Day 2: Folkestone to Quarré-les-Tombes via Calais

Up at 5.15am and down to breakfast at 6.00 and then off to Tesco's down the road to buy a picnic lunch to save ourselves time on the journey.    We departed through the tunnel at 7.50.  The interior of the Eurotunnel is looking a bit the worse for wear and probably hasn't been updated for years, but it's still a quick and efficient way of getting to France.

We belted down the autoroutes and stopped at a service area to eat our lunch.   Then on towards our destination, stopping in Chaorce...source of one of our favourite cheeses.   We took a look in side the church (rather heavy organ loft on carved pillars and interesting painted chapel) and then spied the Cheese Museum.   Apparently it was closed to individual visitors and only open to groups of 10 or more.   As a group was about to arrive, the man at the door took pity on us and let us in.   We had guide books/folders in English which were incredibly detailed...the origin and date of every cow bell faithfully recorded.   There were several rooms full of historic cheese and butter making equipment in woods of every type and hue.   It was fascinating.  There was supposed to be a film and a cheese tasting at the end, but we didn't have time to wait for the group to work their way round the museum.  

We had a cold drink at a café and drove on to our hotel, Auberge de l'Atre, stopping in the village of Quarré-les-Tombes to suss out provisions for a picnic lunch tomorrow.

This is our third visit to Auberge de l'Atre and the patron is a little greyer and walks less steadily and he probably would say the same of us if he remembered us!   We have a nice light and airy room up two flights of stairs (we're going to have to start asking for ground floor rooms!) and time for a nap before dinner!

We had a pre-dinner drink in the garden - the aperitif du Maison.  A bit sweet for us!  Then, after consultation with both the chef and the waiter we ordered a salad of smoked goose to share as a starter.  Then Peter had lambs kidneys with mushrooms and I had sweetbreads with mushrooms - both delicious.  I was planning to photograph the food, but it wasn't that sort of dining room!  Out came the cheese trolley.  We both had a selection of three cheeses  served with a bowl of walnuts, and then shared a pistachio ice cream.   All washed down with a bottle of Morgon.    I have to admit to taking a Rennie's in the middle of the night!