Wednesday, April 10, 1996 Clermont Ferrand, France
Didn’t get rolling this morning until about 10:45 am; we were up early but it took time to fix our own coffee to go with the rolls we bought last night, pack and find a bank to cash checks. Made it to the Autoroutes and headed for Provence area. Finally decided to stay on the Autoroutes as the WC’s are hard to find on the country roads. We had lunch at a reststop. We thought that there was a restaurant at this stop, but didn’t see it until after we’d purchased sandwiches and cokes at the gas store. We’re seeing some very large churches along the way. They are built with the flying buttress style like Notre Dame. I has been typing on the computer all morning. Will finish this in the evening.
We’ve agreed to keep two separate kitties. One in the car for tolls and the other for miscellaneous fees in Barbara’s purse. That way it’ll be easier to keep track of the amount spend on toll roads. We are each putting the same amounts into each kitty for expenses....except for rooms as we each pay our own room fees each day. Drove much further than we’d planned today as we decided to get as close as possible to Limoges today to shorten the trip tomorrow. Jim wanted to try the Fimotel in Clermont. Barbara and I thought it was a motel, but Jim knew it was a hotel chain as he’d seen them before. They were in his International Entertainment book.
We decided to let him find it before we said too much to him. Stopped at the train station to get directions. Made one attempt based on a nice lady’s verbal and then went back and looked at the map. We’re finding that the Information Stations are closed and all they have available is a detailed map of the area. But it worked and we found the hotel. It was in a nice area, appeared rather new and the rate was great. Checked in and then headed towards a pharmacy to get some Nyquil for Jim. Barbara went along for some aspirin and nicotine gum. They asked for a prescription for the gun. She said she had one in the states but didn’t have it with her. The clerks went to the back and talked. They came back out and agreed to sell it to her without the prescription. Jim got what we thought was Nyquil, as we’d given them the box from Italy. What we actually got was Vicks cough suppressant. But, we were at the hotel before we found out what we’d bought.
We made a phone call to home, tried to put on credit card but ended up on the hotel bill. Wendy wasn’t in so talked with Priscilla who filled me in on the business. Jim gave her instructions to give to Wendy for called Circle Porsche to see if they can make arrangements for him to tour the factory in Stuttgart on next Wednesday. We’ll call on Friday to see if she made contact. Went down to the restaurant in the hotel and had a lovely dinner. Jim had ham and Barbara and I had veal. I had a salad which included a soft boiled egg with warm vinegar dressing. Actually quite tasty!
Off to bed about 10 pm. We have separate rooms but with a connecting door which we left open until lights out. We all watched a television show in French; a movie made for television about the mayor who was always solving the problems of the people and the priest is the father of the rich lady’s son. We all got a good laugh even though it was all in French. Made a decision to get up at 7 am and attempt to be on the road by 8 am. We’ll just make coffee in the room.
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