Racing past Le Mans

For those of you who don't know already - I've moved! I'm now staying  near Chatellerault which is about two hours south of Le Mans. But before I go into the full details about that I'd better finish telling you about my time on the coast.
Since Friday was my last day off with Anne and Tom I decided to go exploring some more and caught the bus to Caen. The bus arrived at the stop moments after I did and 1 hour and 3,90€ later I was in the 'big city'.
Now I'm not much of a city person generally but I actually quite liked Caen. I walked across the city from the station to the city's main attraction - William the Conqueror's Castle and the whole fortress surrounding it. The whole area was huge, I think it's one of the largest fortified areas in Europe, and a lot of it is still standing! Within the grounds there were a couple of museums which were free for under 26's! Although I was just a tiny bit put out when the woman insisted on ID to prove I wasn't too old, especially when she was only in her early twenties herself. The first museum was about Caen through the ages. While a lot of the prehistoric stuff isn't to varied wherever you go, the period from medieval times onwards was pretty interesting since it looked at the old traditions and culture in the area. My free pass also got me into an exhibit on the change from black and white to colour photography but I wasn't as interested in the so I stayed just long enough to see an acceptable amount then wandered off to explore the grounds some more and find food. After my sandwich (crab and salad I think)  I decided it would be a good time to try and find the new adapter I needed for my keyboard. Unfortunately none of the shops had what I needed and none of the electronic stalls on the big market really knew what I meant. After scouring the market for a little longer I was still out of luck but I did get to browse through some pretty cool hippy stalls in the meantime!
All this walking about was thirsty work so I treat myself to a coke while I sat under the canopy at Le Virgule Café and made a few notes. Once again the background music and the waiter took great pride in the fact he knew the songs and grinned at me at the start of each new track. That guy must have known over a third of all the people who walked past - something you would normally only expect from small towns but then he seemed like a pretty friendly guy so it's no wonder he knows a few people. Finally I decided it was time to head home and after getting a tiny bit lost in the dodgey part of town - only distinguishable by the adult entertainment store and super cheap take aways- I eventually found the station just in time for the next bus back.
After a quick dinner I watched short wildlife documentary then did a few things online before turning in for the night.
Saturday was my last working day so I spent it getting as much last minute strimming some as possible before being told to clock off a little early for some beach time before I left. The beach was pretty packed even at 4pm but I went for a bit of a swim then claimed a beach spot to finish reading my book. I got back just in time for dinner before packing and finalising my route.
On Sunday morning I said my goodbyes to everyone and got a lift off Peter to the roundabout up the road. It was a bit of a shame to leave as everyone was so nice and i am very greatful for being made to feel so welcome there but it was time to move on and see somewhere new.
Within a couple of minutes I already had a lift to Cabourg which was about 20km up the road. Jerry was just driving home after getting a new Iron Maiden tattoo and, like a lot of french, loved the Scottish. I know I'm not actually Scottish but saying I live there really seems to help! We had a pretty good conversation about music and parts of Europe and although a few things were lost in translation it was a good start to the day.
Jerry dropped me off at a convenient roundabout and within moments I had a lift to the south east side of Caen - right where I needed to be. Unfortunately conversation with this guy was not so easy especially due to his accent and rapid speech but as far as I know he is a chef at an international restaurant and had either just finished or was pulling a Sicky. Either way he dropped me off at a petrol station on the edge of the city and wished me luck before heading home.
20 minutes later I found my next lift. Now I had been planning on doing this trip (4 hours by car) over 2 days after the carry on getting to France but I was absolutely flying! The next guy didn't really understand my attempts at French but he said he was going to Falaise - half an hour down the road - so off we went attempting to make light conversation as we went. He dropped me off at a junction where our paths split and after confirming there was a petrol station only a few miles away he drove off the other way.
Despite the fact my new spot was a bit in the back and beyond once again I had a lift within minutes...with a family! For those who don't know families very rarely pick up hitchhikers for the sake of their kids safety - understandable. None of them really spoke English but I could just about talk to the parents in French and they managed to get me just north of Alençon  before they turned west.
After sitting by the side of the road to eat half my sandwich I set off again within a few minutes, this time with a french truckdriver who was going all the way past Le Mans to Tours - only an hour from my new home! We made great timing only stopping for a quick coffee and I was on the outskirts of the city in no time at all.
After a bit of confusion trying to get past the roadworks I found the right road and had a lift within 15 minutes. I could have been on my way even sooner but unfortunately, despite their efforts, none of the group of 6 bikers who'd stopped to see how it was going actually had a spare helmet - a shame cause there were some really nice bikes.
However I got a lift to St Maure - about 15km from my destination - and after sitting down to finish my lunch I found my final lift with another family! Now unfortunately I really have no idea how to spell the girls name and don't want to spell it wrong but her, her father and brother made room for my bag and off we went. Her English was really good so we effectively swapped languages - she spoke English and I replied in French. Before I knew it we were already in Richelieu and we parted ways but they were a great family and if they're reading this THANK YOU!
I sat and read in the town square for a little while before Kate arrived to take me to the house. In that 15 minute drive I knew I would love it here.
Kate and Vince live out in the country and are working on renovating their 200 year old home while also running a website selling organic health food products. They're just such wonderful and friendly people - I know I'm going to have a great week here.
Upon arrival Kate brought out the kittens that I would be helping with - 8 week old Luna, Galahad and Khalisee (like from the TV series Game of Thrones). They are adorable! After about an hour with them I got to see my home for the week. The garden house is such a great little place with crystals placed around the room, beaded lampshades, ornate dresser plus a number of soapstone oil burners and loads of candles- very arty and really cool.
After dinner -chunky vegetable omelette and salad - we all had an early night after a long day and within a few minutes of reading I was fast asleep.
Working hours are a little different here as I only start at 10am so I ad a bit of a lie in then spent some time sitting with a mug of tea in the garden looking out at the valley. I was going to do some meditation but Aurora, one of the other cats, insisted on being stroked - I couldn't ignore her!
After a lovely filling breakfast - fresh muslei with almond milk I spent some time with the kittens before starting with the day's work - standing a couple of the windows. It was a simple but slow job due to the amount of small panes of glass to sand around but the weather was gorgeous and I could keep an eye on the kittens too.
Lunch was called around 1pm and some of Kate and Vince's friends came around too. One couple live nearby and the other couple are mutual friends staying with the first couple. We spent a good two hours enjoying our vegan lasagne (courgette instead of meat and cashew cheese instead of dairy). We also had salad fresh from the garden and washed it down with a little wine while we chatted and watched the kittens enjoying their recent freedom.
After organising to meet up for a movie night the following night they left to continue their tour and we got back to work. I finished sanding down the windows and started on the underlayer of paint before finishing for the day after only five hours of work - at this rate I'm going to feel like I definitely haven't done enough on my side of the exchange!