Plucky Survivors See Europe Day 64: La Rochelle to Le Mans

I was outrunning the rain most of the day.  It was threatening a downpour as I was leaving La Rochelle but once I got into the open countryside it all seemed to fade into the rearview. 

It was a mostly uneventful drive, save for more parking lot drama.  There aren’t a lot of rest areas on the roads I was traveling and the ones that are there are insanely crowded.  I pulled off at one not knowing it had a McDonald’s until I was already in the parking lot and stuck in traffic as people blocked the drives waiting for a parking space to open up.

I managed to get one fairly quickly but just as I was pulling into it, a woman in the car in the next space opened her door, preventing me from being able to pull in.  She knew I was there, but didn’t look at me or acknowledge me, instead going to the back seat and opening that door to fetch her kid.  Fine, do it and get out of the way.  But no, apparently the kid had to put its shoes on, and this involved some sort of production number with stuffed animals.  Meanwhile, the door stayed open and I couldn’t get into the parking space and now, couldn’t back out of it because of the steady stream of cars behind me. 

I allowed the kid thing to go on for much longer than I should have, frankly, but when the mom walked away from the kid in the back seat (with the door still open) and started checking her phone, I lost it.

I got out of the car and said, “Excusez moi?” and gestured emphatically at the parking space.  She looked at me and said in English with a think French accent, “I have a kid.  She’s putting her shoes on.”

I said, “Maybe you should be helping her instead of looking at your phone.”

She muttered something in French and then ignored me some more.  At which point I got back in the car and started honking the horn.  That displeased French woman and her French husband, but it got them moving and they hauled the shoeless kid out and closed the doors so I could pull into the space, shooting me dirty French looks the entire time.

I’ve encountered a lot of French people on this trip, and some have been genuinely wonderful, sweet, friendly, and open.  But a lot of them have been snooty assholes.  Sorry.  I know it’s a stereotype, but there it is.

Anyway, I got my McDesperate Nuggets and then continued on my merry way to Le Mans.

I will admit, freely, that I picked Le Mans for two reasons: geographical convenience (it was well situated in the middle of the places I was traveling to and from) and the racing museum.  The 24 Hours of Le Mans is really all I knew about the city and since I was going to be there for only about 18 hours, I figured that’s all I really needed to know.

The museum exploring the race just reopening after a major expansion and makeover.  It’s a very nice, modern building with tons of exhibits on the race, its origins, the cars, the drivers, and more.  As expected there are plenty of race cars on display, but they also had some cool interactive and immersive displays like a section that take you inside the car as you race at night. 

If race cars aren’t your thing, skip past the photos.  It’ll get more interesting, I promise.

I was going to do the tour of the circuit as well, which allows you to go along pit row, the grandstands, and more, but it was beastly hot and the rain was catching up to me, so I just did the museum.  Good thing because as I came out of it, the sky was dark and threatening.

I did my own race to the hotel – Leprince – which is quite nice, very dark and moody in a French way, located in a complex of buildings that used to be a monastery and a prison.  This is now the second time that combination came into play on this trip.

By the time I got into the room it had started raining.  No, that’s not the right word.  Deluging, perhaps?  It rained a lot, so I went downstairs to the bar and waited for it to end.  And of course, I had a cocktail and a small plate of cheese while I did.

Once it let up, I walked a couple of blocks into Plantagenet City, the old town part of Le Mans, with zero expectations.  I had no idea what I was in store for.  This area dates back to the 4^th century, with a Roman wall surrounding a cathedral that was built between 1060 and 1430 and medieval, half-timbered buildings.  It’s like a fairytale village and I kept walking around corners saying, “shut the F-up, Le Mans!”

Soak up the pictures.  They don’t do it justice.

Directly across from this area is a more modern “old town,” with wide pedestrian streets lined with stores, shops, restaurants, bars, and even a carousel.  It’s ridiculously charming.

I sat at a streetside café and had a beer, read a book, and relaxed.  I really need to do more of that.

Then it was off to dinner.  It being a Monday night, most of the really good restaurants were closed and so I was a bit limited.  Italian seemed like a good option – it usually is – so I went to Antonia – Les Clan des Mamma.  The Caesar salad was fine – I still don’t get the hard boiled egg thing – but the lasagna was better than it had any right to be.  Good for them.

I came back to the hotel to digest and then headed back out again to Plantagenet City for something I had no idea was going on until the person checking me into the hotel told me about it.  It’s called Night of the Chimeras, where they use light projections to bring the old buildings to life after dark every night during the summer.

They do this at more than 20 locations and I only got a handful of locations but trust me when I tell you that it is spectacular and again, the photos don’t do it justice.

Finally back at the hotel and ready for a good night’s sleep before another long drive to Brussels.  Only one week to go, two cities and two countries left to visit.