On the road (3) A (hopefully) sunny September road trip to Spain COMPLETED - Page 43 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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okay i have to ask...I don't think I asked you yet with all your reports I've read.....How many fridge magnets do you have...or should I ask How many fridges do you have for all your magnets???
Good question... We now have a big American style fridge and freezer, so we have double doors and they're all over the side of it as well. I'll try and take some photos, so you can see how out of hand it's all got....
Thursday 16 September – part seven: just reward for the problems getting here!
Maybe it was the fact that I was still shaking when I walked into reception, but I was greeted by the news that we’d been upgraded to an executive room, which meant we could enjoy a free breakfast in the executive lounge tomorrow morning. Bonus, especially as I figured we’d have to rely on supplies we bought with us.
The receptionist sorted out someone to deal with the car, as they offer valet parking and, to be honest, we were very relieved to finally hand her over to someone else, so they could deal with the mad motorists here.
Our room was absolutely wonderful and showed the difference between the top of the range hotels and the lower priced hotels that we’d stayed in the last couple of nights. We were amazed by it – isn’t it beautiful? It seemed like just reward for the problems we’d suffered getting here.
The view from our room ... and what we should’ve paid for this room!
As any sensible people would do, we made full use of it, getting the DVD player sorted that linked into the HD TV, meaning that we could watch the films we’d bought with us on the TV, rather than our laptop, as we’d had to over the last couple of nights. We finally finished Bruce Almighty, a very good film. I’d forgotten how good it was actually.
Once that was done, Mark suggested going out into the main square to see what it looked like at night. The answer was that it was stunning out there and we took lots of photos.
We headed over to the Hotel de Ville, the town hall, and saw that the main doors were open, which led into another courtyard, so we headed in there and saw that they had an exhibition in there, dedicated to the creator of the area’s canals.
We got in there at the right time, as they shut the doors literally about two minutes after we left. It certainly looks like a stunning building inside, from the glimpses we could get from outside.
We thought about getting a “little something” as a certain bear might say at McDonald’s, but the place was packed, so we passed and instead wandered through the other part of the square. I’d seen that the ceiling had some paintings on it and I was curious to see them close up. They were certainly neat.
As we strolled along, I spotted an ice cream place, but Mark pointed out that I’d missed what was next door and that was a crepe seller. Sold! We both decided to get a crepe with Grand Marnier and it was so fun to watch the woman making it.
I can tell you, this tasted really good, but my goodness, I found it filling – or maybe I wasn’t that hungry, after our big lunch earlier? We took them back to the room and ate them and settled down to watch Fame, another movie we’d bought with us.
About halfway through, they knocked and offered turndown service, giving Mark chocolates and slippers for each of us. As I was already in the hotel’s dressing gown, I gladly seized the opportunity to get the slippers as well. Now this is the life!
Today we drove 110 miles. The weather today was a lot cooler, cloudy, with some rain and temperatures in the low 70s. The best thing today was seeing Carcassonne. The worst thing today was the driving in Toulouse. Today we tried going into Narbonne And the result was it’s a beautiful city with lots to see. The most magical moment today was seeing the view of Carcassonne’s medieval city from the Petit Train.
UPGRADE!!! WOO HOO!!!! ...and a good one! Nice room! I certainly understand the driving frustration, and being ready to just wind down. Sounds like you had a nice, old-fashioned evening stroll.
Your fridge has a few more magnets since the last time you posted pictures of it!!
Friday 17 September – part one: wow, that’s a BIG bill!
My stomach got me going this morning, telling me in no uncertain terms that it was hungry, so off we went to the fifth floor to see what delights the executive lounge had in store for us. It’s a nice place:
As you can probably tell from the photos, we were the only ones in there. I don’t know if others had used it before us and they’d cleared up after them, but if they had, there was no sign that anyone had been there.
As they explained last night, it was a continental breakfast and they had cheese, yoghurts, muesli, fruit juices, hot drinks, mini-croissants, mini choc au pain, jams and baguettes. I filled up on the first two and the mini pastry delights, which would keep me going for a couple of hours at least. Better than paying the €23 ($30) they would have charged us for breakfast here. I was surprised not to find Internet access, or maybe computers in here, which was a shame, as I would’ve liked to have caught up again, but it was not to be. :
I have to say, that having spent a couple of nights in hotels at the cheaper end of the spectrum and then having experienced this place, and the hotels we stayed in Madrid and Bordeaux, I’ve come to some conclusions about how to spot the truly upscale hotels. They have:
Bath sheets, not just bath towels
Dressing gowns and sometimes slippers
A sewing kit (all of which disappear with us when we leave... )
Complimentary water
Glasses in the bathroom, as opposed to the plastic beakers you find in the cheaper end hotels.
A better selection of TV channels, usually with more English channels.
We headed out around 9.30am, but it took us some time to get out, as the hotel could definitely do with more staff at check-out time. The woman in front of us paid her bill for €2,400 ($2,880) I’m hoping that was a massive company booking.... then we had to wait for the guy to go and get the car. Finally loaded up and we were off, heading out of Toulouse. We’d both agreed it looked like a nice city and had loved our stay at the Crowne Plaza.
We were soon heading towards the toll road, bound for our first stop of the day of Cahors.
We couldn’t make up our minds what these trees were...
Cahors, which is circled by the River Lot, has origins dating back to the first century BC. The town grew rich through trade, particularly in the 13th and 14th centuries and much of what you see today there is built on that success of the past. The town’s fortifications include 11 towers and two gatehouses, along with some imposing bridges, but I’m getting ahead of myself....
We drove through the town itself, trying to find the cathedral, with no joy, as various roads were closed off. That seems to have been the story of this trip.
Finally, by hook and by crook, we made it and I was able to see Cathedra St. Etienne, which was a place for pilgrims to stop on the way down to Compostela. It was constructed in phases between the 11th and 17th century and then restored in the 19th century.
We headed off again....
Next: “it had better be worth it when we get there”
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I'm finally all caught up...all 4 days worth! I love the hotel you guys stayed at...what an upgrade! Those crepes looked delicious and I wish I had one of them in front of me right now. That town looked beautiful and I'm loving this part of your report.
love the photos of the magnets - thanks for sharing. My Sisiter lives north - near Durham and she just got an American fridge. It was the happiest day of her life she told me.
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We now have a big American style fridge and freezer, so we have double doors and they're all over the side of it as well. I'll try and take some photos, so you can see how out of hand it's all got.... 
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Bonus, especially as I figured we’d have to rely on supplies we bought with us. 
It seemed like just reward for the problems we’d suffered getting here. 
It certainly looks like a stunning building inside, from the glimpses we could get from outside. 
We took them back to the room and ate them and settled down to watch Fame, another movie we’d bought with us. 
Now this is the life! 
I like the rows of your favourite donkey!
: 
That town looked beautiful and I'm loving this part of your report.
Holly: 
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