L'annee de vie dangereuse
Mar 14–16 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
2026, the year of living dangerously. This year, France beckons again, with another 12 month long stay visa and a lease car arranged for pickup from Bordeaux. Les Petites Rivieres is our base as the kitchen/dining room extension is planned to commence in April/May and we will be Emma Lou and Johnny's 'eyes on the ground' for the duration.
We waited with intrepidation as flights through the UAE resumed, following the USA's attack on Iran on February 28th. It came out of the blue and certainly put the world on edge with Smart Traveller alerts to avoid the area due to missile attacks throughout the Middle East.
All the advice pointed to holding tight until such time as the airline actually cancelled the flight, as insurance was invalid 'in the case of war and tempest'.
So that's exactly what we did and eventually, on Friday 13th March, we received the expected cancellation email for our flight from Brisbane to Paris on 17th March. So with permission to explore other options, we spoke to our lovely travel agent, Amanda, and having established that Emirates had scheduled flights from Melbourne to Paris, we duly booked our departure, a day earlier with just a 1hr changeover time in Dubai, and were able to secure an additional night in Paris at the boutique Hotel Mistral.
First stop on the itinerary was Brisbane and we left Cairns as planned, carrying only 13kgs each in our new back packs, on Saturday 14th March just before a massive rain event caused major flooding in the region. We made our way to Buderim and spent a couple of nights with Nana, who at 98 years old, is slowing down and noticeably more fragile than she was on our last visit in early December. She loved the company, especially at mealtimes, and enjoyed reminiscing with Roger over times gone by. Still as sharp as a tack, conquering crosswords and word puzzles ad nauseum, she doesn't miss much, except the company of family and friends, although this is ultimately very tiring for her.
Second stop was Melbourne and we were winning once again, getting exit row seats on an earlier Virgin flight which gave us extra time with the grandchildren in Melbourne. As expected there was disbelief when Nanny P and Poppy opened the front door as Will and Holly came home from a school and we had fun catching up with all the school and sport news along with lots of cuddles. And then, as the heavens opened, our chauffeured transport arrived and took us safely to Terminal 2, Melbourne airport, where we could finally relax with champagne of course.Read more
Flying through a war zone
Mar 17–18 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
We boarded EK407 for Paris, on Monday evening. Enjoyed another champagne with a light snack and then donned the complimentary PJs and settled in to a movie. The business class section was probably only 75% full and from the boarding queue for economy, I would guess they were probably only at 50% capacity. Apart from a fairly persistent bouncing around with air turbulence, we both got a reasonable amount of sleep before sunrise and our emininent arrival at Dubai airport.
As we approached Dubai, after originally declaring 'cleared for landing', the captain came on the PA and announced we were resuming a holding pattern as Dubai airport had just been closed. There was no panic, barely even a whisper, it was as if airports always opened and closed regularly, but I guess we both wondered just what lay ahead. We heard two booms and felt the shudders, even at 20,000 feet, as the missiles were intercepted, but shortly afterwards welcomed the Captains advise that we were cleared for landing and once more on approach to Dubai Airport. It was absolutely fascinating as we had free WIFI on board so could actually track EK 407 in real time.
We made a safe landing albeit a little late, to find that life was going on as normal in the airport, albeit with less than half the usual numbers of tourists, inside one of the world's largest terminals. Everyone was calm and no doubt grateful they had jobs to go to and a very competent defence force to keep them and their visitors safe. As our flight to Paris had been delayed we were grateful for a hot shower and snack in the lounge before boarding around 11.30am. The flight had lots of French families on board, and several babies but you would never had known it if you hadnt seen them in the departure lounge. Ironically as we taxied for takeoff, they were playing ' I still call Australia home' - a poignant reminder for a couple of nomads!
We joined the French families at the bar where the very obliging bar man was making the children mocktails and us oldies then curled up for some more sleep and woke up to stunning late afternoon sunshine on approach to Paris.
Safely on the ground with our passports stamped for entry into France we were wisked away by a very competent chauffeur down the motorways towards Paris. It was a relatively slow trip since it was early evening peak hour traffic, but as a result, we ended up passing familiar landmarks such as the Arc de Triumphe and travelling across Pont Alexandre III, with a view of Le Tour Eiffel just as the sun was setting.
