Culture Shock

Friday...
Last night we left Paris, and we seem to have left behind everyone who could speak English.

From Angers on instead of everyone talking to us in English our pleads for 'vous parlez anglias' are met with blank looks and shrugs.

Buying a French sim this morning was the most exhausting travel experience yet.

We got there in the end though- our 6 foot french beauty of a sales assistant persevered for 20 minutes to take our 15 Euro.

We are not 100 percent sure that we got the service we wanted but we can (texto) each other. Tres bien!

At 10am, and in need of a stiff drink, we set out for the lovely Loire Valley wine town of Chinon. We called ahead to a winery (making a booking in French is harder than it sounds) and was met by the winemaker who opened many fresh bottles for us.

Great to meet someone who understood the challenges of learning a second language- it was part French, part English and part charades.

With our confidence up we called ahead to another winery and headed east to Vouvray to a favorite winery called Marc Bredif.

The ancient cellars wind their way into the side of the hill and under other properties. They had vintages going back over 100 years in perfect cellaring conditions. Even here it was noticeably cold and humid.

Have just arrived for a quick stopover in Bourges- will hit Sancerre and Pouilly Fume early in the morning and then on to Bordeaux for the night.

Ch. d'Angers/on the Loire @ Chinon/old booze @ Bredif