We were up, showered, dressed and out by 9am this morning, after having a good night's sleep. It was a gorgeous morning and beautifully cool. We took a lovely road, passing through the village of Citerne, where we saw a fairytale chateau. The roads were empty, and fields and woods stretched away into the distance. In one village, a man on a cycle nodded to us, which was lovely!
We filled up with petrol at a handy 24-hour garage and headed for Rouen on the autoroute, briefly using part of the Sanef "free-flow" section, so I had to remind myself to pay the toll later in the day. The roads weren't too bad, but became busier once we reached the outskirts of Rouen, where the motorway ended. We drove through a tunnel and then skirted the outer suburbs in quite heavy traffic.
Sophie was using Jeeves again, and he did a great job of taking me on roads to avoid Paris! Once past Rouen, we set the map for Chartres, passing through Évreux and Dreux. We used a mix of single-carriageway roads, dual carriageways (the N154) and motorways, which made the journey interesting.
Green tunnels
Once we had cleared Chartres, we took the A10 to Orléans and then the A71, which was like a long green tunnel, the forest being so dense on either side. It was quite boring as there were no views, just trees, mile after mile. The temperature had climbed since this morning, and it was now hovering around 30c. We had stopped just once for a coffee and breakfast, using up some of the picnic from yesterday. Sophie went to the loo and it was just as bad as she feared!
We turned off the A71 and headed for Nancay, continuing on roads lined with dense forest. We were now in the Solange, made famous by the novel, Le Grand Meaulnes, and known for its empty countryside, marshes and pools.
We passed through a pretty town called Neuvy-sur-Barangeon and carried on through yet more forested roads that were empty of cars. The host at our Airbnb in La Chapelle d'Angillon said she would meet us at 2pm, and we groaned. We much prefer lock boxes so we can arrive without having to have a long guided tour of the house when we're all dying for the loo!
No towels!
We found the house easily and pulled into a grassy driveway. The house looked lovely, with shuttered windows and a pretty garden at the back. Our host was already there and showed us around, saying she had forgotten to turn on the air-conditioning in the two upstairs bedrooms. They were stiflingly hot!
Just before she left, she asked if we had "serviettes de toilette," and, being a bit slow, I thought she meant loo roll, so I nodded. No, she was asking if we had towels, and we hadn't, unless you counted the two beach towels sitting in the main case!
We unpacked the car in the heat - now about 35c - and sat in the cool living room with a drink and something to eat. We hadn't expected it to be this hot, so we changed our plans for visiting the chateau this afternoon. We couldn't face trawling about in the heat.
We decided to head for the local Carrefour, though, about eight miles away, down a long straight road bordered by yet more forest. Our original plan had been to cook a pasta dish, but we swiftly changed that to cold meats and salad! We were just glad the house was cool, and we had adjusted the bedroom temperatures down to 16c and turned up the fans.
Once at Carrefour, we bought a bath towel, two hand towels and a couple of flannels. We needed them for Chablis anyway, on the way home, and they will come in useful as some of our towels are ready for the rag pile! We also bought bread, ham, chicken, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, a made-up salad and tabbouleh for tonight's dinner. Keith hunted down some beer, while I found a bottle of sparkling Vouvray. Some mini lemon cheesecakes also went into the trolley as a treat.
We headed back, encountering both a tanker and a tractor, but the tractor turned off before I had a chance to overtake. The road was straight and empty, anyway! When we arrived back at the house, a wasp flew into the car, which made me jump out pretty sharpish! Luckily, we were able to get it out, unpack and then relax!
Music?
Later in the afternoon, Sophie and I played Scrabble, and she scored 86 points with her first word! I hadn't a hope, or so I thought, but I actually went on to beat her! Keith was sitting outside, and when I popped out to see if he was OK and wanted a drink, I noticed loud music coming from somewhere. I thought at first it was a neighbour playing something awful, but as the evening wore on and we all sat outside with a drink, we suspected it was a music festival. The "music" was truly awful, like a loud rave, and we couldn't believe that this quiet little village would host such an event. Of course, it was the summer solstice, and we saw adverts for music festivals all over France when we Googled what was happening. I bet they weren't all as bad as the one near us, though!
We enjoyed a lovely dinner and sat outside until we couldn't bear the music anymore! By now, the upstairs bedrooms were deliciously cool, so it was time to read and then bed!
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