All the days blurred together

Friday June 21st:  Old Town, 24 hrs of Le Mans and Creperie

Saturday June 22nd:  Le Mans tour de france and music fest
rabbit foix gras

Sunday June 23rd:  Leave Le Mans (with Haizea) for Spain via Capbreton. The search for surf begins for Karen

Arrive at the haunted mansion/castle around 4pm. (200 eu for both rooms included wifi and breakfast).  Perfect lodging and meal at green restaurant Ma Cabane sur la port, with cork bar 122eu.  Hossugar/capbreton with gigantic souped up waves like morro bay. 

Biarritz, France? or basque region?

shopping in biarritz

Laredo Spain

Laredo, Spain Monday June 24th:

Drove from Besseme-Maremne to Biarritz for fancy shopping and a look at the surf.  bought hat and bag at Papa Pique et Maman Coud.  Also bought expensive chocolate and hat and bag and towel then headed to Bilbao (home of the guggenheim museum).  Big city, couldnt find a restaurant until we found La Parada (the stop), 10 eu for 3 plates, less than flunch the day before.....

Another hour drive to Laredo, beautiful city on the sea.  Staying at the Perez’s apartment on the 9th floor.  Quick walk to the beach and pick up esssentials (wine, nutella, bread and shorts for Tomas).


Tuesday June 25th Surfing in Berria/Laredo, Spain

St.Jacques des compastelle trail (road to santiago)

Day16 Le Mans 24hrs

June 21:
Another amazing race-esque experience, Karen decides she wants to see the track where the actual race is held.  We take the tram about 20 minutes outside the city then walk about 2 miles past drunk tourists and campgrounds and parking lots.  There is no way to even catch a glimpse of the track without paying 70 euros for a ticket.  We settle for the gift shop swag.  Last ditch effort we see the Audi "Hotel" across a parking lot and search for an audi jacket or other souvenirs.... 15 minute hike later we meet a nice lady, but no swag here sorry.  next time by a pass.  How can it get worse you might say?  How about the tram ride back squished like sardines in with 200 or so of the 250,000 people that come to le mans from all over the world.....Race is tomorrow, we will not be there.

still no swag

See below to see why this man is smiling

Audi fan, tom considers taking his jacket...

Tom gets flagged through to join "Pilot's Parade"

A little relief at the Audi hotel but no jackets for sale ... free pen though...
Daily tally:  lunch in pantageres at restaurant with Fricasee (local sarthe region) $118 eu
coffee 18 eu
parking :  free before our parade appearance because carte ne marche pas. 
tram 6 eu
Creperie:  Tom tries andouille again!  does he not remember Paris??  Perez family treats
Wine at Auchon:  33 eu
champagne Cyrille David Brut
Auchon wine shopping:  Domaine Les Terrasses du Belvedere, Carianne, cotes du rhone villages
Domaine Dopff Pinot Gris

Day 15: thursday chambery to LeMans

day 15 thursday june 20th:  driving from chambery france to St. Saturnin, near Le Mans.

Karens first driving of the audi (maybe 60 miles).  rain all day.  wrong turn on the last freeway (ha!) exit of our 7 hour journey sets us 22 miles off route, and 10 euros more in tolls, and minor breakdown (IWS again) from Tomas.  Many more bathroom breaks than usual, until dad figures out the kids are getting free wifi at rest stops and are reloading their status's or whatever they do that needs wifi.  But we have another great meal hosted by Haizea's family, followed by short band practice.

Tolls:  at least 60 eu
Breakfast included in Brit hotel chambery 125 eu for both rooms
Car games played guess the object with your feet and toes.  play with tomas webbed toes and pointing practice.

Lunch en route 20 eu

Day 14: June 19th, wednesday

Another castle Karen will never get to see but looks good in photo

 Chambery, France for a quick overnight stop en route to le mans from Genova, Italy.

June 19th Tom, leaving Genova, drives down one way street in front of Policia station.  He is yelled at in Italian by multiple dock workers and the Police officer.  Still riled and driving through the Alps  the Policia pull alon side and give hand unknonwn hand gestures.   By now Tom is very flustered and has to stop for a break in the bathroom pulls the cord hanging from the ceiling to flush the toilet but it turns out this is the  emergency cord....  He tried to tip the maitre dee to let him know that he is sorry for setting off the alarm - but this is insulting and he chases Tom out of restaurant to return the  fifty cents.

So ... off to France.  We are greeted at the border by people in uniform waving us one way and then another and finally into the entirely wrong lane that requires a card to get through and no one to raise the gate.  Finally Tom gets out and and talks to people in car behind him.  OK  -- everyone needs to back up and let me out of here.

When we finally get to the correct lane they smile and say $60 to drive through a tunnel.  Granted this was a nice tun but.... we are not sure who is ripping us off more, the italians or the french for their road use?

We stop in chambery thinking it looks like a nice village in the alps about half way between genova and le Mans (11 hours total) but it is a big historic city with not much parking.  Tourist info finds us Brit Hotel near shopping mall outside of town and it's a perfect french version of a motel 6 -- sheer luxury to us after living aboard the Il Gioia for 3 nights, showering at the public pool without shampoo and praying every morning the public restroom will open early..... 

Fondue and typical Savoie dishes (grilled trout, perch and some type of steak as the kids meal).  Tomas has a rough night, we learn he is terrified of gnats or small flies.  as well as can't chew steak very well.

Le Lac du Bourget? 

day 14?June 18th genova pidocchio

Day 14:  Genova/Porto Pidocchio
Sailing the 53 ft yacht to Pidocchio.  Whole town inaccessable by car , built by monkeys (we think he meant donkeys).  Bennie and Fausto are friends that met at Bennies tavern Zaccaria).  They share their dream of sailing around the world.  (Fausto may not make it if the pigmented lesion is melanoma and not a BCC).  We ate fish heads on top of the world.... Joe orders anchovies 3 ways.....(166eu).  We swim back to the boat after tide pooling and being attacked in water by a german shepherd.  FAbulous cliff diving pictured below LOL!!! 

At La Mandragola restaurant we eat saffron pasta with short noodles trofie with saffron and ham and potatoes for Joe.  Tom has spinach gnocietti with a side of ham dropped from the balcony above 20 stories up when some one shakes table cloth out the window.  ..... Mama has a variety of tortes with cheese and mojito with tabasco from bennie’s bar. Mamma feeds dog under the table.

We confirmed Karen has cross cultural dog sense...and that tom cannot handle any wine in any way shape or form -- he sleeps on entire return trip.  I lost my sunglasses in the porto antico ....

  Bennie then invites us to explore the Tavern including the inner caverns of the cave in a building built inside the remains of other buildings and walls from castles over the thousands of years. (Grandfathered before codes violations existed.)  He shows us the underground dungeon with a weird crypt like swimming bathhouse where they have rage parties in winter????? very strange and medieval .  1100’s

Pasta genovese for tomas....very different from erins on the beach earlier today.   (166 euros in podicchio, 56 eu in old town, free drinks from the tavern.


We sleep on a boat by vrbo:  150 eu/night, 250 eu for excursion to Podicchio.  Everyone sleeps well on boat.  It was hot an humid -- all portals and hatches are open but no breeze.  The Genoa harbor is rocking at night - great blues band.  Erin sleeps on deck and under the stars and has best sleep of life.