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French Frolics

september 2022 - juli 2025
  • Andy and Teresa Mays
  • Teresa Mays
Nuvarande
Jumping off the hampster wheel, taking a breath and hopefully enjoying our lives to the full. Champagne, wine and plenty of cheese. Läs mer
  • Andy and Teresa Mays
  • Teresa Mays
Reser för närvarande

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  • Frankrike Frankrike
  • England England
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  • French Frolics
    Rapeseed
    Unknown red crop

    04.04 Day 200 . . . It’s The 200 Up !!

    4 april 2023, Frankrike ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Day 200 - I never in my wildest dreams thought I would get this far, probably most people would wish I’d given up writing these a long time ago 😂😂
    So once up - and at a reasonable time, we breakfasted and then cracked on with the To Do list as we had promised ourselves yesterday. Today’s tasks completed were - reading over our options again on inheritance law in France and sending an email to our brilliant English Notaire for some further advise. Another email to our French Notaires clerk. An email to the lorry hire company asking some questions - trying to get our ducks in line. Checking dates re storage we have. Phone calls to banks in the UK for more info for the accountant spreadsheet and further completion of that spreadsheet. There were other bits but again it fogs your brain after a few hours of this stuff 😳
    At 2pm we got ready and headed out to get our weekly shop, deciding to go to Melle as we also needed to go to ARC charity shop on route as Teresa had one another auction item 🙄 I think we are the only ones bidding 😂😂
    The drive to Sainte Soline was lovely as all the rapeseed is nearly out fully and looks brilliant in sunshine with bright blue skies. Oh yeah it’s stopped raining yesterday!! Arc wasn’t to busy on arrival and after a bit of a phaff finding the right person to get the item we were sorted and two glass jugs better off.
    We drove from Arc to Melle and had a good old wander round SuperU. - picking up a couple of bits we’ve not tried before. One being a French black sausage which apparently is like black pudding - wait for the update on that. Boudin Noir or Blood sausage is one of the oldest and most traditional of French foods, with inscriptions and documents stretching back 2000 years showing its production. Up to the second world war, it was common for families in rural areas to keep a pig, which was raised to be slaughtered at the beginning of winter. This was a major event each year, with the entire family working from dawn to dust to slaughter, bleed, butcher and process every part of the pig. Nothing was wasted, even the blood and bones were used. Not only was this an important source of meat, but also a source of food during the lean winter months. As this tradition of keeping a family pig for slaughter had faded from being commonplace to being almost unknown, Boudin Noir has declined from being a staple of the average families diet to being merely one of many types of sausage available. However, you will still find Boudin Noir in any serious butcher shop. Nowadays Boudin Noir is prepared by butchers (or factories) using modern methods. Before being stuffed into its casing, the blood is mixed with various ingredients, depending on the recipe of the producer. These typically include some of the following: herbs, onions, cream, fat, fruit, vegetables, grain, apples or chestnuts. Although the name "blood sausage" may be unattractive to some, it is essentially the same idea as British "black pudding", which is not uncommon as part of a British fried breakfast. Except when fat or cream are added, it is a lean and healthy source of protein. Unless pre-cooked, Boudin Noir does not keep for a long time, so should be prepared and eaten within a day or so of being purchased.
    From Melle we drove home the reverse route simply so we could enjoy the views of the rapeseed fields. We did see in the way home some more fields which are a weird red tinted colour - we have no idea what this crop is, or if it is as a result of being sprayed with something. More homework needed on this. Anyhow the farmers are out harvesting this . . . and it is barely above ground level 🤔
    It was probably about 6pm before we got home and Teresa started in dinner, while I drew up some very simple plans about conversion we would like to do at the house - if possible. Tre had brilliantly come up with an idea while we were at Îlé d’Oléron, which I had obviously put a bit of input on, but both agreed I scribbled some ideas on paper. Let’s see if this ever comes to fruition 😂 Money, my building ability and the Mairie are three main factors in this 🙄
    After dinner we settled in for some TV and I tucked into a bag of liquorice we had bought in Melle. For some reason after years of not having it, both Tre and I have had some over the past weeks in mixed sweet bags found here. This however was a dedicated fairly large bag of entirely liquorice. To say I had more than I should have is an understatement. Tre had some but I was a little piggy and kept popping my hand in the bag.
    The morale of the story is - if you want a stomach ache at bedtime and a feeling of nausea, then eat as much liquorice as I did.
    Let’s see tomorrow if I made it through the night without my head having been down a pan at some hour if the night!! 🤢🤢    Läs mer