We arrived at our delightful boutique Parisian Hotel Mistral just on dusk and after shedding our luggage, we wandered out in to the local neighbourhood seeking a GnT and vin rouge, with a simple goats cheese salad as well as some fresh air. Paris was humming and the restaurants and bars were pumping. There's no hurry here, no pressure to leave so they can accommodate another sitting and increase their evening takings, and definitely no pressure to have another drink. We did not last long and returned by 9.30pm to crawl into a real bed for a good nights sleep.
Thankyou to Emirates for giving us the confidence to follow our dreams for another year in the French countryside. Cheers Penny and RogerRead more
Paris, J'adore
Mar 18–19 in France ⋅ 🌬 20 °C
Awaking somewhat refreshed, I popped across to Montparnesse station to pick up some croissants from Yann Couvetre my favourite Parisian bakery. These provided the initial sustenance to plan our Parisian adventure for the day. It was picture perfect weather, and after a quick metro ride across to the Right Bank, we were able to meander through the streets to my favourite perfumery, Fragonard, not forgetting coffee and champagne enroute at one of the many cafes. From L'Opera we headed east toward Rue Montogueill, a famous 'foodie' street in the 2nd Arrondisement, where the infamous welcome to Paris beverage, an Aperol Spritz was enjoyed with a caesar salad. Roger had the Parisian take on Fish and chips served with an abundance of tartare sauce and naturally, a chablis to keep up the fluids.
Some culture followed, with a visit to Musee des Artscet metiers. The reviews did not do it justice and to top it off, there was special display of the original Zeus, a life size model horse made of alluminium and beaten steel, that literally 'galloped' down the Seine at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Inside the Musee, founded in 1794 is a fascinating collection of technological innovation. From scientific instruments to energy, communication, construction and transport this recently refurbished musee is a one of a kind repository of scientific and technical knowledge. It also houses Focults Pedulum, 1851, which provided evidence of the earths daily rotation around it's axis.
Soaked in knowledge, a short walk took us to Bar Nouveau. Rated 17th in the top 50 bars in Paris, 2025, it was definitely unique. There were only a dozen seats around a marble bar with mirrored walls and strategic art nouveau decorative trim to set the scene. The barman was friendly, the cocktail list limited, but innovative and the charming young Frenchman from Bordeaux, dressed in an immaculate dark suit who sat beside me spoke English remarkably well and kept us in conversation. He looked like he should be a lawyer or an accountant, but it turns out he's actually a barman and has recently moved to Paris to take up a new position at one of the smart hotels. We may just need to visit there on a future Parisian adventure.
By now with our step count at close to 17000, we headed for the metro, and a return to our Hotel. A GnT and wine at the nearest bar sufficed for dinner and another early night.
On Thursday we enjoyed a delightful Parisian style buffet breakfast at our Hotel. It including some eggs and sausages plus all the usual pastries, fruit, yoghurt and cereal. With the backpacks packed, I enjoyed a walk through the 14th ar in the sunshine before collecting Roger, and backpacks uplifted, we wandered over to Montparnesse station. We had time for coffee and then endured the guessing game of 'which platform' our train for Bordeaux would depart! Platform 9 flashes up and there is a mad rush for the train. Safely on board with the luggage stored, we enjoyed a speedy trip (just 2 hrs 15 mins) through the French Countryside to Bordeaux. We jumped into a taxi and made our way to the lease car pickup near the airport where we were met by our friend, Diedra, who had handed over our original lease car in 2024.
A quick review of the paperwork, and we were on our way up the A10 to Les Petites Rivieres, arriving just hours later. A flick of a switch put the power on and we lit the fire to warm us up and dry out the house, which had thankfully survived the huge rains of the past three months. Sleep came easily and early!Read more
A week at Les Petites Rivieres
Mar 20–26 in France ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
We were moving slowly on Friday after several long days of travelling. Woke up to a beautiful clear blue sky and not a breath of wind, temp around 5 degrees but it didn't take long to reach the high teens and this was the pattern for most of the week. I even got into my one and only pair of shorts one day. Groceries were a high priority so we headed into Intermarche at Saint Jean d'Angeley and filled a shopping trolley. Au revoir, bon journey flowed effortlessly as we left the checkout. There are some phrases you just don't forget.
