Saturday, October 17, 2015

Pyrenees : Part 8 - Day 4 Morning : Orleans

Day 4 (Morning) of Pyrenees Drive

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 4.

Route: Bois de Boulogne, Paris -- Orleans (stop for lunch)

Must-Incur Costs :
(1) Parking in Orleans - EUR3.20 (2 hours)
(2) Petrol in Orleans - EUR67.39 (last filled in Wildeshousen, Germany on Day 2)

The Story

040915: We left Indigo Paris at 10.45am. Dismantled the tent and packed everything in the car. Oh how I will miss a flat bed for the next few days. Driving out of Paris was difficult, as there was a very bad traffic. We took an hour to get out of Paris and headed to Loire Valley.

The Loire Valley spanning 280 kilometres, is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. It is referred to as the Cradle of the French and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards (such as cherries), and artichoke and asparagus fields, which line the banks of the river. The valley includes historic towns such as Amboise, Angers, Blois, Chinon, OrlĂ©ans, Saumur, and Tours. (Source from Wikipedia)

The drive was lovely, as always, despite the gloomy skies and dark clouds. It did look like it was going to rain, but thank goodness, it did not. It was pretty cold, most definitely.



We reached Orleans in time for a late lunch. We found a parking spot and gagged at the price of the parking fee. EUR3.20 for 2 hours. Luckily, we are sharing costs! We did not explore the entire town. We were in time to see a flea market being set up, though. That was my first encounter with a flea market, and I wandered how difficult it must be for the owners to part with their belongings. 

Guess who is in Orleans? Joan of Arc also known as the Maid of Orleans - a heroine of France known for her role during the Lancastrian phase (third phase) of the Hundred Years' War, and was canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Her statue was in the main square of the town.

 



 


  
 



Lunch in a restaurant. It was the first restaurant we entered for our trip. Time to taste some local French food. Expensive local French food. I did like the wall decorations and the paintings.


 

 



Time to eat! I ordered a lunch set - appetiser : fried smelt (which is actually a huge version of anchovies) that came with toasted bread and sauce (can't remember the name of the sauce) but the smelt tasted good being fried. It was so filing. The main course is roasted chicken with potatoes and large pieces of onions. When I saw this dish, it looked like a Chinese dish that I used to have during my younger days, but this time, it is sort of tasteless. For dessert, I had floating island with almonds. I think it is made of egg white. With all these much food, I wondered how do the French women maintained their slim figures.

My friend had a camembert that came with olive oil and toasted bread. This dish is basically cheese and just cheese. I took one spoon and felt it was enough for me. We also got complimentary water and bread. Our lunch came to EUR29.60. *don't convert, don't convert* 






 
 

After that filing meal, we have to continue our drive. Next stop - Ambois!

2 comments:

P.H. said...

After the meal at the restaurant, I had to go and... eh, wash my hands. And the staff was closing and thought you was the last one leaving. So when had... washed my hands, the entrance door was already locked, and was finding the staff cleaning the kitchen. Some of the French restaurants has strange opening hours.

That 'Heart' Traveller said...

Or you could have stayed and sampled some lovely French food. Be a French chef for a day. It was 4pm only though. Or maybe our order allow the restaurant to hit the KPI for the day... so they close early. Haha