One More Time - Day 03

So today was going to be a final look at the house we like before we make any kind of decision on it. No pressure!!
Anyway before that we decided to get some breakfast and grab a couple of bottles of wine for the Agent Paul ‘Jasper Carrott’ for all his help and patience while we looked at the house.
First off we drove north east to Champniers, which again was one of the one road villages with what appeared to be very little other than a church. Again not one shop to be found open, and definitely not somewhere to buy breakfast and wine. A quick photo of the church and then off we set again.
We then drove east to Saint Romain - still on the look out for food and wine. Saint Romain was more of a village than Champniers and felt more welcoming. That being said everything was still asleep exactly as Champniers had been. A couple of photos of the village main meeting area and statue and we were off again.
I then had the inspired idea of travelling west to Joussé where we had been before on a few occasions. We hoped the little boulangerie / shop would be open and we also knew there were toilets available in the main square.
Joussé took us about 20 minutes to get to, but so glad we did - as immediately we saw the boulangerie busy with customers.
A couple of bottles of wine carefully selected for Paul and then a couple of freshly baked apple turn overs even more carefully selected, saw us exit the boulangerie.
Breakfast standing in the sunshine by the car, both of us obviously thinking about the house viewing to come.
Speedy visits to the public loo’s and we were off to meet Paul.
We saw Paul pull into the road of the house just ahead of us. We parked up with him and had a 15 minute chat before we started our final viewing.
I won’t bore you with the details, other than to tell you the three dogs next door are good guard dogs if barking is a pre-réquisit and Teresa has established that barn owls live in barns - as we both saw a beautiful large owl exit the main barn as we entered.
We said our goodbyes to Paul and started our journey to the airport, via Civray for lunch.
We headed south west to Civray passing a large supermarché we had not seen previously and then parked up in the main square. Every time we have visited Civray we have tried to eat in a particular restaurant but for various reason have been frustrated and failed. Today was the day to break that run.
On getting to the restaurant we were asked if we had a booking - we hadn’t, so that was us failed again as they were fully booked.
We wandered to the second main restaurant by the river - closed!!
So third time lucky, in we went to a more cafe styled restaurant at the north of the square. Sat inside we ordered a chicken and cheese salad as part of the plate for the day and also what we thought was some pork styled dish. The salad was lovely, even though I’d never had chicken and cheese together before, so all going well. Then out came the main - nope not pork . . . . Kidneys and mushrooms in a dark sauce with rice and more salad. Now I’m no lover or liver or kidney (apart from a steak and kidney pie) so the first two mouthfuls were a bit of a task, at which point I suddenly found I was actually really enjoying it, I think it was the sauce that was making this dish for me. Tre obviously was having no issues and we both polished off our plates.
It was at this point Tre asked to check if Melissa was home from her exam ok. As I picked up my phone I saw a message from EasyJet saying our flight that evening was cancelled.
I told Tre what the message said and was greeted with the comment ‘Yeah Maysie, good one, do you think I’m stupid’ - so to prove my point I turned the phone so Tre could see the message. Tre then quipped ‘Yeah Maysie who did you get to send you that - good one’. It was at this point I realised my constant wind ups at home had somewhat tarnished me!
Five minutes later we were side by side at the dinner table booking a new flight for the next morning at 7am and then struggling to book a hotel near the airport for the night. Finally all done we relaxed and finished our meal.
On leaving we decided to visit the large supermarché we had seen, to buy some food stuffs for tonight at the hotel. Up to the supermarché we drove and grabbed some bits and pieces. These supermarchés never fail to impress with the quality/freshness of the food and the options available.
20minutes later we were on our way to the airport, down the N10 and through to the E606, A10 and A630 stopping briefly once to grab a drink and fuel. We then stopped for a final time just outside of Bordeaux to fill the tank for the rental company and to buy me a t-shirt for the next day. I had travelled just a little too lightly it appears.
We drove through to the airport and managed to miss the entry point for the rental cars despite having completed this return three times previously. Around we went into drop the car. Car deposited back and all securities returned we walked to the cab tank and grabbed a cab to the Premiere Classé Hotel. After booking in and ordering a cab for 4.15am in the morning, we ditched our bags in the room and then walked to the adjoint Campanile Hotel to use their bar.
We spent the evening chatting in the bar about the house and the last couple of days . . . and getting bitten by mosquitoes it would appear, although we didn’t realise at the time.
Back to the room at about 9pm, sandwiches and nibbles eaten we jumped into bed, ensuring our alarms were well and truly set.
Another evening in France was a bonus, but the early flight was going to be a drag.
That being said - the day was defo one to remember.Leer más