On Saturday it was Marche day so we visited our favourite stall holders and bakers for fresh bread, cheeses and a collection of fresh fruit and veg. Given the time of year, alot of the produce was not local. The oranges were from Spain, the melon from Morrocco, and the green veges from Portugal. And prices were high which was to be expected. In fact, just like Australia, the cost of living has increased significantly across the board. When we filled up the lease car we paid just over €2 or $4 a litre.
Sunday was a day at home, some quiet gardening, because starting up the chainsaw is actually illegal on a Sunday - its a family day, no chores, just family time, which we're quite happy to honour.
On Monday, we finally made it to the far side of town to revisit our favourite grocery/ department store E.Leclerc. It was obviously not the 'specials day' as the place was deserted, so we wandered leisurely ip and down the aisles and departed with one small bag of groceries, and a baguette, of course. I ordered a cappucino quite seamlessly in French 'sans creme' and the resulting 'mousse de lait' was just perfect. For Roger, 'un espresso' was hardly a challenge.
The rest of the week was spent on some garden chores in the beautiful sunshine, plenty of chainsawing of long dry logs to keep the fire burning for the cold nights, and a regular pre GnT walk around the neighbourhood. I would pound the streets up and down the hills for 40 mins and meet Roger at a predetermined corner for the last 20 min stroll home.
Of notable excitement was the eventually setting of the large German boiler timers to heat the main house radiators, as they're predicting 2 degrees overnight later in the week. A couple of hours morning and night will keep us going until the fire warms the space.
And the herb garden we planted 2 years ago is absolutely flourishing, but the basil had died off so we replaced that and can look forward to some pesto as spring arrives. So our first week was somewhat productive even with plenty of nice long sleepins, while we waiting for the temperatures to rise.Read more
The cycle continues
Mar 27–Apr 2 in France ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
Another laid back week has passed. On Saturday we visited the Marche where we followed the locals lead, buying a fresh croissant and a pain de raison from one of the many boulangeries, and taking it with us to the cafe to have with our coffee! We picked up the necessary veges, fruit and some Brebis cheese and then headed out to Beauvois - de Matha to visit Candice, a delightful English woman, who has an equally delightful young black pussycat called Wilson who needs looking after for a week in mid April. Sunday night we put the clocks forward which gave us an extra hour in bed, and I made the dreadful mistake of going to one of the 'chain style' bakeries for a baguette for lunch. It was abysmal at best, white, fluffy bread with no aeration, no chewy texture, and a crispy flaky crust which just went everywhere. Flashback to the average Aussie baguette. Lesson learned.
The laidback days are still productive, and there's always plenty to do. On the sunny days, there was gardening to be done and Tuesday afternoon was dedicated to lawnmowing. A good hour and a half of incidental exercise, rewarded with a large GnT. On the subject of exercise, I have been back on my regular exercise routine every morning and am even more grateful for the constant reminder to do at least 20 squats a day, as a loo stop in a pretty average bar in Matha, heralded the familiar porcellain toilet bowl with no toilet seat. I had forgotten about these, and subsequently I am now more diligent than ever with my squats exercises.
We had another trip to our favorite €2 shop, GIFI where I picked up the perfect gardening crocs (trademarked as Hipps in this case). I think you'll agree from the photos, they belong on my feet! We also picked up 'Wally' the whipper snipper as a useful addition to the gardening tools. There is a large drain across the street side of the house, and it was well overdue for a clean up so Roger whipped and snipped his way for the rest of the afternoon.
We have picked up a House sit in Sur Leveuge, near Limoge for 12 days from tomorrow, Good Friday and we've got a couple of black labs and sweet little pussy cat to look after. It's another expat British family who have lived in France for 20 years so we're looking forward to a change of scenery and some long walks in the local forest and farmlands, as the house is quite remote. More in the next blogg post.