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  • French Frolics

    03.04 Day 199 . . . Nothing But Admin

    3 april 2023, Frankrike ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    So the downside of having some days away is that when you get home you need to catch up on the less exciting stuff.
    Today was one of those days!!
    Tre and I still have a long list of ‘To Do’s’ for our French adventure - some more important than others. So now working on the principle of every day we do a few - we keep knocking them off the list.
    So once up and breakfasted we cracked on - email to the Notaires clerk re the Safer and Mairie enquiries. Phone call to insurance company re household insurance quote. Research of nanking and savings accounts - you wouldn’t believe the detail needed - for the accountant spreadsheet, to get us into the French system. Other phone calls re planning our move. Updating the accountant spreadsheet with more info. I can’t even remember what else we did but it took us through to mid afternoon. To be fair we weren’t helped by the non existant wifi and my phone having an off day!
    Breaking the monotony, I did get a message from my mum who was obviously searching through some photos at home - two photos showing an uncanny likeness between her and Lauren as small children.
    Finally finished, we decided to watch the last half hour of a film we had abandoned the day before due to the non wifi issue for Netflix. That half hour took us about an hour and a half to watch with continual buffering.
    We then say and had dinner - lovely chilli and the remaining cauliflower cheese from yesterday.
    A couple of emails came back from the Notaires clerk which we can sort tomorrow and that’s how easy you can lose a day to admin.
    Once the house is sorted and the accountant these sort of days will be massively reduced.    Läs mer

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  • French Frolics
    Wheatear

    02.04 Day 198 . . . Happy Burvday Loz

    2 april 2023, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    There was a promise of lots of tools being sold at one of the local charity places this morning - ‘Hope’ At Sauze Vaussais.
    Having rested quite well yesterday 😂 we were up relatively early and out the door ready for our jaunt out.
    We got to Hope at about 9.30am and then saw the sign about being open at 10am. So we decided to check out another road to the Chenay house - thinking about lorry access. The road didn’t end up where we expected it to and so we made a small deviation to drive past the house anyway. On route we saw a number of Buzzards in the ploughed fields and then a very small bird which appeared to have a mask around its eyes. A black line that made it look like a bank robber. No idea what it was, so some research needed later. Nothing had changed at the house - no sign of a mass clear out at this point.
    We returned to Hope and went to explore. There were next to no tools, just the normal charity shop bits and pieces - plates, cups, glasses and jigsaws. Hope also has a little shop that sells English food stuffs - we’d never visited before so took a look. As luck would have it we’d just run out of English tea bags and the shop had a large bag. I decided we needed some . . . 10 bloody euros for a bag of tea bags!! Won’t be doing that again!!
    Before we left we grabbed a bacon roll each from a stall outside - bacon is still something we miss here, only when we smell it 🥓🥓
    From Hope we drove to the small spar in Sauze to grab some bits for dinner and then back to the Chenay house so I could check the route we actually would have to use, to see if it was suitable for a lorry . . . All seems ok!
    From the house we drove to Caunay where we knew there was a vide grenier
    happening. It appears this weekend is the start of all the local village vide grenier and brocantes starting.
    We parked at Caunay and had a walk around the stalls, lots of bits that would be handy when we have the house, but not at the moment as we don’t want anything else to store or move.
    From Caunay we decided to visit Lezay and their vide grenier also on this morning. As we left we commented on how nice Caunay was, we’d not visited before. One particular garden caught our eye as we drove past its boundary wall covered in Grape Hyacinth and Succulents.
    By the time we got to Lezay the weather had turned and was overcast and rain loomed. There wasn’t really very much at the vide and so we didn’t stay long.
    Back in Rox we took yet another untried route back to home, using back roads now full of fields of rapeseed. It’s grown quite substantially in the week we have been away.
    The afternoon drifted away, more penguins to catch up on and dinner cooked. A ‘Happy Birthday’ phone call to Lauren, who was out enjoying herself and then a quick call to my mum.
    Social media provided me with a little envy in regards to a little red tractor we could have bought if we had been in our house, but some thankful news that Graham Potter had been sacked - at last. The small bird we had seen earlier, our bank robber, was in-fact a Wheatear. First time ever seeing one of these and not a name I’d heard of before.
    Fab cauliflower cheese and steaks were on the menu for dinner, some evening TV and another day was done.
    Now we are actually in April - the house seems less of a dream and possibly more reality.    Läs mer

