So, I’ll introduce you to Robèrt (pronounced Rob-air).
If you don’t know who Robèrt is, or what happened to Claude, you’ll have to go back and read yesterday’s post.
We drove Claude all through France and Tuscany for 4,663 happy kilometres getting an average of 5.7 litres/100km, and without getting a scratch, yet it was a flat tyre that couldn’t be reinflated that was his undoing.
Robèrt is a Renault Arkana, white (or “blanc” as they say in France), automatic and another hybrid vehicle.
Robèrt is OK, but I prefer Claude.
Today is our last full day in Europe, and we are staying at Patricia and Gerard’s place in Congis-sur-Thérouanne.
Congis-sur-Thérouanne is a pretty and quiet little village about 45 minutes drive to the east of Paris. We wanted to be close to Paris so that when we dropped Claude back, we wouldn’t have far to travel.
But now we are only dropping back a single key of Claude’s, and then dropping Robèrt back to the rental car returns.
If getting into the rental car returns at Paris CDG airport is as convoluted as getting out last night, it should be an interesting way to finish our holiday.
As I was saying, Congis-sur-Thérouanne is a really pretty little commune (village) here in France, and very different to anywhere else we have stayed. To be completely honest, Congis-sur-Thérouanne is probably exactly the kind of place that I expected we would be staying on this holiday in France.
A lovely place to end our trip.
Quiet, peaceful, like it is stuck in time. The streets are quaint and narrow, and laid out in all meandering directions like they used to be walking paths.
The church sits in the middle of town and seems to be the centrepiece of the community of less than 2,000 people. The church bells still chime on the hour, with a single chime on the half hour.
There is agriculture all around the village – as close as the end of our street – and you can picture local farmers hearing the church bells tolling, and knowing it’s time to go home for lunch.
One of the primary crops is rapeseed (see yesterday’s photos), which is commonly used to make vegetable oil.
Patricia and Gerard’s AirBNB is a beautifully appointed stand-alone dwelling, and comes complete with everything we could possibly need. Which is nice, because some places will advertise (for example) that they have a coffee machine, but not provide any coffee.
That may not sound like an overwhelming problem, but when you consider that there are dozens of different types of coffee machine on the market, and they all use different types of coffee or coffee pod, it becomes a bit of a nuisance having to keep buying more, because the last lot you bought won’t work here.
We started the morning with a stroll down to our local boulangerie to get breakfast – croissants, of course – then we walked home and ate them with coffee.
MBW has been doing some repacking of our suitcases, and I have succeeded in staying out of they way.
A bit later this morning we made a trip to E.Lecerc nearby (that will be take #2 after yesterday’s aborted attempt), and it was a nerve-wracking trip, I have to say.
We got to the shopping centre without incident or flat tyres, and poked around for a while. We bought some stuff for Little Miss Almost 2 Years Old, plus a baguette for lunch and headed back out to Claude … er Robèrt.
Sorry Claude. RIP.
When we got out to Robèrt, there was a flyer under the windscreen wiper … advertising car tyres on special.
Somebody is taking the mickey, and I am not amused.
Home for lunch and more packing. We are just about there, although whether I have the strength to lift those suitcases in and out of the car one more time remains to be seen. They are a lot heavier than I remember.
I asked ChatGPT for recommendations for a local restaurant to celebrate our last night here, and a fabulous holiday. There is a place down the road that looks OK, but I checked with Patricia and Gerard for their view, and they recommended another place not far away, and then made a booking for us.
Le Beau Rivage. Should be a nice evening.
We went for a walk around the village just to enjoy our last afternoon here.
It has been a beautiful day here in Congis-sur-Thérouanne; sunny and warm(ish) with high level clouds. The weather is only going to get better this week with highs up to 28° or 29° on Thursday. Shame we will miss that.
I think we are almost there.
There are probably a few things I’d do differently if we did this again, but I’ll share those thoughts (and a review on Le Beau Rivage) tomorrow while I’m sitting at the airport.
Ciao
#Europe2025
You have had an amazing trip. We hope you have a comfortable flight home. Queensland is a good place to call home.
Regards