The battle at St Marcel was particularly important because this is where they first showed the Wehrmacht (Germans) to be vulnerable. The number of exhibits is amazing, including enough military hardware (guns, radios, jeeps, packs etc) to equip a small army.
There is certainly a lot of history here in this area with many of the buildings dating back to the end of the medieval period. The Morbihan, as it is known, is a district with character and charm with our cottage being placed right in the heart of it all. We have been able to experience French life first hand, and as with any foreign country one must be prepared to tune into its quirks and differences, not taking but rather, accepting the treasures it has to offer.
After taking an hour-and-a-half to get out of Paris on our arrival, the sight of the countryside was most rewarding. However, sooner or later you will be greeted by the dreaded page toll booths which are encountered on all the main routes. Being visitors who cannot use the local card system, we have to pay by cash or credit card, which is normally only a minor inconvenience as the there is always at least one manned booth, which gives change.
What a drama for us when we rolled up to find that the one and only manned booth was closed for servicing.
After promptly reversing out and driving into another booth it was out with the 28.70 cash, which we had to hastily thrust into the required slot. Easy, peasy - but why did the fickle machine not accept our last five euro note, demanding coins instead? Despite wanting only 20 more cents, it thumbed its nose at the two copper 10 cent coins we inserted. Amazing how quickly cars queue behind you in such a predicament, so thank God after scrambling around we came up with a 20 cent coin. Only then did the greedy machine raise its barrier arm, allowing us to escape.
After being stressed to the max, a quick food and toilet stop at the next motorway cafe put us back into good spirits. It seems like the horror stories of French toilets are becoming a thing of the past if the ones at this place are anything to go by. On leaving the cubicles, patrons are greeted with a row of coloured smiley face buttons to press as you leave, to register how happy you were with your toilet experience.
When travelling in a group or just as a couple, travellers need to quickly snap into their individual roles to make the holiday go more smoothly. Even the simple chores such as buying and loading groceries into the car requires more effort than back home.
With us, the teamwork is: Mrs H does all the driving, meals and laundry, while I navigate (occasionally gesticulating to turn gauche [left] when it should be droite [right], gazole [gas up] and laver [wash] la voiture et parle le franais [plus important]).
For us, these daily rituals work well - most of the time.
-Brian Holden has lived in Rotorua for most of his life and has been writing his weekly column for 11 years.
