Chaumont

After the Wizzair experience and a Mister Toad’s Wild Ride around the outskirts of Paris, we finally reached the tiny village of Chaumont where we were put up in the Chateau there. The Chateau is an ancient chateau that is many centuries old and is directly across the street from our friends’ house, which was once one of the outbuildings of the chateau. The Chateau is beautifully decorated in the lower levels, but decorated in the upstairs by someone who either ran out of money or whose taste was entirely in his (or her) mouth. We were in an attic room that was sizeable enough, in fact, really large by European standards, but was carpeted a garish red, with art deco kind of fixtures that were totally out of place. To top it off, France is experiencing a brutal heat wave right now, with temperatures in the 90s with high humidity levels, much like the American south in the summer. The Chateau has no air conditioning, so we sweltered all night in the heat-collecting attic and got no decent sleep until the early hours of the morning.
It was up and off to the continental breakfast that was fully carb loaded: bread and more bread, orange juice, jams and jellies, and coffee. Then we had to hog our bags across the street because we only had the Chateau for one night due to a wedding party coming in to take the whole shebang over. I hope they enjoyed the heat.
We hung out with out friends, then I was off in the sweltering heat to play golf. On my first try at a European course, I parred the first couple of holes, then reverted to my usual slightly better than mediocre play. We walked the course and carried our bags, which was a bear in the heat and humidity.
We returned to our friends’ house and spent the night in another non-air conditioned room. We were spared the slumber party as the teenagers’ friends had not yet arrived.