On the subject of Easter, this is our first French experience and it's notably different. For a start, life goes on as normal on Good Friday - it is not a public holiday, except in the Alsace region (for historical reasons). We are surprised, considering the strong Catholic affiliations in France. Easter Sunday and Monday are the significant days, with a public holiday on the Monday. School holidays start in our region on Saturday and go for two weeks - they are staggered in zones across the country. But the most disappointing thing is that I cannot find a hot cross bun ANYWHERE. Many of you will know of my love of extra spicy, warm, fruity hot cross buns and some of you have even sampled my home made ones, but it's hardly justified to make them just for the two of us. Perhaps I'll make some when Emma Lou and Johhny arrive - without the crosses!
Note - there are still aisles of chocolate in the supermarkets, and plenty of croissants, pain de raison, and pain au chocolat to choose from. Oh well it is Easter 🐰Read more
Easter in the hills near Limoges
April 3 in France
So the Easter bunny saved the day. Her name was Christine and she is the host Mum for our sit in the hills near Limoges, not far from the village of Saint Germain-les-belles. Of English descent, Christine and her husband, Nigel have lived in their 17th century stone cottage with multiple outbuildings and stone sheds, for the past 22 years. When I asked if the English have Hot x Buns, she duly pulled 1/2 a dozen Tesco buns from the freezer and said 'Enjoy!' - and I am, and they are truly delicious, very fruity and spicy too.
Due to a unexpected death in the family they had to travel to the UK for the funeral with only a few days notice, so here we are. Our charges are two black labs, mother, Poppy and daughter, Tinks plus a petite grey pussy cat called Esme. And then there are the two barn cats, Thelma and Louise and more recently a hive of bees, up in one corner of the roof, apparently awaiting the arrival of the Queen Bee - luckily I have my anti venom patches, after all it is the 'Year of living dangerously'. We're here for 10 days all up and we feel sure, we're going to like it.
It was a 3 hour journey across from Les Petites Rivieres, and we had an awesome coffee stop, after the first hour at a delightful village called Aigres where Google maps suggested the 5 star 'Nana' epicere for coffee. Wow, we were blown away. A stunning cafe, beautifully decorated with some fabulous gourmet goodies and some unique local gin. After a very substantial cake and coffee experience- think the French equivalent of a chocolate mudcake and an orange and rose petals cake, we departed with a bottle of macerated Gin (where the botanicals are infused directly in the alcohol as opposed to in the still itself), and a tin of speculoos spice.
We did have a brief loostop at a picturesque town called Saint Junien where there were spectacular flower beds and the most highly rated public toilets were located on the edge of the local cemetery in the centre of town. Parking was easy and just adjacent to the entry was a beautiful flower garden full of daffodils. There was a sign in the garden which I assumed was saying 'Please do not pick the flowers' but not so in France. Cemetery visitors were encouraged to pick the flowers and place them on their loved ones graves. So civilised and sensible. And as an aside, I guess to potentially limit the number of graves in the cemetery, we observed a total of seven pedestrian crossings as we came up the main street - a distance of less than 500 metres!
We were warmly greeted by our host, on arrival, who promptly announced there'd been a disaster- the wifi modem had had a meltdown and was kaput. As we're located halfway down the hills in the gorgeous Les Vergne Valley, even the mobile service is pretty dodgy, but we will survive. Christine took us out to the local village where her English friend Alison runs a restaurant as part of the local camping ground, beside a very pretty lake. She has wifi and we are welcome for coffee, beers, wine and wifi at our disposal.
Back home for GnTs in front of the fire as the temperature was dropping rapidly, and a delicious home made fish pie, along with several glasses of wine, and many tall tales of both her and Nigel's life in France and our wayward nomad life for the past 3 years. We all got on famously and then wrapped up warmly under a large winter doona and quilt cover as the temperature plummeted to 3degrees.Read more
Life in the French countryside
Apr 4–6 in France ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Our Easter weekend continues with 'our girls'. The blue sky and sunshine settles in for the whole long weekend - imagine 28 degrees every day, and the only fires we've lit are in the home made pedestal BBQ on the deck overlooking our green hills and stream in the valley below.
