WorldTravelReynolds

Leaving St. Malo, France

The trip to Jersey was easier than any of our other trips. It’s getting easier as we learn more about what to expect. Getting ready to leave Deauville, France, we walked to the car rental agency to pick up our Peugeot.

Beautiful view of Deauville, France from a little higher up

Our last walk to pick up a car was about 4 miles, This one was a little more since we decided to checkout a walking trail that we thought would lead us to the car rental place. Nope, had to turn around and go back. It only added a 1/2 mile to our walk but we are having donuts for breakfast so that will take care of it!

Condor Ferry next to us taken through a dirty window!

We had everything packed the night before, woke up had a light (pastries/donuts) breakfast with coffee. Loaded up the car which was so much easier getting the bags down all those flights of stairs than it was getting them up when we first arrived. We met with the owner to say goodbye and turn over the keys. Joel is a very nice guy. He travels on business all over the world. His company name is WTF.

Inside the Ferry was so roomy

His business shirt had those 3 letters monogrammed on the front. He asked if I knew what it meant and I said I know what it means in the US and he said, well, only the US knows so he named his company that so its not offensive to anyone unless he goes to the states. Crazy! We started our trip to St. Malo, France, which would be about 2 hours.

The GPS took us a little out of the way but it ended up showing us a part of Deauville up high on the mountain that looked down on the water. It was a beautiful view. It was worth the detour. It was an easy peaceful drive and after checking into our hotel, we unloaded our bags and stopped to get an early dinner. 
 

This type of ferry also had cars loaded in the back

We drove by the Ferry terminal to make sure we didn’t need to fill out any paperwork since we were traveling to another country. Their website seemed to indicate we would so we were glad we stopped by. This company, Condor Ferries was very organized and the representatives were so nice and helpful. I booked through http://www.directferries.com and I emailed them to inquire about our massive amount of luggage. They said we would have no problem taking the luggage with no additional fees but we would need to keep the luggage with us at all times. We could have picked a reserved seat upstairs with a view but due to the luggage issue, we opted not to do so.

The welcome sign at baggage claim. Love the Jersey cow.

Well, it turned out we were required to check in our luggage just as you would at an airport. The young lady thought we might be upset. She didn’t see us jumping up and down with joy! So, we changed our seat for the upstairs view. After that was all settled, we turned in the car by 5 pm and walked back to the hotel. About a 20 minute walk. Getting easier.  The wireless in the hotel was horrible so we read or played games most of the evening. 
 

The Scare mobile!

Around 8:30, Chuck wanted something to drink and he only had a 20 dollar bill (Euro) and the machine wouldn’t take it. He walked next door to the gas station and they were closed. We looked at several places such as the grocery stores and they were closing at 9 pm. We still have a hard time believing everything closes so early here.  He walked to another Hotel IBIS about 4 blocks away to get change for the 20 and walked back to purchase two drinks out of the machine. I told him to think of it as part of the adventure! Before leaving Deauville, I didnt think about downloading any movies to our laptop since our wireless has been so good. Not so good at the IBIS hotel. Since we had to get up at 5:30 am, we decided to get to bed by 11 pm. We needed a few hours sleep. 
 

The Annexe – our home for the next 10 days.

The next morning our cab didn’t arrive. No surprise but the desk attendant was nice enough to call another one and they arrive quickly. He got us to the ferry but his credit card machine wasnt charged by the night shift person. The bill was 15 euros. We had 15 Euros and no more. He was really nice and understood. Another thing we noticed here in St. Malo is that most everyone spoke a little more English. That was so nice since it was easier to communicate. 
 

Outside, enclosed garden patio

The Ferry experience was a piece of cake! It was about 1/2 full and the side we were “assigned” was really cold so we moved to the sunny side for most of the trip. It was a smooth ride. Really couldn’t tell you were moving unless you looked out the window. We arrived in Jersey in a little over an hour. Such a beautiful island! We had to go through customs and get our passports stamped so it will show we exited the Schengen zone. That was a priority. When we go to the Canary Islands for 28 days, we will only have 2 days left within our 90 day limit so pray nothing goes wrong there. We don’t want to be banned from Europe. 
 

Kitchen

We got a cab to the rental car agency and picked up our car. A Fiat 2 door, right hand steering wheel, 5 speed in your left hand, driving on the left side of the street compact car! We got the fuel option since we are keeping it 2 weeks. We got in the car and Chuck said he had to go back inside because the car is only 1/4 tank. He came back outside and said, yep, its 1/4 of tank and we can bring it back empty for the fuel option of 15 GBP (pound sterling). Gas is really expensive here.

Table for two. Granite wall dating back to 16th century

We’ll probably check it out tomorrow and only put in a few liters at a time. We get in the car and head out to our destination. I was scared to death! I trust Chuck as a good driver but these streets are not only very narrow but they have high rock walls next to the street, ON MY SIDE OF THE CAR!!! I gasped so many times, once after hitting a curb, another time after running into the grassy side of the curb and many other times when we were wayyyy too close to the wall.

Small living area.

And that was just the few miles to the cottage. This way of driving is going to give me a panic attack. I noticed I was holding on to the handle of the car with one hand and the directions in the other. I would have closed my eyes if I didn’t have to give Chuck directions. We unloaded the luggage and I took a nap. I needed meditation after that trip! 
 

Bedroom

The cottage is just adorable. Its so cute and has its style just as any of our other locations. And, just like our other locations, we have found there is no room to store your groceries. Canned goods and boxes and seasoning.

Lounge area inside bedroom

We do have a larger refrigerator and freezer in this location so that’s helpful. We are excited about our upcoming adventures here at “The Annexe Cottage”, stay tuned for more.

Tomorrow I am off to the dentist again! Same old story…

May God bless you all!

Chuck & Lea Ann