Best Western Hotel D'angleterre

If you go to a nice...

by Jeannette1

If you go to a nice restaurant, they will bring you the 'plateau de fromages' (cheese tray) and you will be asked to select what cheese you want. The general rule of thumb is to select no more than 3 small pieces(the waiter will cut them for you)...you just point or ask for a mild, strong cheese, or name the cheese if you are familiar with what is being offered. My favorite cheese is called Maroilles but it's very strong and probably not to everybody's liking. It was created 1300 years ago by the monks of Maroilles.
It's fun to try new cheeses, though, and don't forget to order a nice red wine to go with the cheese!

Bourges, Cathedral and Town

by Beausoleil

"Proof positive that when it rains, it pours!"

I'm sure you've heard that gargoyles are decorative ways to move water off the roof of a cathedral so it won't damage the inside of the walls. I believed it but never saw it in action until Bourges. We were inside the cathedral on a cold damp day when suddenly it sounded like a waterfall outside. We all walked over to the porch and it was pouring rain. It was coming down in sheets and we were all trapped inside the church . . . not a bad place to be trapped. I grabbed my trusty camera and got a shot of a very efficient gargoyle doing his job magnificently.

Let's hear it for working gargoyles!

"Shopping can be so much fun!"

It was a very cold, windy, rainy day and no one was out in the streets. If it had been a sunny day, this shop would have been full of people. The candy was so beautiful.

"A very interesting local restaurant"

It was pouring rain and we were hungry. We left the cathedral and just started walking. There were few people about and this was the first restaurant we saw that appeared open.

We walked in and there were four local men and a very enthusiastic waitress. Since we brought the total of lunch customers to six, she was very happy to see us. Due to the weather everyone was very welcoming and friendly. The food was excellent and very reasonable. The only down side was the "facilities" were of the footprint variety, i.e. Turkish, but nevertheless spotless. All in all it was a fun lunch.