doing his national
service and Cathy volunteered at a zoo, gaining
more experience as a veterinarian.

Yummy, Thai shrimp soup. 

Gabriel visited us in 1997 while we were teaching in Bangkok and they took their children to Thailand two years ago. 

The view from the back deck.

Back "home" later in the afternoon, we rested in the cool of our stone cottage. By 7PM we took advantage of the early evening breezes and strolled down the half mile lane to Le Cellier train platform. Cyclists and walkers were doing the same. There's nothing like greeting folks with "bon soir" (i.e. good evening) while walking a country lane in the Loire Valley.

Gite Nature—First Full Day

COVID Waning

Gabriel came over this morning to visit and discuss taking a hike and having his family come over for refreshments later today. He was unconcerned about COVID, because we'd be sitting outside in our courtyard and, like us, they've all been vaccinated.

The good news is that Marie hasn't had a fever now for 24 hours and is feeling better. In fact, she soldiered on during an 8.5 mile hike up behind our Gite through overgrown paths and meadows and through a wooded path down to the trail that parallels the railway and Loire River back to our accommodations. 

It was 80 today, so all of us were sweaty and tired afterward. We cooled down under the covered courtyard and then Gabriel jumped on his bike and headed home and we took showers and had a rest.

Around 7PM Gabriel, Cathy (his wife), Alia (19), Ysee (17), and Nils (10) arrived with nibblies and cool drinks and we added our snacks for a picnic and visit. This was our first time meeting Cathy and the children and this just doesn't seem possible. We shared stories and inquired about Alia and Ysee's academic plans. I couldn't tell if Nils understood much of the conversation in English yet, but he'll be studying English more in middle school and I suspect, over the next two or so years, he'll be joining in the conversation. Two hours flew by. Tomorrow we'll continue our visit at their house over lunch outside.

Gabriel and his family, like his brother's spouses and children, are so easy going, open, and friendly it feels like only a few days since our last visit. We seem to catch up quickly and carry on where we left off in person five years ago or from a recent email.

The hike behind Gite Nature.

There is no trail, but Gabriel assures us it's this way.

Looking across the Loire River from the trail.

Philippe and his dog Romeo bushwhack their
way to a lookout.

Marie is in the weeds but she's smiling!

Romeo cools off in the tall grass in the shade. Their
job done, Philippe and Romeo head back down to
Gite Nature. 

We take moment to enjoy this shady lookout over
the Loire River.

 

Refreshed we continue up and across the meadow.

Chateau de La Droitiere, 19th century former sanatorium, now a park.

Eventually, we find our way down a wooded path that
joins the tow path that parallels the rail lines.

Tunnel under the railway to the trail that leads to  

the Atlantic if you turn right and to our place and 

beyond to the left.

The Loire River up close while walking the tow 

path. I should mention here that the tow path was

used for hundreds of years to pull flat bottom barges

filled with goods up the river to Angers and Tours.

Go right to Mauves where Gabriel lives
or left to Le Cellier where we are.

After a shower and rest, Gabriel brought his family

to our place (Gite Nature) where we had a little nosh

and visit under our covered courtyard/games area. [Alia (19),

Marie, me, Cathy, Ysee (17), and Nils (10)].

Alia, Marie, Gabriel, Cathy, Ysee, and Nils. Unbelievably,
we were meeting Gabriel's family for the first time. It 
doesn't seem possible after all these years, but the last
time we saw Gabriel was 13 years ago. He was working
in Brest and commuting part time to Nantes where is family
lived. He met us at the brothers' shared summer house at
at Quiberon. Cathy and the kids were in Nantes so we didn't
see them then, because Gabriel had to drive back to Brest.
Even now, we are grateful he gave up a weekend with his then
young family to visit us.