robert1952:
Thank you: you are spot on there, Relais de la Beauce is at Ymonenville! You mentioned the bypassed St Germaine la Gatine near Chartre. I used that one quite a lot and always got a good meal there. I can feel a carafe coming on already! Robert
We always reckoned that St. Germain la Gatine was about half way home here from Calais and the first time I stopped my wife was with me. The old couple running it were about to retire and, after we got chatting after the meal were invited to share digestives with them. The next time there a young bloke had taken over and he was really keen to make it work, naturally, and would rush across the road each time another wagon pulled up to make sure it parked prettily! There wasn’t a lot of room and he wanted to make sure everyone could get in.
I was rushing to get there one night and got stopped by the ministry for a controle. I told the bloke I needed to go otherwise I would miss my meal. He checked everything but didn’t delay. I was too late for a meal but the patron made me some sandwiches and produced a bottle of red instead.
Are you still on the road with that black Stralis, Robert? I’ll keep an eye open for you if you are.