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    01.04. Day 197 . . . Barely Out Of Bed

    1 april 2023, Frankrike ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    We were so tired from our four days away that we felt we needed a rest. Tre didn’t wake til nearly 10am anyway and when she did apart from a few cups of tea in bed, some social media browsing some general catching up with news and another small nap - we did nothing. We finally hauled ourselves out of bed at 3pm . . . That is a new record for France!!
    Whilst in our bed we watched torrential downpours outside. One would stop then half hour later another would start - it was non-stop.
    Once up and about, I tapped up some penguin notes while Tre pottered about doing some little jobs around the place.
    As the afternoon turned into early evening the rain showers continued.
    We knocked up a very unhealthy dinner of kebab meat in a baguette with salad and sat watching TV whilst eating.
    At the point that’s film came on Tre had seen enough TV and retired to bed. I watched 10 minutes and decided to join her - probably the shortest amount of time I have spent between getting up and going to bed in many years.
    Anyhow we blamed it on the rain!!

    No Photos    Läs mer

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    31.03 Day 196 . . . Home By The Sea!

    31 mars 2023, Frankrike ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Today was our last day, so we were up relatively early packing our few bits and pieces away. All loaded into Rox we went inside to say our goodbyes to the lovely receptionist lady and paid our outstanding bill.
    We had decided first thing that we would go and find one of the most popular beaches on the island, which actually wasn’t far from our hotel.
    Plage de Gâtseau had a fairly large car park and we could imagine it being murder during the holiday periods. We walked from the car park and onto the most glorious (windswept this morning) beach. The sun was out with a stiff breeze, but it was stunning - and we were the the only ones on the beach. Myself being The Lone Ranger meant that Tonto was head tracker and she deducted one other person and a small dog had been on the beach at some point before us this morning. We made a plan to return here again once the holiday period was over - September time, to come down here one evening with a picnic and some beers to watch the sunset. It really was a wonderful place to visit on a last day in the sunshine with lovely views of the Bay of Biscay. We attempted to take some timer selfies, which Tre thought was funny especially when my phone kept falling in the sand - I wasn’t that amused!
    Walking off the beach we called Le Grunge restaurant to book a table for lunch at 1230 - the French do like a Réservation and we have learnt to our cost that if you snooze you lose when it comes to tables at lunch time.
    We returned to Saint-Trojan and into a small bar for a coffee and then continued on down to the port. We had promised to bring some oysters shells back for someone - so they could use them for art projects. We knew there were piles of them around the port area. Parked up near to Le Grunge, we walked across to the port area and for once I took my proper camera with me. On route to collect the shells I stopped numerous times to grab some shots, most of which repeats of those I’d taken on the phone some days ago. The sun was again out and the weather was glorious.
    After collecting the shells and taking the photos, we dumped everything back into Rox and walked down the road to Grunge. The lady owner was on hand as was the waitress who the other evening had tried to avoid us as she spoke no English. However after finally chatting with her the other night, her confidence had obviously grown for today, as all she wanted to do was talk with us and try out her English.
    The food again was stunning, Tre had baked Camembert and I had six oysters (getting my count up) . . . scrummy. We both then had tuna steak with a sesame crust, which was served effectively raw . . . we had been advised at the time of ordering. It really was a fab last meal on Île d’Oléron. We said our goodbyes, assuring the owner we would be back - Im sure she was comforted by this !!