We cruise around a couple of little villages, Saint Germain-Les-Belles and Magnec-Bourg to hunt out some meat from La Boucherie and the inevitable baguette pour dejeuner. Then later we take the dogs out for their afternoon walk down the laneway and into the beautiful dandelion filled fields across the road. Its a familiar route and they happily show us the way. We're half way up the hill when we turn around and there, following us, is Esme the cat. Her legs are half the length of the black labs, and in places she's almost hidden in the lush green grass, but she is determined and obviously thinks she's really a dog. The river in the valley provides a welcome refreshing swim for the dogs and they love playing fetch, competitively with an old stick.
There is a lot of New Zealand in this valley, steep green hills, narrow winding roads and plenty of trees, and streams, but very few cars. I think if I were generous maybe four cars per day pass our driveway. There is also a distinct lack of livestock. We haven't seen any cattle, although the area is famous for its limousin beef, and otherwise, a handful of sheep in a house paddock just about sums it up. There's a couple of donkeys in the paddock at the bottom of our garden!
On Easter Sunday, we celebrated with a long walk uphill to a lovely lake near the village of Glanges. The dogs loved it and Roger marched silently up, without so much as a murmur. The lake proved the perfect place for swimming and fetching sticks, with Tinks taking out the long jump challenge on more than one occasion. Poppy is just a bit lazy for those sort of tricks now. We meandered home downhill and decided in honour of Easter Sunday, we should drink champagne and eat chocolate, along with a few healthy items like fromage, biscuits, fruit and Hot X Buns and croissants. By dinner time the most we could manage was a simple but delicious herb and beef saussion cooked on the hot coals of our BBQ.
Easter Monday, and its a Public Holiday in France, but our friend, Alison who owns the restaurant by the lake is open, so we toss the dogs in the car and head into the village late in the arvo. The lake pond is quite serene and a good 1km walk around the edge keeps the dogs happy and builds up our thirst for an aperol spritz and a beer - after all its still 24 degs at 5pm - and its only the beginning of Spring. We dined on the deck with another dozen or so locals, enjoying good homemade family food, a hamburger and salmon au citron. And our brilliantly behaved black labs just sat under the table, without so much as mentioning that their dinner time (5pm) was well past. They inhaled their dry food as soon as we got home.Read more
A man's barn is his castle
Apr 7–8 in France ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
By Tuesday with a continued forecast of temps over 25 degrees, I determined it was no longer appropriate to hang around the house and terrase in my bra and knickers, so we had an expedition to the Kiabi store in North Limoges where I managed to pick up a pair of shorts for €5. We also started the day at the Tayon winery as we'd decided to purchase 6 bottles of the delightful cremant that our hostess had left for us. It must be popular, as when we pulled up, a large articulated truck arrived a little white van so synonymous with France pulled into the shed, and another well dressed couple also walked in. We were obviously in the right place.
A stop of at Grand Frais, heralded a large fresh food store, specialising in meat, fish, bread cheese and specialty items including fresh tumeric, coriander and lemon grass which obviously met the needs of the locals. Standing in the queue at La boulangerie, chatting in English as we do, a delightful little boy, about 5 years old, looked up at me with the biggest smile. I guessed he knew some English so I said 'hullo'. He replied 'hullo' in perfect English and his smile turned into the biggest grin. I then told him he spoke very good English and he skipped out the door with his mum. Such are the simple things in life.
We stocked up with some necessities for the rest of our stay and then headed home to our four legged friends, who had safely guarded the house. There is no such thing as locked doors in this neighbourhood, but we did take our passports, tablet and laptop with us in the car!
Our 400 year old house needs some introduction. Some would say, it is old and almost crumbling away and there could be an element of truth in this, but it is essentially very comfortable, full of character, has its quirks (exposed power outlets and dodgy light fittings) and the dining room and living room floors are not exactly level but the huge nails have been there forever, so its not going anywhere. And there are some huge old English floor rugs and homely furniture to give it a very lived in and loved appearance.
