They Drive Like amerikanas...

http://www.bridgetjonesmovie.com

We drove the countryside from Rouen to a small town near Alencon, France. The driving has been not too bad, but there are many round-abouts. We have named the GPS Bridget on account of her British accent. Nikole has adopted a British accent and has become a little irritating. Everything is now stated with the accent… but she is driving so we just ignore her… neither of us want to drive.

She has done pretty good, and has only surprised the French a couple of times – one time included turning too wide and ending up on the railroad tracks – but for the most part she has done very well. We have BMW that does everything which compounds the driving. It is a standard car and it seems to believe that it can do a better job at driving then Nikole. Occasionally, it believes she is not at a high enough RPM for the gear she is in, so it gives itself gas… which can be a little frightening…

The BMW - navigated by Bridget, driven by Nikole...

And like in Alaska, Bridgette is from the trickster corbeau clan (French for raven)… and insists in her accent that the road does exist. You see, the problem here is that the roads are really winding and narrow and lots of cobble stone, and even roads that seem only as wide as the bike path in Anchorage. The straight roads cost a toll to drive on. To drive from Paris to Bordeaux in tolls was about 50 euros, and with the dollar as weak as it is, it was spendy. We decided to take the roads without tolls… it added nearly 3 hours to the drive. Since we were not in a hurry, we enjoyed the countryside from several angles. Eventually though, we needed to stop for the night, and Bridget from the raven trickster clan led us to what she claimed was a hotel, which was really a barn and a closed down restaurant… and it was in the middle of nowhere on a country road… we had visions of the movie An American Werewolf in London… and several different zombie flicks. We ended up staying at a small French truck-stop, where no English was spoken, but the universal hand gestures for a cold beer were clearly understood.

We spent the next day driving some more before we made it to Bordeaux, a large city surrounded by large vineyards, and some of the greatest wine producers in the world.

We made a slight detour in Cognac to sample cognac... very beautiful place. Many of the villages have a medieval center, where all the buildings are very old, and then spread out to new architecture. Cognac was no different.


Cognac anyone?


Many old buildings... and road hazards that go with them...

Let the wine tasting begin!

Saturday is the start of the Medoc Marathon… I invite you to check out the website… here is an English version… from the 7 continents club… of which someday the 3 of us hope to be proud completers!

Here is what we signed up to do - Marathon du Medoc:

Few marathons are in a class of their own. Le Marathon des Chateaux du Medoc on September 10, 2011 is one. Routed through 59 vineyards in the fabled villages of the Medoc region, this event appeals to the true connoisseur of fine runs. Where else do they ask you at the aid stations, "red or white Madame?"

http://www.marathontour.com/index.cfm/page/Marathon-du-Medoc-/pid/10347

We walked by the start of tomorrows marathon...