Leisure Valley RV Resort
The last day of our Paris to Normandy stay in St. Malo started out early. After verifying with Isabelle that our luggage had been delivered to the lobby, we said au revoir to Brittany and boarded the bus.
As soon as we departed, Isabelle followed up with information she'd given us the night before about Air France going on strike. She said she'd called the home office and they were working on rescheduling everyone on those flights. I told her that we received an e-mail from Air France that our flight was disrupted and not to go to the airport until we were rebooked.
France is known for its demonstrations and strikes. When we were staying at the Crowne Plaza in Paris during our pre-trip we noticed some kind of demonstration every day in Republic Square.
Isabelle also announced that the Metro and RER were on strike, so Paris traffic would be worse.
Our flight was scheduled for 10:20 am. I watched the clock waiting for the 24 hours before check in. Some of the group had earlier flights, so they were checked in before us. One couple who had a Delta flight operated by Air France was able to check in. I breathed a sigh of relief, but it didn't last long. Isabelle came back and said their flight had been cancelled, but Grand Circle had already re-booked. They were shocked that Isabelle had this taken care of before the airline had even notified them.
Finally it was time to check in. Did I mention that the bus has WIFI? I was able to check in. I don't know if I was happy or sad that we wouldn't be extending our trip.
Everyone that had a cancelled flight was rescheduled and I could see that Isabelle was smiling again. She spent a lot of time on the phone getting the information for everyone affected.
The French cookies and candy were handed out by Isabelle while we watched the beautiful countryside roll by.
I think I might have found the right brand for him.
Desperados sounded like something he'd like. I thought it was plain beer but was served with a lemon. It is beer and tequila with 5.9 alcohol.
The Chartres was build over 800 years ago.
There are over 150 stained glass windows depicting stories from the Bible.
These hand carved statues have recently been cleaned.
We had an excellent local guide show us around. Hard to believe this could be constructed this well to withstand over 800 years.
After the Chartres, we boarded the bus for the last time for our ride back to Paris. It was almost 6 pm when the bus arrived at the Novotel hotel near the airport due to the heavier than usual traffic due to the metro strike.
We were on our own for dinner. The hotel had a nice looking restaurant but Isabelle said she knew of a better place. She'd made reservations for 15 us for dinner in a nearby village.
We were to meet her in the lobby at 6:45 for a short walk to the restaurant. She lead us behind the hotel and across a park and into a quaint little village. I probably would have stayed at the hotel, if it wasn't that George and Linda were going. It had been another long day, but you don't want to miss anything.
Once we walked into the restaurant, it was packed. One thing about the French, they know how to have a good time. We had told Isabelle we wanted a table for four and it was ready when we arrived.
Au revoir!
Turtle Safely.....
I love the Chartres. Isabelle is definitely the gal you want with you in case of emergency. What a great leader.
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