The Cat's Meow...

So the plan was to get up early and be on to our next destination. Instead, we took our time. We walked along Rue Cler, got breakfast, and watched the street vendors open up for the day.

Rue Cler market

Bret was a little concerned that we should be leaving early, but he didn’t know why he felt like that- maybe just a little anxious. Around 11, we went to check out and the boys went to get our car. Over a half an hour later, the boys returned- no car. Bret was so upset with himself. Apparently, they gave away our car because we didn’t show up in time. The people at the car rental company we not helpful at all, and they didn’t have any cars under $500 each- and we needed two cars. Thank goodness, we were able to find a better place closer to rent from. It was a small company owned by a nice Italian family. The two cars we got ended up being cheaper than the one we had reserved in the first place.

While Bret and Shawn were getting the cars, we were overstaying our welcome at our hotel. By this time we had been sitting in the entry for a couple hours, and the concierge named Bernard asked us to leave after lunch. Needless to say, we were even more worried the more the time passed that we would be kicked out on the streets in the hot weather. Well apparently there was a misunderstanding and once we paid for our rooms and told him about our car, he totally changed. He had us move into the beautiful courtyard (way better than the front room). We got beers and sandwiches and listened to music- they played The Girl from Ipanema in french. Billy fell asleep sitting upright, and they brought lounge chairs for us to sleep in. It was wonderful- but it was the calm before the storm..

Billy the bag-watcher. Homeless and car-less!

Around 3 or so, the boys finally returned from getting our cars. You could tell they were a little on edge, but we knew driving in Paris wasn’t going to be a scenic drive on Sunday afternoon. Bret & I, and Billy & Teri were in one car with the directions- and Shawn and Emily following us. Within 2 streets, we lost Shawn. We then proceeded to drive around Paris for 30 more minutes, getting even more lost. We drove back to the hotel to call Shawn. As we pulled back up to the hotel, the same concierge starts laughing at us and asked us if we forgot to pay the bill. We are now waiting for Shawn to return- and as you can imagine, things are a little tense in our car. We are all trying to stay calm and not totally freak out. I turned my head away just to calm down, and right then an older man walks by my window and totally farts a really loud fart. He didn’t even care, he just kept going! Let’s just say it broke the tension.

Driving out of Paris was a little hectic, especially when the GPS is telling you to go the wrong way. Nevertheless, we made it to Honfleur. It’s a port town in Normandy and it’s AWESOME. Way more than we expected- we instantly wished we had more time. Our perfect little bed and breakfast didn’t have rooms available for us for one more day, otherwise we would have stayed. Dare I say- it’s everything you think France will be plus more. Emily and I roamed the town while the others saw the D-Day beaches and the museum.

Honfleur

Dinner on the harbor at night

The street where we stayed.

This was our spiral staircase up to our bedroom. It is barely wide enough to get our carry-on bags thru. I can only imagine what the Livengood's trip was like in places like these with 6 people and large luggage. The woman told us we don't need alcohol if we have to walk up these stairs. There was no railing- just a rope tied to the top from the bottom to hold onto.

The courtyard at our B&B

Photo shoot on the water (By the way- carousels are all over France- what's the deal?)

Even models need to eat! You can get beer and walk around in France- it's awesome.

Boys at the D-Day beaches...had to represent P-Town!

Eating in is alot cheaper than eating out- our 23 Euro dinner for 6! (including wine)

By the way, the wine for the most part is good. Just ask the locals what they like and its usually good and cheaper. During this dinner, Teri said the Quote du Jour- Out of no where she says, " I was thinking about this cat....and this cat- it doesn't know it's in France.." Way to go Teri! She's ahead on the quotes.

Typical, but the pictures don’t do it justice, and it’s got something about it that Paris lacks. We all agree, we would love to come back here!