At home with Wilson, le chat noir

We ventured out for some supplies at the local Intermarche, enjoyed a lovely coffee at Nana's our favourite Cafe just 15 mins away and otherwise, generally chilled for a couple of days, soaking up the sunshine in the walled gardens.

Wilson is a cute black pussy cat with a tiny white tuft under his neck. He's only young so still loves a game, particularly at bedtime, when he thinks walking along the stair balustrade will get some attention. He's also known to get the 'crazies' flying around the living room like he's on some kind of 'high', barely drawing breath till he's trapped the dead fly he was hunting or whisked the tissue under the sofa, never to be retrieved. On the other hand he also likes stalking out in the garden, climbing the fig tree and snuggling right up under your neck while you're watching TV. I guess you could say he's a puss with personality, but regardless, his needs are not great, breakfast and dinner, with a snack for lunch.

Our favourite Cafe, Nana's in Aigre (pronounced Eggrey) does a Prix fix 3 course lunch on Fridays and so we decide to pop in and support the small business, a great decision, as we are wowed by the unique presentation, flavours and general ambience once more. Nana (short version of the owner's real name, Alexandrina) is a Mum of two teenage boys, who just loves to cook and opened her cafe last August. She deserves to succeed, but we wonder if the French culture will adapt to a more English/Australian style of cafe.

Her food was exceptional, whipped goats cheese with slivers of pickled beetroot for starter, a simple but tasty vegetable couscous with two spicy meatballs on top and hot broth to pour over, with harrissa on the side. The desert, a bowl of fresh chopped strawberries in a clear liquid. No sugar syrup, no cream, just the beautiful bright red to the core, strawberries and this mysterious liquid. It wasn't until the fruit reached room temperature that I finally picked it. It was a subtle but very complentary mint tea. Overall, a tribute to France's close links to Morocco. Accompanied by a delicious rosè and a glass of red, we walked of lunch with a wander through the local market which had set up in the village square. Very small and very local, we picked up some veges and fruit for the rest of our stay, before heading home.

On Saturday, the Cognac Market was on, and as our previous trip in 2024, had been marred by torrential rain, we thought a rerun was in order. Once more our visit was thwarted - the great undercover market hall was being renovated, so the stall holders were scattered in empty shops nearby or in the permanent white marquee in the square. Nevertheless, we parked down by the river and walked around the old town, past all the Cognac houses, stopped for coffee at a lively tabac that was warming up for an afternoon of jazz, and enjoyed an aperol spritz, at another bar on the square, just people watching. It's the favourite French past time you know - that's why traditionally, all the cafe tables generally face the street.

Our hostess had recommended a local Gault Millau restaurant, La table du Chef Corvez just 5 mins away in the very small hamlet of Haimes and we had booked for 7pm. Once more, we were surprised and delighted by the quality of food for such a reasonable price. The staff were very friendly and it helped that they also spoke good English, and the 40 seat restaurant filled up in no time so they were kept very busy. There were some other 'foreigners' there, probably British expats but otherwise French locals enjoying a night out.

The food photos tell the story, the chef surprised us with little amuse bouche and petit fours, and it was just another 'out of the box' food experience, in the French Countryside. They are not easy to discover, but well worth the surprise when one pops up.Læs mere