Bachwig travellers: France and Spain...Day 1 and 2

It was time for the next big adventure for Bachwig travellers. We had decided to return to France...so the question was where in France and would be add on a small visit to another country? During a tapa's meal one night Bruce and I were inspired by he waitress to add Barcelona onto the trip so this holiday became ...our Franc and Spain trip.

Day 1 - Airports

Friday, 21 September 2012
Well...we are on our way! We took our car to the Airport and Granpop drove it home. Air NZ checking was it's usual easy process as was NZ customs. After a nice early dinner in the lounge onto the 777. REALLY nice decor and, for economy, great seats. They are really well designed with a clean lines and great technology. Touch screens with a nice shelf underneath for storing things like your glasses. We were fortunate to secure seats which were the first row of three behind a two...giving Bruce tons of leg room. Michael after reading for a little went straight to sleep.... And after dinner so did Bruce and I. Overall a great flight with good service. Vert impressed.
We were late landing ...but by the time we cleared customs, picked up luggage, transferred it, walked to Tom Bradley terminal, checked. In and queed for ages in customs...we had time to buy a quick sandwich and water...then here we are on the Air France A380. We'll...decor wide...so dated. We'll see how the flight goes...
Oh...I forgot to talk about the fact that we saw the Space Shuttle on top of a 747 at Los Angeles Airport. On it's way to a museum. Bruce was very excited.

Day 2 - Arriving and exploring

La Chapelle-sur-Crécy

Saturday, 22 September 2012
We've arrived! Air France was very very average. Food wasn't great, slow service, average quality entertainment system and the recline didn't work well on the seats. good toilets and plenty of them though. overall if i had to take that flight again...i would but if there was another option -then I would consider it. The timing was awesome though - we arrived 1130am Saturday and that left plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day.
It took nearly an hour just to get through customs ..a really slow queue. CDG is a nice airport. Well signposted and, apart from the customs queue, we found it efficient. Interestingly, one of the guests at the Chambre D'Hote, John, said his colleagues at work all say CDG is the worst European Airport and they all avoid it.
Getting the car was SO easy ...we called the number using a public phone and they told us which entrance number to go to. we waited there about 15 minutes and the transport vehicle picked us up. quick piece of paperwork and our lovely black Peugeout 308 was waiting for us. michael loves the glass roof which has a cover for when you are parked. actually..ti think we all love it! it is remarkably spacious though it is lucky we changed my original suitcase for.A slightly smaller one just before we left. They gave us good instructions for leaving the depot and getting to the Gas station to fill up with diesel...the car only comes with a little bit of fuel. It had only been driving 9 k's when we got it! Now we just need to work out all the bells and whistles.
The GPS worked well and our short journey (i think about 45 k's) started to Le Moulin de Saint Martin. We stopped in a village (st Germain I think) on the way for savouries and patisserie.and Bernard says we made a good choice! The villages started getting prettier and prettier and then we arrived at Crecy La Chapelle which very very pretty. The Moulin is gorgeous and you reach it by walking over a wooden bridge across the river..or is it.a stream? So we're on a. Little island here! We got an upgrade! Our room is called Les Ondines and is really specious..with a small divider between our section with the double bed and Michael's which has two singles. It is on the second floor which is where our original room Les Nymphs is. this is where john and his son Dan are staying. Dan is 5 and John brought him over to do Disneyland. We have a lovely view from one window and the bathroom of the river.
After a well needed shower we went for a lovely walk in the village. We are in the Valley of the Artists and there are information boards all throughout the village about what and where there have been significant artists and paintings. Michael was a bit grumpy at first..all he wanted to do was read his book. ( which is such a good problem to have) but he eventually settled and we had a lovely time. We then came back and rested a little before dinner. Mark and Dan arrived back from Disneyland and the boys played together for a bit. During that time it was quite cool to be Facebooking with Wendy and shopping stories with her! They are staying somewhere gorgeous in Beaune - but way more expensive than here. Unfortunately they have to stay away from stairs because of her mum so it restricts where they can stay.
We had a lovely dinner together served by Bernard and cooked by Agnes. There was an incredible tart for entree...I think with goats cheese in it. I was surprised by how much Michael loved it. Then salmon with an incredible Creme sauce with beans and potatoes, salads and cheese for the adults, and an incredible rich chocolate slice (I'm struggling to describe it but it was delicious. As I was going to bed Agnes and Bernard told me how impressed they are with Michael's French. They say his confidence DNA d accent are really good...they get many little English guests who talk with their English accents. I will e mail Katia...she will be proud!

	Michael outside Le Moulin de Saint Martin [Map]		There are a number of lovely outdoor seating areas [Map]
	One if the many bridges that cross the stream [Map]		Thought these flowers were cute! [Map]
	Bruce...a rare moment without camera in hand! [Map]		Flowers on the bridge...all the road bridges have [Map]
	Awesome piece of art! [Map]		Strolling through the village [Map]