We woke up in a parking lot in Versailles very early (4am) Mom stayed up, and I went back to sleep. Some trucks and street cleaning machines are making too much noise for sleeping Mom said.

Now I'm getting ahead of the story again. 

The fridge was getting empty so Mom went to do some grocery shopping. French people really suck at English, but Mom's French is even worse so I guess that even things out. Mom loved supermarkets where everything is foreign but not everything she brings home turns out to be all that tasty. She does use a translation app. so we're saved from the really weird stuff.

Driving along country roads are getting old, the same little villages, same great fields of crop, and everything seem gray. Every house is built of stone and windows are very small and most with their shutters closed. I think it's to keep the heat out, but it must be pretty dark inside then? I know Mom would hate it.

French farmers are hard-working 7 days a week and we often meet or have to pass loads like this

Anyway, we arrived in LeMans and found a great parking spot for the night close to the old town. By now all these towns start looking the same. Cobblestone streets and gigantic amazing buildings.

But Le Mans is most known for the 24 Hours endurance-focused sports car race held annually, and It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose winner is determined by minimum time, the 24 Hours of Le Mans is won by the car that covers the greatest distance in 24 hours. The cars on this track can go up to 405 km/h (251mph)

There's also an old Steve McQueen movie filmed here.

Consisting of both a permanent track and public roads, spectators have the unique experience of being able to drive part of the course before it is closed off for the race (although at a much slower and safer pace). Lucy wasn't up to it

Here's hand and footprint of some of the winners

We strolled the streets early as usual so there were no big crowds.

    so 

I'm getting much more used to city noise and Mom is really proud of me for walking along without making a fuzz.

Many big dogs really hate me for some reason and I have been launched at several times, so I'm always kept on a short lead when passing the big guys.

This guy looked very docile where he was laying, but he went stir crazy when he saw me and barked and pulled on his lead. I barked back with everything I have, if it wasn't for Mom holding me back I would have jumped that beast and sunk my teeth into his neck ....................I never back down for anybody.............Yes Mom says that could be the end of the cutest puppy she knows 

It's interesting how many small figures are on walls everywhere, it must mean something ?

Oh sure, here's the pope making a lewd gesture?.............well, that's what we see 

This garden had the biggest snail we ever seen

That's why they need garden tools to match 

This is weird, stick your head in and a tape starts and tells you what you're looking at

At lunchtime, we found a place that was open. (in France most places close between noon and 3)  Mom ordered coffee and a melon salad and water for me.

Mom ended up chatting with a couple at the table next to us (via the translate app) so I got a well-deserved nap

Here's Wilbur Wrights' tunnel which is a tunnel without a roof?

It is also called the four-season tunnel because they plant flowers and change them for the seasons. The tunnel was built between 1873 and 1877. 

Mom says we have to walk through it??? She's trying to imagine how it was used in the very beginning. there was shops and homes where the flowers are now.

The tunnel was named after Wilbur after his air show

The crowd cheered as Wilbur flew towards a row of tall poplars, where Wilbur banked left and turned in a graceful curve, and started flying back to the grandstand. Wilbur maneuvered to fly another full circle at an altitude of 30-35 feet before coming down for a landing only 50 feet from where he had taken off. Wilbur flew for 2 minutes and covered 2 miles; the crowd was hardly able to believe what they had just witnessed. It wasn't the duration of the flight that excited the crowd, but what Wilbur did during the flight that amazed them..
Wilbur, much to his dismay, experienced a mini Lindbergh-like reception by many in the crowd, but even Wilbur was swept up in the post-flight euphoria. After a bit, Wilbur, very calmly, but with a beaming smile, put his hands in his pockets and walked off whistling. In less than 24 hours, Wilbur's flight was headline news everywhere. Even Archdeacon, the vocal critic in the crowd before the flight, publicly admitted that he was wrong. Despite the clamoring requests, Wilbur refused to fly the next day, which was a Sunday.

 On 13 August 1908, Wilbur circled the field several times in his longest flight yet at Le Mans. And, before the largest crowd assembled to that point, Wilbur flew at 100 feet altitude to lessen distractions for himself. Ironically, Wilbur then made a mistake (basically he was showing off) and flew far too low, and the left wing hit the ground. The result was a pretty nasty smash-up, but Wilbur was uninjured. The crowd screamed in delight all the same; one French aircraft designer told a New York Herald reporter that Wilbur was as superb in his accidents as he was in his flights.

The Cathedral of Saint Julien, the seat of the Diocese of Le Mans, is one of the finest examples of Gothic-Roman architecture in all of France. The current cathedral was built gradually over the course of the 11th through 15th centuries. Seems like we seen so many of these Mom is getting them all mixed up

It has beautiful stained glass windows it said in the brochure, but we didn't bother going up there since we pretty much know we wouldn't be allowed in any way..still very impressive or our wiev

Look, someone from Florida is living here??? must be, why else this decoration in their window?

In the afternoon we continued on North but this time Mom decided to get on the toll road, which was a nice wide, and smooth fast drive. When we got off 3 hours later it cost 35 Euros??? Mom thought that was awfully expensive so we'll stay off them in the future. As a matter of fact, Mom is so ready to get out of France, but we still have Paris.

Actually, we've done Paris already but that's a story for tomorrow. 

Now it's time to get on driving a bit

Wet kisses to ya all

Henry

 

Lotta

23 juli 2022 11:52

Hmm.. the pink flamingo doesn’t connect to Florida. It menas something else that I’m too hostige to mention…😇

 

Lotta

23 juli 2022 11:55

Hostil wrong Word.. polite matberedare..😜

Från
    Kom ihåg mig
URL

Säkerhetskod
     

Kommentar

We are getting ready for the long flight back to Florida tomorrow so Mom isn't giving me any time for my story but here are some pictures from Stockholm where we are staying until tomorrow. According to Mom, this is the cleanest city we visited. and ...

 We have been having many sluggish days lately, it's been raining, and Mom was in the mood for a meal she used to love as a puppy. so she's been cooking a real meal for a change. It was very tasty but Mom seemed to have difficulties cooking for one p...

We woke up to a gorgeous sunrise at 4.45 AM It's definitely getting closer to  fall because it's getting dark at night now     Yes, Mom kept her promise and we stayed for a second night at the marina, and on the second day, we had lunch there....

It hasn't been easy to get Mom to help me with my story, because now Mom got a book that completely mesmerized her. The author is from her puppy town and the story is about a woman's life and struggles to live in Northern Sweden from 1896 to 1985. ...

Ever since we arrived in Mom's puppy town she's been sleeping later and later in the mornings, this morning she didn't get up until 7.30, that's a record. I think she's reminiscing back to her teens? Here I'm running after the ball at the same fiel...