    From Saint-Trojan we drove to Saint-Pierre to buy some aftershave/perfume we had sampled the day before and decided to return for - we should have bought it then. In the same shop we had bought the earrings, we now purchased the scent, together with a ring for Tre.
    From Saint-Pierre we drove down to the east corner of the island to Le Château-d’Oléron which we had also been recommended to visit. Again we drove through many many oysters beds, mile after mile of them.
    We arrived in the Citadel of Château-D’Oléron and parked up within the area of the fortifications.
    A 17th century defensive citadel Built under Louis XIII from 1630, the citadel was probably completed around 1640 before the death of Cardinal de Richelieu, whose armouries were on its walls. When the arsenal royal de Rochefort became the main military port of the country, under the impulse of Louis XIV's minister Colbert, the need to protect the site from English threats became obvious. The fortifications of Château d'Oléron multiplied and became stronger around the original citadel. Largely built on marshes, these fortifications required pharaonic work. The ensemble evolved until the middle of the 18th century. Today, the citadel is a very accomplished example of the genius of Vauban.
    Under the Revolution, it received for a century those condemned to hard labor. In 1870, German prisoners of war during the Franco-Prussian conflict were imprisoned there. It then housed a garrison until 1911. After the First World War, it housed the disciplinary sections of the national military service. Occupied by German troops during the Second World War, it was liberated in 1945 but was badly damaged by Allied bombings. The period from 1959 to 1970 was devoted to its restoration. Left abandoned after the first oil shock, it was gradually restored from the end of the 1980s. Today it is an essential site on the island and is one of the most visited sites in Charente-Maritime.
    We walked from here down towards the port area. Again there were numerous brightly coloured ‘huts’ which were most probably once fisherman huts, but now are also occupied by small art type shops. The colours were lovely and shown at their best in the sunshine. We crossed a small bridge covered in empty oysters shells that rattled in the breeze - similar to the bridges in mainland France adorned by padlocks. We purchased some soaps in a local shop before finding the port entrance and further views to the Bay of Biscay.
    After some compulsory photos we headed back towards Rox, a little conscious of the time and our journey home . . . then we reminded ourselves that we didn’t need to be anywhere, by any time . . . it’s a lovely feeling, but takes some getting used to.
    Back in Rox we set course for home, deciding to avoid Rochfort and heading towards Saintes instead. I set the camera up for an hours time-lapse of the journey and set off.
    We waved goodbye to the island crossing the bridge to the mainland, the views today were brilliant and clear and we noticed even more oyster beds as we hit the mainland side - we hadn’t even seen these on the way over.
    We drove the A837 through to Saintes and then headed north east towards Saint-Jean-d’Angély. We avoided Saint-Jean-d’Angély due to roadworks and used all manner of backroads through to Chef Boutonne and our usual roads back to home, arriving just as a rain storm hit at about 7pm.
    We dodged the rain and unloaded our bags indoors.
    Due to our large lunch, dinner consisted of some Doritos with houmus and a tub of Haribo’s whilst watching TV.
    We have had the best four days away, we love where we are living but sometimes a small break away can make all the difference.
    Île d’Oléron - will now we think always be our little home by the sea    Läs mer

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    30.03 Day 195 . . . End Of The Island

