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As I have written before, Air BnB is a great resource. So is Booking. Sometimes, though, things end up being an adventure. And sometimes that adventure ends up being better than the original plan.
The other day I had a plan that would have me riding across the French countryside then ending up in a National Park area with lots of Air BnB options. Unfortunately, to avoid some city traffic I got on the Autobahn and did not stop to look at the map. The Autobahn brought me too far out of my way to go the route I had planned. I got off, and looked at my options. Plenty. So I booked an Air BnB away from the city, but looking to be close enough to restaurants.
The thing about Air BnB is that it is not really geared towards last minute bookings. This one was only 20 minutes away. It was an immediate booking so I just went there. When I got to the house, it was under construction. I am thinking "Good thing it is early in the day." The man doing the construction spoke no English and was guarding the gate like I was going to storm the house. It turns out that the paint was wet and he was making sure I did not get dirty.
The Air BnB message said I was supposed to be greeted by the host. Sometimes during slow seasons the Air BnB hosts will leave their places listed as available even when they are not. It was not looking good.
Then two young women show up, apologizing. They were out walking the dog and did not have their phones with them so they did not know I was coming. The room was not ready, but if I went to dinner, it would be ready when I got back. I looked in the house, and it was only the yard that was being worked on. It was a fabulous house.
They sent me to dinner at this castle, which has many restaurants.
Well, only a few of them are open at American eating times, at least during the slow season. I chose one of the two. Then, as I am eating my meal I get a text telling me NOT to eat at that place, that the food was not fresh. Gulp. It turns out that the food is good, but they don't use a lot off fresh local vegetables so it is not great. I would agree, but it was half the price of the meal I had the night before in Switzerland and twice as good. The place they recommended was closed when I was looking, but I had looked at it and the menu, and it looked great.
As for the Air BnB, the place was one of the best, and I had a great time talking to the hosts. I don't normally like interacting with my hosts very much, but this time it was well worth it. Which brings me to the next place.
The next day I stopped in the early afternoon to book a room. I had enough time to get to the coast so I found a place there. The Air BnB app sent a message that I would receive confirmation after they confirmed my identity. A weird precaution that I occasionally see. Not a problem. Over two hours later I get a message saying that the place is not available that day. Now it is getting later in the day. I book my second choice, which is an immediate booking, so I am in. As the App says, I can now call that place my home. NOT. An hour later the host contacts me saying that the building is under construction and cannot accept guests.
NOW it is getting late. I spent so much time booking a room that I would now be getting to the coast rather late. Looking at Booking and Air BnB I found a few places that met my criteria closer to where I was. Still an hour and a half from the coast, but it was near dinner time.
I booked the closest available that was not in a city. The one I chose was, well, different. Well, different from any I had been in before. Riding through the little village, it was looking bad. Old, run down, potentially rough. The house was just outside the village in a fairly new development. It was a nice family house, with a nice family with 2 young kids. I am assuming the couple were the grandparents. I knew it was OK when they showed me to the garage and there was a shiny 1970 BMW motorcycle, obviously currently being used.
I was shown to my room. They had 3 guest rooms just off the family's living room. It appeared as though the kids moved out so they fixed the house up to receive guests. It was nice, clean and my own shower. There were a few tiny restaurants within walking distance
The woman spoke only limited English. The man spoke no English, but he did speak motorcycle so we had a good time talking. We shared a few beers, watched some French TV, and "talked" using the Google Translate App.
Had it not been for that app, we would have just stared across the table at each other.
