For some Americans, the conception of a B&B is a small spare room in the middle of someone’s house. At these elegant B&Bs in France, the rooms were spacious and occasionally, there was a separate entrance for guests or completely independent units. Many of the properties we stayed in had swimming pools, and nearly all had lovely grounds and yards.
This style of travel, staying only at B&Bs, generally in the countryside, was new to us. It has several advantages, one being the chance to interact with real French people and to meet other travelers. All our hosts were welcoming and helpful (you would expect them to be, given the business they’re in), and a few I would now venture to call friends. I would guess that many of them are in their 50’s and a few older, and their children are grown.
In some cases, the woman is the primary host, in a few it was a couple working together, and in two other cases, it was the man. Karen and Spencer left jobs in the corporate world to run their B&B; Jean-Christophe has run his property for about 16 years. His wife is a judge. Richard and Philippe had careers in the hotel industry before becoming B&B owners. Valkyrie and her husband have a large house and with their daughters gone, she decided to make use of their extra space.
France Just for You specializes in self-drive itineraries and arranges lodging at carefully curated Bed and Breakfasts. They provide a spiral bound book with complete information for your trip: all the travel details; explanations of traffic signs and how to pay highway tolls; maps; the history of each region; restaurant, museum, and parking lot recommendations; and a suggested itinerary for each day. The GPS coordinates for each B&B and parking destination are included. The same info is also in the phone app they provide.
There are many pluses and a few disadvantages or challenges to this kind of travel. We chose what regions we wanted to visit. We also planned a long trip, 4 weeks, which affected the distance covered and the number of different B&Bs. Following are some key points.
- Lovely B&B properties. Most B&Bs had extensive grounds or gardens and a pool. Rooms were typically good-sized to large and nicely decorated, and sometimes had their own entrance. We found ourselves enjoying the grounds of our later places and the chance to sit outside.
- Super hosts as noted above! One host even did a wash for us, including folding all the clothes.
- Table d’hote dinners. We enjoyed three dinners with our hosts. They offered delicious food and another opportunity for interaction with them and other guests. We got a different perspective on French life and current issues than we might otherwise have.
- Meeting other guests. At the beginning, we overlapped with other guests, a mix of American, French, and British tourists. Since the high season had ended, we were sometimes the only or the last guests before the B&B closed for the winter. We did see again the couple from New Orleans, whom we’d met in Bordeaux, at breakfast at our hotel in Paris.
- Lots of time in the car. For us and the number of places we wished to visit, a typical stay at a B&B was 2-3 nights. We had two one-nighters and two stays that were for 4 nights (one being the Paris hotel.). The length of the drive to the next B&B (if you were to go directly) was never more than 4 hours. Add in lunch and a stop at a town along the way, and you are easily in the car for five or more hours. Designated check-in times at a B&B were most often between 5:00 and 7:00 pm. A few were earlier.
- Later breakfasts. The French start their day much later than many Americans, particularly us. Breakfast was often at 8:30 or 9:00 and occasionally 8:00. Being early risers, we appreciated the few 8:00 am times. The precise breakfast fare varied, but we could always count on croissants, bread, fresh fruit, usually cheese, and occasionally sliced ham or salami. Eggs were offered too if you wished. Walkyrie always baked a fruit crumble or other tempting treat.
- Staying in the countryside. Except for Chinon and Paris, the B&Bs were located outside town and very quiet. This was great for sleeping but did mean that going out to dinner was a 5-to-10-mile drive to a nearby town. Add in hills or twisty, narrow roads and dining out required greater care and less wine. We did have some wonderful meals in small towns, but later took to having a dinner-sized meal at lunch and seeking out simpler or closer alternatives for dinner.
- Being adaptable. Every B&B is different. And unlike hotel rooms where the layout is pretty standard, the rooms here might mean carrying luggage up a spiral staircase or figuring out how to get hot water in the shower. Daily housekeeping is not the norm; towels are usually replaced after 2-3 days, etc.
- Appreciating the unexpected. We enjoyed homemade walnut leaf liqueur one night and homemade walnut wine and walnut cake the next. One host was super gracious when we took the keys with us, and the next host took them to the post office for us. Other hosts were always at the ready with plates and glasses for our takeout or more cake and cider when our evening repast was granola bars.
THE PIZZA TRUCK
In the category of the unexpected was the following.
We were staying with Jean-Christophe outside Aix, sort of in the country. I didn’t quite believe him when he said a pizza truck showed up down the road each day around 5 pm. The Chief Penguin and I asked him to repeat the directions and we walked out his gate, down the dirt road, and turned left to walk along a busy road. Lo and behold, not far ahead was a red truck. Pizza Rossi, it read. A genial guy was inside and happy to take our order. Next to the red truck was a blue wine truck—only in France—selling wine by the bottle. Behind the pizza truck was tented comfortable seating area for waiting or “dining in.”
We ordered the La Quatre Saisons pizza. It had a thin crust and was baked in a proper hot oven. When we returned to the B&B, Jean-Christophe immediately set us up at a small outside table with plates, silver, and glasses. It was so very good; we repeated the process the next night (after a sizable lunch) and tried a different pizza.
Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)
