Accommodation: Studio Charme Coeur de Ville (Airbnb); host Jean-Marie. Studio ideally located in the central island, close to the cathedral and Petite France, just completely renovated, preserving the charms of the past, exposed beams, stone wall, designer bathroom, and well-equipped kitchenette. The accommodation is very quiet, though right on a main street with shops, restaurants, bars, and museums nearby. Includes wifi, washer, and dryer. Pedestrian-only area, no parking.
Drive: 350 miles
Lunch: Yogurt and fruit at a travel plaza
Dinner: Cheese, bread, salmon, and fruit in our apartment
A very long day. Meghan and Konur had to be at the airport by 6:00, and Giverny is about one and a half hours west of the airport. We woke at 4:00, and packed up as quietly as possible to avoid disturbing the guests on the ground floor below us. Meghan and I stood outside the car at the squeeze points along the stone walls, and Ken inched his way through without scraping any more paint off the car.
That little obstacle over, we aimed the car toward Charles de Gaulle, with Ken behind the wheel and me minding Google navigation. We dropped the kids off at Terminal 2E on the dot of 6:00, gave them both a big hug, and hopped back in the car for our five-hour drive to Strasbourg.
We were concerned about possible flight delays, wanting to be close enough to the airport that we could return if they were delayed overnight, so we stopped in a little town about an hour from the airport, bought croissants, and watched the Delta app and messages from Meghan. They made it through check-in and security, and were waiting at their gate by 9:45, so we got back in the car and hit the A4. Although their flight ended up being delayed by about 45 minutes, the Delta app eventually said they were in flight, and we started to relax just a bit.
We sailed through the toll booths, using a combination of cash, credit cards, and even Apple Pay. We try to learn a few new tricks on every journey; Apple Pay is still pretty new to us.
We found the Enterprise office in Strasbourg with no problem. When we parked at the inspection location in the parking ramp down the street, the agent asked about the front bumper, and we said, yes, we had done that. She also asked about a missing piece on the rear wiper; I pulled up the photos I had taken at the station in Angers, and sure enough, it was missing when we picked up the car. The agent wrote up a damage waiver on the missing piece, resolving us of any claim for that. And she wrote up a damage report on the bumper, explaining that both reports would be sent to the Angers office and we would receive an invoice from them via email.
We put our bikes back together in the parking ramp, took them down the elevator, and rode out on the streets of Strasbourg--a large, busy city.
We found our apartment with no problem, followed our host's instructions to ask the woman at the waffle shop on the ground floor to open the courtyard door, located the key to our apartment, and let ourselves in.
The studio apartment was small but had everything we needed. Still buzzing from the long hours of driving, and a little wound up after the weeks of traveling with Meghan and Konur, we took warm showers, drank a lot of juice and water, unpacked, and headed out for a little exploration of our street. It didn't take us long to find local fromage, baquette, and fruit for a light supper.
 |
| I think those are the French alps in the distance. |
 |
| Supper in our Strasbourg apartment. |
 |
| The street outside our apartment. |
 |
| Meghan and Konur on the ground in Minneapolis! |
