StuAff
Silencing his legs regularly
- Location
- Portsmouth
Finally got round to part two of the ride report. Further installments will follow, probably no less sporadically.....
The chateau….blimey. What a place. Very fitting for the Fridays, I thought. Bit rambling, ramshackle in places, more than a little eccentric…and utterly fabulous. Mark & Helen had clearly done a lot of the work on the place, though at one and the same time they had hardly scratched the surface on what needed doing to it. Their future plans for the place sounded highly ambitious, more than a little unlikely to bear fruit, and I can only hope it works out well for them and the chateau. They were fine hosts, and it's an amazing place to spend time in. Anyone going there and expecting a boutique hotel standard would be disappointed. I didn't and I wasn't. The term 'shabby chic' usually means some interior designer taking a perfectly good piece and making it look rubbish. The chateau and outbuildings embody the term in the right way- more rustic, more lived-in and infinitely more charming.
Sunday was a bright and early start…quite literally for me. As became par for the course during the week, I slept somewhat sporadically and ended up waking at 5 or so. Not quite sure why. Despite that, I somehow seemed to be getting enough rest nonetheless. In any case, I was up in time to help out with the early morning run to the boulangerie in Brix. Now, postings from the recce suggested, Madame of the establishment was a positively divine figure. One might imagine one of the great French cinema goddesses behind the counter. Yes, and the lovely Samantha really does help out on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. Didn't meet the lady on that first day, and it would be no insult to her to say that when I did she couldn't match the hyperbole. The bread, though…for the first though certainly not the last time during the week, the reaction to the food that sprang to mind was Christoph Waltz in the opening scene of Inglorious Basterds when he tries the farmer's milk. 'Su-PERBE!'. This baker was an artisanal one (legal status in France reserved for those that make and prepare the dough entirely on the premises) and it showed. Utterly fantastic stuff. Well worth the trip, and the nasty little climb into town on the way there. Managed to lift the front wheel on the first run up there, thankfully that wasn't repeated in the rest of the week.
There was of course a ride…as far as I was concerned, all options to reduce the length of the day's ride would be politely declined, all options to extend it taken up. As it turned out, some of today's extension was somewhat accidental…Our route today took us north-east. A rather grey start, a touch of moisture in the air became the odd light shower, though that thankfully didn't last all day. Coffee stop was at Barfleur. And then on we went, south-east, to St Vaast La Hougue. At this point, Andy & Jo decided to cross the gates at the harbour entrance for a photo op. The gates then closed, and weren't going to be open again for a couple of hours. They had to make their way back along the harbour walls, which didn't take too long! Most of us then went to a fish restaurant. I'm not generally much of a fish eater, and I have a particular aversion to shellfish, but fish and chips (mai oui, en anglais) was on the menu. Went for that, very glad I did. Cue Mr Waltz again. It was the best fish & chips I've ever eaten. On the way back, I joined the splinter faction that headed south to Valognes in search of further refreshment. We eventually found an open bar (pretty much everything was closed) and after imbibing (sans alcool pour moi) we headed back to the chateau/gites as applicable. And my little group somehow took a wrong turning, not sure what my excuse was for that. And then dinner- the catering team (chateau section) laid out a remarkable spread of left-over pasta, plus cheese, bread, meats….No-one went hungry!
The chateau….blimey. What a place. Very fitting for the Fridays, I thought. Bit rambling, ramshackle in places, more than a little eccentric…and utterly fabulous. Mark & Helen had clearly done a lot of the work on the place, though at one and the same time they had hardly scratched the surface on what needed doing to it. Their future plans for the place sounded highly ambitious, more than a little unlikely to bear fruit, and I can only hope it works out well for them and the chateau. They were fine hosts, and it's an amazing place to spend time in. Anyone going there and expecting a boutique hotel standard would be disappointed. I didn't and I wasn't. The term 'shabby chic' usually means some interior designer taking a perfectly good piece and making it look rubbish. The chateau and outbuildings embody the term in the right way- more rustic, more lived-in and infinitely more charming.
Sunday was a bright and early start…quite literally for me. As became par for the course during the week, I slept somewhat sporadically and ended up waking at 5 or so. Not quite sure why. Despite that, I somehow seemed to be getting enough rest nonetheless. In any case, I was up in time to help out with the early morning run to the boulangerie in Brix. Now, postings from the recce suggested, Madame of the establishment was a positively divine figure. One might imagine one of the great French cinema goddesses behind the counter. Yes, and the lovely Samantha really does help out on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. Didn't meet the lady on that first day, and it would be no insult to her to say that when I did she couldn't match the hyperbole. The bread, though…for the first though certainly not the last time during the week, the reaction to the food that sprang to mind was Christoph Waltz in the opening scene of Inglorious Basterds when he tries the farmer's milk. 'Su-PERBE!'. This baker was an artisanal one (legal status in France reserved for those that make and prepare the dough entirely on the premises) and it showed. Utterly fantastic stuff. Well worth the trip, and the nasty little climb into town on the way there. Managed to lift the front wheel on the first run up there, thankfully that wasn't repeated in the rest of the week.
There was of course a ride…as far as I was concerned, all options to reduce the length of the day's ride would be politely declined, all options to extend it taken up. As it turned out, some of today's extension was somewhat accidental…Our route today took us north-east. A rather grey start, a touch of moisture in the air became the odd light shower, though that thankfully didn't last all day. Coffee stop was at Barfleur. And then on we went, south-east, to St Vaast La Hougue. At this point, Andy & Jo decided to cross the gates at the harbour entrance for a photo op. The gates then closed, and weren't going to be open again for a couple of hours. They had to make their way back along the harbour walls, which didn't take too long! Most of us then went to a fish restaurant. I'm not generally much of a fish eater, and I have a particular aversion to shellfish, but fish and chips (mai oui, en anglais) was on the menu. Went for that, very glad I did. Cue Mr Waltz again. It was the best fish & chips I've ever eaten. On the way back, I joined the splinter faction that headed south to Valognes in search of further refreshment. We eventually found an open bar (pretty much everything was closed) and after imbibing (sans alcool pour moi) we headed back to the chateau/gites as applicable. And my little group somehow took a wrong turning, not sure what my excuse was for that. And then dinner- the catering team (chateau section) laid out a remarkable spread of left-over pasta, plus cheese, bread, meats….No-one went hungry!