Département de la Sarthe

300km today, racking up the miles to reach Cherbourg on Sunday and get the ferry home. We left our beautiful little apartment after some coffee (of course) and set out with bums of steel to crack through some miles and it wasn’t so bad.

Our first stop was a beautiful little French village for a coffee next to the towns Mairie. The waiter was very sweet and it was lovely to watch the locals enjoy their mornings together in the sunshine. Their were young kids running around and playing whilst parents and friends watched on as they drank their coffees.

Next stop was a small green next to a church in a nearby hamlet, to have some lunch and rest amongst the trees. We’re really starting to get into this French way of life and relax enough to decompress and gather some energy.

Our final stop for the day was the centre of Alençon and what a night we were in store for! The apartment was astonishing, located right next to the cathedral, with huge windows overlooking the high street. Our host was the owner of a fantastic restaurant, Chez Fano, where he was able to squeeze us in. Our food was incredible! We were very lucky ladies. With just a couple of nights left, we then went in search of a few drinks, which is when we met Elvis and Christophe who took us to Le Toucan, a new bar full of locals where the barman drinks as much as the clientele. We played darts, met some wonderful characters, drank quite a lot and danced our way home in the quiet cobbled streets of Alençon.

HIGHLIGHT - Alençon, the wonderful locals, the apartment, Chez Fano, coffee in the beautiful village, dozing under the trees
LOW POINT - none
ROADS - I can’t rememberLes mer