Thursday was a travel day. We set off from our chateau at 9:30am with maps and a plan. According to google maps it was 4 1/2 hours to get to our destination (just north of Le Mans)... The plan went out the window in about 30 mins! When we got to the motorway on ramp for the high speed motorway that was supposed to take us 250kms there was a diversion sign. We travelled about 20 kms to the left and then 20 to the right back to the motorway... another on ramp with a diversion sign. Another 40kms to the right and I decided they were probably diverting us to the next motorway over. We kept going that direction and got on to the next main highway, but it was only bits of motorway and bits of slower road. Our plan for lunch in Orleans slipped by. We stopped in a town called Gien, which is on the Loire river. We had a nice lunch by the river and a very impressive bridge (below). There was just one more incident of note before we finally made our destination. We were traveling along a very, very flat, straight road and this old guy in an old car was tootling along in front. Grant passed him and out popped a couple of Gendarmes on motorbikes, as if from thin air. Apparently it was a no passing zone - 90E instant fine. The guy we passed pulled into the house where we had been pulled over and one of the Gendarmes had a good old natter to him. Were we set up? I guess we will never know, but it was all awfully suspicious. Anyways about 7 hours later we got to our destination, tired and I, at least, a bit over the whole driving thing.
Friday morning was an early start to head to our next accommodation and the bus pick up for 'open day' at Le Mans. The tour guys had offered to drop me in Le Mans town and I could join up with them there in the afternoon as they go into the town for the parade. However they had a spare general entry ticket and offered it to me, so I (shock, horror) went to the track too. We wandered around the manufactures' stands - there is a lot of marketing at these things, pits and general public areas. The where no cars racing, but all the main race cars were in the pits. Pit row takes about 55 cars and the guys were about 5-6 deep the whole length, all drooling. I swear if you look closely at the picture below you can see the drool dripping of their chins.
The time flew by and at 3:30 it was off in the bus to the town to watch the parade. What a dreary affair, even Grant thought so. It was supposed to start at 5:30, and (naturally) that was when the rain started. Motorbikes and old cars with drivers in the back dribbled through at about 1 every 15 mins. At about 7 we gave up and went and got some food, as much as anything to get out of the rain. When we finished at 8, the parade was just winding up. We did a quick hike around the old town and then back to the bus for the trip home.
Today Grant headed off to the track at about 9am and I sat down to work. A part from a jog into the centre of the town (Le Ferte-Bernard) I have been working all day! The weather is still cool, but at least not raining for now. I am expecting Grant home at about mid-night for a quick nap then he is off again in the morning.
Good to see that Margarita is making good progress.
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