Les Petites Rivieres

We returned to Les Petites Rivieres to discover our lawns had been mowed - probably unnecessary as we'd only done them the day before we left but Emma Lou can sort the mower man out when she's here.

Subsequently we have enjoyed a relatively quiet few days, apart from the excitement of getting stung by a very angry bee. I was just sitting on la terrase enjoying my GnT in the early evening when out of no where came said ANGRY BEE, who literally buzzed me, round and round my head until in an instant he hit the spot just under my left eye and bingo, the sting was in. Some family members know of my allergy to bee stings, so will understand my concern and I had purchased some 'anti venom' bee patches when I walked the Camino 2 years ago. Roger deftly nipped out the sting, and duly applied the patch, and we waited, GnT now being consumed rapidly! There were other bees around, some even in the house and Rogers research discovered they were most likely stressed or guard bees, looking for a place to build a hive, hence the aggression. I can assure you they didn't get invited in here. The 'bee patch' (which is sugar impregnated and you add a drop of water so it draws out the venom) actually worked, and though there was some swelling, my eye didn't close up and I lived to tell the tale.

On Saturday I baked some Anzac biscuits, and on our walk that afternoon, we found poppies by the roadsides which brought the Anzac Day reflections, much closer to home.

We are coming into Fete season now. This is where the small villages show their best offerings and promote their events on placards at the local roundabouts. St Loup, our local village has a Spring Fete on 10 May. We attended in the pouring rain back in 2024, and it was fun with a good crowd, so we're looking forward to this year, as Emma Lou will be here and hopefully the sun will shine. Its always handy to have a French speaking local with you.

And yesterday we ventured over to 'Printemps du Prieure', a Fete celebrating springtime, which we had read about on the poster in the window of a nearby bar/tabac when I was collecting a parcel on Saturday afternoon. It was a simply delightful garden setting in an old house that had been renovated to provide gite accomodation for 30 people in separate apartments, beside a beautiful reception area - seating 120, the perfect wedding or small event space. There were four separate manicured lawns areas with a wide collection of plant sellers, from vegetables to roses, garden sculptures and even hibiscus bushes. There were also local artisans with some very unique artwork and jewellery , and a local baker, and honey producer. We hadn't planned on shopping but the honey was delicious and the on the way out the gate, there was a fromage seller with some sheeps milk cheese, and some sheeps milk ice cream. The later was consumed in the shade, with a teaspoon of the delicious creamed honey stirred through - absolutely superb.

And a fitting desert after our similarly delicious lunch - a French BBQ! It was so civilised, a delicious locally made ' fat beef sausage' sitting on top of some roasted baby chat potatoes, served with an equally delicious sourdough bread on the side. Nothing fancy but so tasty and naturally it was enjoyed with un bier and un rosè, s'il vous plait. This was enjoyed under the olive trees in the raised garden with a small crowd of well dressed locals.

We've cleaned up and packed some supplies for our few days in La Loire and are looking forward to some fun exploring with Gavan and Elaine from Brisbane. The blogg may be on hold, temporarily, to ensure adequate conviviality can occur.Læs mere