We recently hosted vintage car owners; first time for us, even though there are occasionally vintage cars shows in the area. They had dinner at our place twice over the course of their weekend, and then left last Monday, during the heatwave, behind the wheels of their beautiful Austin Healeys.
They were so taken with our dog Snow — and to be fair, he really is an absolute sweetheart — that they wanted a photo of him with the cars. I played along, and ended up in the photos myself. It was a lovely moment under the blue skies of La Manche. The drive back must have been tough for them due to high temperatures in Paris. Such cars cannot go faster than 110 km/h, and even at 80 or 90 km/h, they already start to vibrate. I was actually very impressed by the sound of those engines; they very much sound like a motorcycle.
They made the most of the Cotentin, especially La Hague — although their plan was to spend more time in Barneville-Carteret, I convinced them to go explore La Hague. They were absolutely delighted with their stay at La Becterie. As vintage cars owners, they found the locals (“les Manchots”) easy to talk to and eager to come chat with them about their cars. I wasn’t surprised since people from La Manche are indeed always very kind and welcoming.
On the day of their departure, they left me some kind notes, which I’ve transcribed here:
- “Perfect, Mathieu — everything was wonderful, including your cooking skills. We’ll have to come back, as three days wasn’t enough” – Patricia & Pascal
- “A place worth recommending. Warm welcome, perfect cuisine. Attentive to our needs, Mathieu is the right man for the job. This profession suits him perfectly. Thank you, we’ll surely be back.” – Françoise et Guy