Nantes to Conwy

In the Ladies' at Charles de Gaulle

Up very early to catch the 7.30am train from Nantes to Paris. Max ordered a taxi for 6.30am which did not arrive. After at least two phone calls, one arrived just after 7 and sped us to the station in time to get to the train with 15 minutes to spare. After 3 hours sleep, I dozed all the way to Montparnasse where our train ended. We then had to catch a metro to Gare du Nord, and then another train to Charles de Gaulle Airport to face a 7 hour wait! Too tired to read, I sat zombie-like in the most uncomfortable chair in the world, wanting to sleep but unable too. Out of sheer boredom I ate 9 of the delicious sandwiches Max had prepared for our journey.

A couple of hours before our scheduled boarding time, we headed down to the check-in line which has new check-in machines which allow you to scan your passport so you don't have to show your passport at the counter. I was first in line- the guinea pig so to speak- so I looked at the screen and it said "Scan your passport" on the left hand side of the screen so I looked underneath and there was a passport-sized slot so I stuck my opened passport in, and nothing happened! As it turned out, I had inserted the passport into the slot that prints the boarding pass and of course, it was stuck fast! Kiryn called the check-in staff who came over and unlocked the machine and retrieved my passport, and wouldn't let us use the machine again. I don't think they trusted us! Our check-in was all done manually. I hate machines! Especially at airports!

We managed to get through security and board our flight without further mishap. We actually got a drink and a snack on the 1 hour flight across the Channel to Heathrow, which is a bonus these days! On arrival at Heathrow Terminal 5, we waited for our luggage, and waited, and waited, and waited... After an hour and a quarter, we heard an announcement that our bags had been delivered to a different carousel. God only knows how long they had been circling around the carousel before we were notified. But we had waited longer for our bags than the entire flight!

Retrieving our bags, we ventured out into the cold night only to find that we had just missed our shuttle so had to wait another 25 minutes until the next one. If we had been less zombie-like, we would have said let's grab a cab which will probably be cheaper than the 18 pounds it cost for the shuttle, and definitely much faster, especially since the shuttle had a few other ports of call before it reached our home for the night, the Ibis, where the reception staff were most unhelpful with all of our enquiries. Very strange... the first country who actually speaks English, and they don't want to help at all. Everywhere we've been, even in hostels, the staff could not have been more accommodating even though we may have been difficult to understand at times.

We decided to have a drink- we needed it- and I ordered a pint of cider, and was handed a big glass of bubbly clear liquid. In my zombie-like state, and thinking maybe cider can be clear, I blurted, "What's this?" to which the barman replied "Soda." Well, I burst into uncontrollable laughter. Here I am back in the land of my native tongue, and the barman can't understand me, whereas barmen/maids far and wide and always managed to get my drink right! I also ordered a chicken curry even though I wasn't hungry at all ( 9 pork sandwiches can be quite filling!) but I couldn't resist! I haven't eaten Indian for months and I do love it!

And so to bed. What a long tiring day, but for the first time in months, I not only have my own bed but I have my own room! What bliss! I can sleep starkers and fart to my heart's content... well, maybe not my heart :-)

I set my alarm for 6 am with the view of meeting fro breakfast at 6.30, but my zombie brain must have still be in operation because no alarm went off, and I was awoken by a text from Lorelle at 10 to7!  I gobbled down breakfast, which tasted quite bland. Maybe I have become accustomed to the spicier European variety. We ordered a cab to take us to the Europcar Hire Office ( which the girls the previous night had not even heard of!) which only cost 10 pounds, and selected our own car. God only knows what is it- a Toyota 7 seater, not quite a van, but not quite a sedan either, but we hopped in, drove back to the Ibis and collected our luggage and Elizabeth and took off along the M4.

After a 5 hour trip with only two rest stops, we easily reached the little town of Conwy which we were expecting to be huge since it had major signposting almost all the way, even on the road in huge letters! A little more difficult to locate our hotel, but asking for directions actually worked, and we soon settled into our cosy rooms. I chose the attic room- I have always wanted to live in an attic- and this one was perfect. The sound of the wind whooshing around me on three sides gave me a connection to nature and was very calming, so I was looking forward to a decent sleep. I was not disappointed.

I headed off to walk the old stone walls of the town which were built in the thirteenth century and are still very well preserved. They have added handrails where the parapet has collapsed which was just as well, because there was an almost gale force wind blowing. I think it was blowing directly from the North Pole because it was cold; very cold.