    30 mars 2023, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    As normal we didn’t wake or get up too early. Once ready and our the door we had decided to head to the very north end of the island which comes under Saint-Denis d’Oléron but is even further north than that. We started off hugging the west side of the island, but due to some road works we were forced back to travel the main route, effectively up the centre of the island and finally along the D734.
    We finally parked up at our destination which we knew had a lighthouse as it centre piece. Once out of Rox and walking to the coastal path about 75m away we saw the views - truly breath taking. We had a fab day for it, but even in foul weather these views of the rough Atlantic must be spectacular. We walked along the north east side of the peninsula and then down some steps to a rocky beach area. Due to the time of year there was hardly anyone about which made this place even more special - in summer we guessed it is probably manic busy.
    Having taken untold photos we returned unto the footpath and along to the general area of the lighthouse Phare de Chassiron. There were a couple of interesting artefacts near to the lighthouse - an example of a fish trap still in use around the island and also a cross on a plinth made from iron chain.
    The lighthouse first commenced as a first fire tower, at 33m high, was built in 1685 on the orders of Colbert in order to mark the entrance to the Pertuis d'Antioche and thus guide the ships which joined the Charente estuary to join the military arsenal. of Rochefort. The increase in maritime traffic, the modernization of beaconing and the retreat of the cliff led to the construction of a new lighthouse between 1834 and 1836. Its strategic position and its height of 46m allows the Chassiron lighthouse to effectively warn sailors of the approach to the coast and the dangerous rock banks of the Pertuis d'Antioche.
    Originally entirely white, the lighthouse covered its black bands in 1926 in order to increase its visibility distance and limit confusion with its gray neighbor, the Whales lighthouse. The optic, made up of eight lenticular panels, was electrified in 1930 and today operates with a 250 W metal halide bulb.
    The departure of the last keeper dates back to 1998. Since then, the lighthouse has been fully automated and controlled by the Lighthouses and Beacons office.
    After walking around the lighthouse and viewing the gardens that surrounded it we entered a small shop that is onsite and purchased some salt - Set de Mer d’Oléron . . . lovely white Sea Salt made locally - oh, and a salt pot and spoon.
    All the other small shops and the restaurant were closed, again we were thankful as next week and onwards it is likely to be packed with tourists.
    We drove from the lighthouse and down to Saint-Denis looking for a restaurant - we didn’t even stop, there was nothing really to be had. We continued down and decided to stop at Saint-Pierre as there was likely to be a lot more choice.
    Arriving at Saint-Pierre we parked up on street and found a restaurant called Le Zing which we entered and ordered a plat du jour of cold plateau de charcuterie (meat board) for starter and bavette steak for the main. Both stuffed we rolled out of the restaurant and walked to the shop with the earrings that Tre had spotted yesterday. We knew it would be closed as it wasn’t 3pm so we stopped and had a soft drink in a bar sitting in the sunshine.
    At 3pm we walked to the shop - it was shut!! For what reason we know not as the shop door sign indicated it should be open.
    We walked some of the other shops and waddled into another shop called Detour de Plage - which was lovely, in fact better than the one we had been heading to. I happened to see a pair of earrings that I thought Tre would like and I wasn’t wrong. Firmly in our grasp we toured the rest of the shop before buying the earrings and a keyring for me.
