Leaving on a jet train, don't know when I'll be back again (or leaving Paris for the coast).

We really had a wonderful time in Paris. Back when we were planning this trip we only booked for 5 nights at the apartment thinking Paris would be pretty hectic. While there is so much to see and do, we were a bit worried about keeping the younger kids interested and involved. Later we added the 6th night as the apartment wasn't booked for a few days following our stay. In the end the kids were all fantastic and had a great time. We could have stayed in Paris for 2 weeks. They seemed to respond well to mixing things up and adding in ice cream and playground stops. Also while it was tempting to try to fit in more than one thing in a day, it worked out better to pass some things up in favour of slowing down. We hit some big ticket items from our list and maybe missed out on a few, but we were all happy with how it went.

Friday (June 30th) we got up a little earlier than the usual for a quick breakfast and to pack up our mess. We said goodbye to 25 Rue Saint Louis en l'Ile and loaded our bags in a taxi van for the short trip to the Gare de Montparnasse where we had a TGV waiting to take us to Nantes.

As Canadians who were not used to things like efficient train travel, we were worried about leaving enough time to make it to the train. Prior to the trip Z and I made to Vimy, I had looked up how long in advance we needed to arrive to get on the TGV. The website suggested 2 minutes was good! Less than 2 minutes and the doors might be closing. So as seasoned TGV riders, Z and I convinced mommy that an hour was excessive (they don't even post the track number until 20 minutes prior to departure). We settled on 20 minutes with some allowance for traffic. And we made it on the train with 15 minutes to spare.

Duncan next to the train of his dreams and the focus of his trip!

The TGV really does go fast. According to the GPS on my phone we hummed along at between 280 and 300 km/h most of the way. It is very smooth and quiet and you really can't tell that you're going that fast. I'm sorry I did not take any pictures inside the train. I forget stuff like that sometimes. It is smooth and comfy and mommy got us some croque monsieur and drinks from the bar car.

In Nantes we hopped a shuttle bus to take us to the airport where our car was waiting. In case I haven't mentioned this yet, it cost us significantly more to take the TGV to Nantes to pick up our car than it would have to get the car for an extra day back in Paris. However Dunc really wanted the TGV ride and it also saved me from having to drive in Paris itself. I am very thankful for that part.

CAR DETAILS (you can skip this part if you want). The car is part of a program where you purchase the vehicle from Renault and then they buy it back when you're done and resell it as a used vehicle. The program is subsidized by the government to help promote tourism. So we win because we get a brand new vehicle from the factory exactly as ordered, Renault wins as the government covers their loss, and the final buyer wins as he gets an almost new vehicle for a used car price. The minimum time for the deal is 21 days, which we just fit into. At 21 days it's pretty much on par cost-wise with a rental. However we get a new vehicle with fewer restrictions on what we do with it, and every kind of insurance possible including roadside assistance for flats and so on is covered in the price. We also got a diesel so it's cheaper to run. I find it interesting that although 90% of the cars on the road here are diesel, you pay a premium to reserve one through a rental agency. I suspect they're all diesel anyway but it's a good way to make an extra Euro.

Behold the Dacia Duster (Dacia is a Renault sub-brand). Notice the red plate.
Everyone else in Europe has a white one. I think the red is a temporary plate
or something, but it basically screams "these folks aren't from here" (or maybe
cette famille ne viennent pas d'ici).  People stare as we drive by. Or maybe
they really like our snazzy vehicle. Or maybe they all stare at each
other anyway. 

So we picked up the car at the airport and headed out. Well, almost. While the car had only 11 km on the odometer, it also only had 1/4 of a tank of fuel. I guess when you buy a new car it's the dealer who fills it, not the factory. So we filled it around the corner and headed out. The funny road signs took a bit of getting used to but in the end they make sense. Same for the roundabouts. Mostly new to me. And there are a lot of them. According to Wikipedia, half of the world's roundabouts are in France. So you can't miss them!

It took us just under an hour to get to La Baule on the coast where we unloaded at the Hotel Mercure La Baule Majestic. We hauled all our stuff up to the (connecting) rooms and got ready to head for the beach.

Au balcon.

Hmmm. Unfortunately it was not exactly sunbathing weather, nor was it
forecast to be for the next few days. Late afternoon when we arrived it
was windy and barely 20C. Undaunted, mommy took up her plastic cup
 of rosé and said "we're going for a walk on the beach".

Lovely beach though. And it's huge. 

Oh well. Weather notwithstanding, we were happy to be at the next place in our adventure.