We are happy to discover that all 3 dogs are alive and doing fine when we find them in their crates at the large baggage area in Paris. It takes about 45 minutes for us to get our luggage and for Howard to break down the crates (the half crates nestle together so the 3 crates are a bit smaller for transportation). Just as Howard arranges the broken-down crates on the trolley, an airport policeman tells us the dogs should stay in the secure crates until we exit the airport building. (We have always taken the dogs from the crates immediately when they arrive at the Paris airport; at LAX it is forbidden to let the dogs out before you leave the terminal.) As I tell Howard he must put the crates back together (!) the policeman says “Never mind, just get them out of here!” I am grateful for his French attitude which is: circumvent the law whenever you can!
So we have 3 crazy dogs in tow (I am carrying Lucky because he’s slow and cannot see all that well), 2 FULL baggage trolleys and we are trying to make our way out of the airport terminal and trying to figure out how to call the car people from our new phone. I tell Howard I am going to find the “information” desk to see if they can easily help us. I find said desk just around the corner and the lady is a saint! She calls the car people and tells us exactly where to go for pickup.
The driver is a VERY tall, slim, good looking, 20 something guy who has the Gallic, no-silliness demeanor. On the way to the lease agency Toby barks at people who happen to cross the road in front of us. Our stoic guy has a distinct smile on his face as Toby gives those people “what-for”!
Nice car but it’s black–I hate black cars! (Within a day the car is covered with dirt!) It’s a Renault “Scenic.” It seats 7 including 2 jump seats in the back. It really is a nice car! As in the past, I easily remember how to drive a manual transmission. And we are off!
Our destination is Chateau du Max in Le Theil, about halfway to our ultimate destination (about a 3 hour drive). The Chateau is a 1,000 castle complete with mote! 
What a beauty but what a money sink, we imagine. Our room is very nice; it includes a sitting room on the bottom floor and a bedroom on the second story. We have requested dinner. Our dinner-mates are our proprietress, Dominique; her son, Jacques; and Renee, a family friend who is helping to renovate the castle. Jacques asks us what we would like an aperitif and he lists the choices: port, “martini” and whiskey. I say “Martini! Why not!” He serves us a red liquid in a normal glass with ice. Howard says “pianissimo” (very quietly) “It’s “Martini & Rossi.” It’s vermouth, NOT a martini! HA! It was very nice anyway.
We have had approximately 3 hours of sleep over the past 30 hours. Our brains are jelly! So now we are thrust into an evening with 3 people who speak NO English! They are keen to tell us how bad France is. I can’t believe we did not just collapse on the floor drooling from fatigue. I THINK our hosts understood about 60% of what we said in French. I also think we understood about 50% of what was said to us in French. I do believe that our hosts were impressed with what little French we were able to muster. They were amazed that any American could speak a word of French; we hear that a lot in France.
Renee was the best dinner-mate. He was a very attractive 50-60yo-something man who has a great talent for body language in lieu of spoken words. He mimed the local BIG domestic cat who was afraid of mice; how one reacts to bad wine; and a few more hilarious situations. Our dinner was fantastic! The 1st course was a delicious quiche; the main course was veal blanquette (veal with cream sauce) and rice; then a great cheese course; and finally clafoutis. I feel bad that I am not able to finish the complete meal. Too bad I was unable to ask for a doggie bag! (There are no doggie bags in France.)
We tell our guests we will be at the dining table at 9am the next morning for breakfast. Thanks to sleeping pills we wake up at 10am! We have a nice French breakfast as we listen to our proprietors loudly discuss how they are going to outmaneuver the government on an issue we cannot understand.
In the light rain we take off for our new home in Servain, a 4 hour drive.