    From Saint-Pierre we toddled along in Rox and found our way to an Intermarché - just to buy some nibbles for this evening as neither of us were in the mood for eating out tonight . . . still stuffed.
    Back at the hotel we collapsed. Balcony doors open although a little windy it was still sunny. We spent the remainder of the late afternoon chatting and lazing around. I did consider another visit to the pool but it was over 20m away down the corridor!
    We agreed on a relatively early night as tomorrow was our last day, which we wanted to make the most of as well as driving home.
    On our return to the hotel in the afternoon Tre had happened upon an update from the weekends demonstrations at Sainte Soline . . .
    France launches investigation after man gravely injured at water protest
    French prosecutors said Wednesday they were probing the case of a man seriously wounded at a demonstration over access to water, after his family filed a criminal complaint.
    The 32-year-old has been fighting for his life in a coma since Saturday's thousands-strong environmental protest against a new "mega-basin" gathering water for irrigation in the western Deux-Sèvres region. The probe was prompted by his parents, who filed a complaint alleging attempted murder as well as the prevention of access by first responders.
    Protest organisers said Tuesday that the man, from the southwestern city Toulouse, was seriously wounded when he was struck in the head by a tear gas grenade fired by police. "People close to him are determined to bear witness and uncover the truth about what happened," they added.
    The case is being investigated by military prosecutors in the western city of Rennes who have jurisdiction over France's gendarmes – police officers belonging to the armed forces.
    Warlike scenes of Saturday's clashes between around 5,000 protesters and 3,200 police in the open fields made headlines over the weekend.
    Fielding helicopters, armoured vehicles and water cannon, security forces fired thousands of tear gas grenades and dozens of other projectiles in a response the DGGN police authority described as "proportionate to the level of threat".
    Authorities say officers were faced with "an unprecedented explosion of violence" and targeted with Molotov cocktails and fireworks.
    But Human Rights League (LDH) observers on the scene said police made "unrestrained and indiscriminate use of force" against all the demonstrators, rather than targeting violent groups or individuals.
    AFP journalists saw police begin using tear gas as soon as the marchers arrived.
    Prosecutors in nearby Niort counted 47 wounded police and seven demonstrators requiring medical aid, including two in danger for their lives – one of whose condition has since improved.
    Protest organisers complained of 200 wounded, 40 seriously including one person who lost an eye.
    In an audio recording published by daily Le Monde, a member of the ambulance service told the LDH that "commanders on the ground" were holding them back from the scene, without identifying individuals.
    The service said on Twitter Tuesday that "sending an ambulance with oxygen into an area with clashes is not recommended given the risk of explosion".
    Deux-Sèvres' prefect – the top government official in the region – wrote in a Tuesday report to the interior ministry that it was "very difficult" for ambulances to reach wounded demonstrators as "the clashes had not stopped or were starting again".
    Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has responded to the clashes by vowing to ban one of the associations that organised the protests.    Läs mer

