Day 4: Are we there yet?

In the town of Cognac

By Natasha

Ha ha ha... just kidding! But seriously, we want to get to Africa already! We have loved France and especially seeing parts we’ve never seen before.. it is absolutely beautiful and we’ve enjoyed it tremendously.. but we are just itching to start the expedition.

This Landy (in need of a name btw) is not really made for the highways and cities. Like Tim said, its comfortable at lower speeds. So I battle when I drive it... being the speed demon that I am.. but probably a good exercise in patience and allowing something to do what its capable of.. not expecting too much. But in those “rare” moments of impatience, the steering wheel starts shaking and doors start clanging... so slow and steady it is.

We spent the night in Niort (seriously Formule 1 hostels to the rescue) and then off to Cognac. Unlike the name would suggest, the town is anything but elite and sophisticated, but no less magical. There is evidence of a once booming and thriving town, but very little is still open and functioning. Instead most of these buildings (that you can imagine as Chateaus) are dilapidated and boarded up.. signs of a very depressed town. We had to speculate since there is very little information, but seems like either the town took a huge hit during the wars and have struggled to recover.. or that the Cognac industry is not what it used to be.

Off and on through the windy countryside roads and stunning vineyards of France. Seriously though, having lived in “wine country” for a significant part of my life, the Bordeaux region is a different kind of beautiful. The stretches of land, vineyards, lanes of trees and small farm buildings had me gasping for air at some times... so much so that Tim would think he’s gonna hit something (not unlike what my mother does when we all get mad at her and think somethings wrong.. ma se kind)!

We arrived in the city of Bordeaux and it took almost an hour to find a parking space.. yet just another reminder that this big car of ours was not made for city parking spaces and traffic patterns. None the less, we were determined and made sure to find a spot so we could have a nice dinner with meat and vegetables (got tired of the quick and cheap panini or baguette options) and a nice glass of local red wine (of course).. totally worth the drive around the city.

Contrary to popular believe, the French have been extremely helpful and friendly. It does help if you try in French first since they aren’t very fond of people who just assume that they should be able to speak English. But in some places I’ve been able to speak in English and they respond in French and by some miracle of God only we were able to understand each other and walk away very happy (lets hope!). I finally got some good homeopathic (like the Europeans do) medicine for this Sinusitis I’ve been battling with for weeks. And the dear sweet ladies in the “Pharmacie” did their very best to understand my broken French! But we got it diagnosed and its being treated.

Well, we’re so close to the Spanish border this morning.. we can hardly wait to go there. France... its been real, but we’ll get to see you soon enough again on our way to Italy to meet Nick and Lana (can hardly wait guys.. you must be getting very excited)!

PS. Dad, Sad day... we had the last of the cookies this morning! They’ve been a great source of energy and keeping us going! Wish we brought more!