We quit our hotel & got around to the airport (via cab - cute cab driver who speaks no English) & to the Hertz counter.
The guy at the counter was so helpful & we talked about why we were collecting the car at Toulouse & dropping it off Bordeaux. He got out the map and highlighted places we should visit. So we headed out to the lot to collect the very nice little manual Renault Clio. However its GPS wasn't working so we headed back to the office to ask what we needed to do. After some back & forward & wonderful French customer service we ended up with an automatic Mercedes B180 diesel with a working GPS. The changeover was the price of the GPS - about Eu120 - so a great deal! And it drives really well. I'd love to keep it.
We drove south just over 100 kms to Carcassonne - a place I've wanted to see for over 25 years. However I'd have to say that it was a bit underwhelming compared with my expectations. Having said that, the view from a distance and the layout of an original medieval town are something to see.
So - having driven just over 100 kms we turned around and then went back through Toulouse and north to Couze-et-st-front - via Bergerac. Total driving - 450kms - all on the "wrong" side of the road. While we were following the invaluable GPS it still had a degree of difficulty that always occurs on the 1st day of such driving. The 1st 20kms through the city was tricky, the freeways were a breeze, but the last 120 kms navigating through many minor towns & villages with the speed limit varying from 30-90 kph was a challenge.
And some day I may relate the joys of navigating the tolls booths on the freeway - I think I set some sort of record in getting it wrong. The toll road company may make a movie about how not to do things & if so it will star me.
But we learnt lots & we made it!! - whew.
As it was about 5:15 when we arrived we called into the local store in the town to pick up supplies to at least get by tomorrow (Sunday). We found that much of the staples we'd purchased were already in the house - so we can contribute to the ongoing stores in the house.
The house is wonderful - a quaint, small cottage on two levels that is wonderful. You can check out some info about it here.
We got ourselves sorted, but after a long day we decided to walk down to the cafe/pub/restaurant on the main street. We were surprised how amazing it is. Really quality food in such small town - incredible. We're in foie gras country so I couldn't help having a serve - nothing like the legendary local produce! We'll re-visit, but are also committed to cooking at home a bit too.
So now we're here for a quiet week. We've already noted a 4+Km round trip walk to Lalinde which we'll do tomorrow, but generally it will be a quiet time.
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