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    29.03 Day 194 . . . Golden Balls

    29 mars 2023, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    So - Île d'Oléron is an island and canton in the Atlantic coast of France (to the west of Rochefort). It is the second largest island of Metropolitan France, after Corsica. The capital, and largest town, is Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron in the centre of the island. With a length of 30 km and a width of 8 km. It has an area of 174 km2 and more than 21,000 permanent inhabitants.
    The inhabitants of Île d'Oléron are known, in French, as Oléronais (women: Oléronaises).
    Since 1966, there is a bridge that connects the island with mainland.
    It was at Oléron in about 1152 to 1160 that Eleanor of Aquitaine introduced the first 'maritime' or 'admiralty' laws in that part of the world: the Rolls of Oleron.
    In 1306, Edward I of England granted the island to his son, Edward II, as part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.
    On 20 March 1586, the island was taken by Agrippa d'Aubigné.
    During the Second World War, the island was occupied by German forces and fortified. It was liberated by Free French Forces in an amphibious assault code-named Operation Jupiter on 29 April 1945. The French cruiser Duquesne fired 550 heavy shells at the German artillery batteries. The garrison surrendered on the following day - they don’t like it up em’ Captain Mainwaring!
    Anyway we got up and pottered to the breakfast hall where we helped ourselves to all sorts of buffet types goodies. I think I over indulged with slices of cheese!
    Back to the room and grabbed our bits to go touring the island.
    First off we went searching for a restaurant near to us that was highly recommended for sea food and effectively sits on the beach at the waters edge. We wanted to book it for this evening. All along the strip where we thought it might be, the restaurants were all closed or being tarted up - probably for next week as all the children here are on holiday. We did however go for a lovely walk along the port and to where the actual restaurant was situated. It was obviously closed. Don’t believe everything Google tells you. The fisherman’s building here are all brightly coloured very much like the Caribbean and so we took a good few photos along the way.
    We set off north mostly to the west side heading toward La Cotinière which we had been recommended.
    We stopped once to check out an obvious entrance to the beach near a water sports facility at Wind Oléron Club - which was ok but nothing special.
    We continued on and found our way into Cotinière despite the road closures - again it is a tidying up of the port pre holiday season. We checked out the port and also a fish mongers. Inside we had a little French lesson trying to work out what all the fish were by their French name. One we keep seeing on our travels is Merdu . . . which is Hake - very popular here it would appear.
    We then drove east to the centre of the island and the islands capital Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron. Tre had decided to drive to give me a break and was going to drive the rest of the day. After almost parking Rox in a bush (rolling forward when trying to reverse up a hill) and my attempting to help her park in some weirdly marked parking bay lines, I guessed I would be driving when we set off again.
    On arrival as always we realised we had missed lunch time and it was also Wednesday afternoon so everything was shut 🙄. We grabbed a beer and a rose for Tre and sat outside a bar in the sunshine.
    The small church near to where we were sat, so obviously we had to have a look inside. Église Saint-Pierre was lovely - with stone walls making it look so much more rustic than many we have seen recently.
    We then did a little window shopping before returning to Rox to continue our travels. We really liked the feel of Saint-Pierre and there was obviously areas we hadn’t visited - so agreed we would return tomorrow - Tre had spotted earrings in a shop window 🤔
    From Saint Pierre with me driving - we headed north east to Sauzelle taking the roads through the numerous oyster bed areas that are massive in this island. I’ve not even mentioned them yet. On a map they look like very small separated farmers fields, but are actually small ponds split apart by grass banks rather than hedges.
    We drove straight through Sauzelle and south easterly towards Boyardville, again driving through the Miriad of oyster ponds. We stopped briefly in an attempt to get a photo of a Cormorant that was perched on a boat launching jetty.
    The Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo ) is a large, black, and conspicuous waterbird, the cormorant has an almost primitive appearance with its long neck making it appear reptilian. It is often seen standing with its wings held out to dry. Regarded by some as sinister and greedy, cormorants are supreme fishers which can bring them into conflict with anglers, thus causing them to be persecuted in the past.
    Onto Boyardville - yet another port packed with oyster boats but also some more regular looking shops. Again most of the shops were shut but we spotted an ice cream parlour (well it was a restaurant but all we wanted was ice cream) along the dockside. As soon as we sat down it began to rain - first time since we started this little journey.
    We took up residency at another table inside and both stuck into a full on totally unhealthy base of ice cream and whipped cream. One each - we hardly spoke to one another until finished.
    Back to Roxvanne we headed for home - that being the hotel.
    I had been trying to get Tre to go for a swim and sauna etc with me, but was not getting excited vibes. When I started my journey to the pool Tre agreed to keep me company - dressed with her book. Better than not at all I thought.
    When we arrived at the spa which was empty and so we had sole use, Tre was gone! She returned five minutes later with swimsuit on and towel in hand. To be fair the spa was bloody lovely, really warm, sauna, steam room, light room and pool with various jets and bubbles. We spent well over an hour getting healthy 😂
    Back in our room we dressed and headed out to try and find an open restaurant. The only one we had seen open was called Grunge - which we didn’t much fancy. We hunted all around the fairly small town with no luck. It was drive to another town and possibly find nothing or go to Grunge.
    So Grunge it was . . . and it was bloody amazing!!!!
    The girl that ran the place was as happy and chatty as you like with nothing being too much of an issue. We had six oysters for starters with shallots finely chopped in vinegar to add to them . . . Gorgeous!!
    Main course was Magret - now I and Tre have had quite a bit of Magret in various places and this was by far the best Magret we have ever had - words can’t explain how good it was. We did make a point of telling the owner lady how fab it all was which was handy as she said her husband was the chef!!
    We then shared a lemon citrus cheesecake with chantilly cream . . and golden balls 😂
    We spent an absolutely fab evening in the restaurant we had almost snubbed because of its name - lesson learnt!
    Back at the hotel we did nothing but pile into bed and reflect on a lovely day and fantastic food. Two nights of food and two nights of being bang on lucky little buggers to have found these two gems!!
    Tomorrow we head north.    Läs mer

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