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<blockquote data-quote="BillB" data-source="post: 2413796" data-attributes="member: 9985"><p>Great cheering from the Bill and Jackie household. For the first time since the Coronavid outbreak we were able to visit our son in France, where he has created his own business, in partnership with his wife, on the Ile d’Oléron. This island is France’s second largest island after Corsica and produces considerable quantities of seafood and shellfish, principally oysters, mussels, crabs, clams, scampi, shrimp of various colours and sizes, scallops, whelks, winkles and cockles. Fish also play a large role in the island’s economy and it doesn’t seem to matter what time of day you look out over the sea you will be able to spot small fishing boats about their business.</p><p></p><p>Cod, sea bass, monkfish, daurade, anchovies, herring and mackerel form the greater part of their live fish catch.</p><p></p><p>Now that Jackie and I have received both Pfizer vaccinations and have received the certificates to prove it from the Luxembourg government, combined with a loosening of the French entry requirements meant that we could take advantage of the end of the quiet season for our son’s company to occupy one of his apartments for 10 days or so.</p><p></p><p>The autoroutes were fairly quiet - in some places virtually non-existent, except around Paris whre it was also lighter than usual, though still pretty formidable. To break the almost 900 km journey I booked a room at the Relais de Chambord with dinner included. We checked in around 3 p.m. and took a break after our 5 hour drive. We freshened up after relaxing for an hour and went down to the bar for a drink. We sat on the terrace facing the Chateau de Chambord with its amazing array of chimneys and truly felt reinvigorated as we sipped our drinks and watched the passing parade of visitors.</p><p></p><p>Dinner that evening could be taken either on the terrace or in the dining room. Neither of us enjoy sitting outside to eat so we settled for the dining room where we received excellent service and a memorable meal.</p><p></p><p>When we ordered our apéritifs our waitress looked at Jackie and said “Hendricks and Fever Tree tonic?” Jackie was astonished that she remembered us from our previous visit which had been before the series of lockdowns began. She looked at me and I sensed a hesitation so I was about to say “whisky” but only got as far as forming the letter W when I saw her face change and she said, “Whisky without ice.”</p><p></p><p>When she came back wth our drinks she was carrying with them a small ice bucket full of ice cubes. She had even remembered that Jackie loved a lot of ice in her G&T. We congratulated her on her memory and she paid us a remarkable compliment - “Some guests really stay in your memory,” she said. We were quite touched and as she wasn’t busy we chatted to her for a while, asking her about her career, her life and hometown.</p><p></p><p>Back in our room we made the most of the spare time on our personal terrace, which is surrounded by hedges but gave us an uninterrupted view of the chateau. After a while we thought we should take a look at the gift shop which is just a few metres from the hotel. I particularly wanted to visit this shop because it stocks my favourite French mustard and thus to see what flavours were available there. We had a wander round, picking up of a jar of basil flavoured mustard, some table mats and a couple of fridge magnets (essential gifts for relatives who come to visit, though sadly fewer than before the pandemic).</p><p></p><p>For dinner that night we had a choice of seating, either on the terrace or inside the restaurant. We settled for the restaurant as neither of us particularly enjoys sitting outside as the sun goes down. That’s the time the mosquitoes and every other kind of biting insect, gather hungrily, eying my bare arms, neck, and any other part of my dermis which is exposed.</p><p></p><p>This hotel never disappoints us and it didn’t let us down this time, either. It being fairly quiet we were on the receiving end of excellent, attentive service and then were able to chat to some of the staff who had served us on our previous visits, keeping up to date with marriages, births and moves for job changes.</p><p></p><p>Sleep that night was long and uninterrupted so we arrived at the restaurant for breakfast after most other guests had eaten and left. As we had broken the back of the overall journey the day before we were in no hurry to get back on the road so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and a repacking of our overnight bag before paying our bill and striking out for the Autoroute.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BillB, post: 2413796, member: 9985"] Great cheering from the Bill and Jackie household. For the first time since the Coronavid outbreak we were able to visit our son in France, where he has created his own business, in partnership with his wife, on the Ile d’Oléron. This island is France’s second largest island after Corsica and produces considerable quantities of seafood and shellfish, principally oysters, mussels, crabs, clams, scampi, shrimp of various colours and sizes, scallops, whelks, winkles and cockles. Fish also play a large role in the island’s economy and it doesn’t seem to matter what time of day you look out over the sea you will be able to spot small fishing boats about their business. Cod, sea bass, monkfish, daurade, anchovies, herring and mackerel form the greater part of their live fish catch. Now that Jackie and I have received both Pfizer vaccinations and have received the certificates to prove it from the Luxembourg government, combined with a loosening of the French entry requirements meant that we could take advantage of the end of the quiet season for our son’s company to occupy one of his apartments for 10 days or so. The autoroutes were fairly quiet - in some places virtually non-existent, except around Paris whre it was also lighter than usual, though still pretty formidable. To break the almost 900 km journey I booked a room at the Relais de Chambord with dinner included. We checked in around 3 p.m. and took a break after our 5 hour drive. We freshened up after relaxing for an hour and went down to the bar for a drink. We sat on the terrace facing the Chateau de Chambord with its amazing array of chimneys and truly felt reinvigorated as we sipped our drinks and watched the passing parade of visitors. Dinner that evening could be taken either on the terrace or in the dining room. Neither of us enjoy sitting outside to eat so we settled for the dining room where we received excellent service and a memorable meal. When we ordered our apéritifs our waitress looked at Jackie and said “Hendricks and Fever Tree tonic?” Jackie was astonished that she remembered us from our previous visit which had been before the series of lockdowns began. She looked at me and I sensed a hesitation so I was about to say “whisky” but only got as far as forming the letter W when I saw her face change and she said, “Whisky without ice.” When she came back wth our drinks she was carrying with them a small ice bucket full of ice cubes. She had even remembered that Jackie loved a lot of ice in her G&T. We congratulated her on her memory and she paid us a remarkable compliment - “Some guests really stay in your memory,” she said. We were quite touched and as she wasn’t busy we chatted to her for a while, asking her about her career, her life and hometown. Back in our room we made the most of the spare time on our personal terrace, which is surrounded by hedges but gave us an uninterrupted view of the chateau. After a while we thought we should take a look at the gift shop which is just a few metres from the hotel. I particularly wanted to visit this shop because it stocks my favourite French mustard and thus to see what flavours were available there. We had a wander round, picking up of a jar of basil flavoured mustard, some table mats and a couple of fridge magnets (essential gifts for relatives who come to visit, though sadly fewer than before the pandemic). For dinner that night we had a choice of seating, either on the terrace or inside the restaurant. We settled for the restaurant as neither of us particularly enjoys sitting outside as the sun goes down. That’s the time the mosquitoes and every other kind of biting insect, gather hungrily, eying my bare arms, neck, and any other part of my dermis which is exposed. This hotel never disappoints us and it didn’t let us down this time, either. It being fairly quiet we were on the receiving end of excellent, attentive service and then were able to chat to some of the staff who had served us on our previous visits, keeping up to date with marriages, births and moves for job changes. Sleep that night was long and uninterrupted so we arrived at the restaurant for breakfast after most other guests had eaten and left. As we had broken the back of the overall journey the day before we were in no hurry to get back on the road so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and a repacking of our overnight bag before paying our bill and striking out for the Autoroute. [/QUOTE]
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