The barn and other out buildings are a completely different story. Christine's husband, Nigel builds and restores old Landrovers - its his 'business' and he takes it very seriously, apparently. We didnt meet him as he had left earlier to make the funeral arrangements in the UK, but we had a little poke around the genuinely crumbling barn. Apart from the wood storage, which showed signs or orderliness, the rest of the spaces were absolutely full of half built Landrovers, parts of LR's and piles of miscellaneous nuts, bolts, bumper bars, windows and junk, so much so, that I would be hesitant to purchase said LR from Nigel, for fear it would collapse in a heap if it went over a bump! Each to his own I guess, but I've got to hand it to Christine for putting up with all his crap!Read more
The futility of war - Oradour-sur-Glane
Apr 9–10 in France ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Having lounged about like lizards for several days, we decided to venture out to the village of Oradour-sur Glane. We began with coffee, of course, in a beautiful street lined with blossom trees, where the houses and shops were alot more modern than many French villages - this, we learn later is 'the new village'.
The story of Oradour-sur-Gane is incredibly sad. Four days after the Normandy landing in June 1944, The Waffen and Panzer SS Divisions headed west, providing fanatical and stubborn resistance to the Allied advance.
For no known reason, apart from them being the SS, the Das Reich SS Division, heading for Normandy, arrived in the peaceful village of Oradore-sur-Glane at 2 pm on 10 June. There, in three hours, they executed 643 men, women and children by machine gun fire. The women and children were herded into the church and suffocated/burnt to death. The youngest was eight days old. The men were shot, then their bodies burnt. The buildings were also set to the flames. Only one women escaped with her life, by jumping from a window of the church.
The signs on shop doorways, and the significant number of burnt out wrecks of large old cars and trucks indicated that this was a very prosperous village in the day, and a year later, when General Charles de Gaulle visited, he decreed the ruined village should be preserved in order to bear witness for the rest of mankind to the consequences of the barbarity of war.
It was a very moving and reflective visit, given the current precarious state of world peace.
On Friday there was some excitement as Roger spotted a fox in the neighbouring paddock. It was a very large fox too, and it was out in the middle of the day so the binoculars came out and much observing took place.
Later in the afternoon we took the dogs over to the lake again, in Saint Germain les belles and we managed two and three laps respectively, Roger declaring the girls needed some stick retrieval in le lac, while I power walked the final lap. Another glorious night needed an aperol spritz on the deck to celebrate and then we shared a delicious pizza, while the wet dogs just waited and waited..... patiently. All good things in France take time and food and drinks is no exception. We sat catching up on emails with the restaurant wifi for at least 40 minutes, before finally calling one of the waitresses over to ask for a drink!Read more
A visit to the city of Limoges
April 11 in France ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C
We had been in the countryside for over a week and since the Indian summer had come to an end, we decided to head into Limoges and explore the city. With a population of 130,000 its big but not too big and we are able to park close to the main Marche Halle in the centre of town. We could have actually stayed there for two nights, as my helpful parking meter assistant plugged in the max €9.95, which covered 48 hours!
The Marche was busy and very sophisticated with several little bars, one with tapas and one with oysters and champagne, as well as some diverse international food stalls, a great Morrocan food stall, and a Cambodian stall. It was the cleanest market we have ever seen. Sadly we'd indulged in an indulgent specialty biscuit at the nearby coffee shop so there was no room for more tastings.
We walked through the old town which was mostly closed as it was the sacred lunch hour - 12noon- 2pm and meandered down to the river past some quite nice designer shops which reminded me of Bordeaux. At the bottom of the hill, below the cathedral, we came across Pont-Saint Marshall, which was the Pilgrims bridge as Limoges is directly on the path of the French Camino.
We had 20 minutes to kill, so decided on the only open bar within a 5km radius. It was a Sports Bar, called 'The Dropkick Bar'. You could have been in any Sports bar in the world - they are all the same. Our saving grace, we were the only ones there! You could imagine it pumping on a sunny afternoon in summer as it was right on the riverfront.
Our final destination was the Four des Casseaux,
a museum tracing the local Porcelain making history in a 19th century factory with a large circular brick kiln. With family connections to ceramics, pottery and kilns, the museum was a great example of another refined craft, still in existence in Europe. The large gift shop had many dinner services for sale, with dinner plates averaging €36. Beautiful to look at, but I'm not sure I could ever use them for fear of breaking them.
We made our way home before the rain set in and on Sunday morning had a phone call from Emma Lou to let us know the builders would be starting on Monday 4th May. She will be flying over to La Rochelle, where we will pick her up on our way back from the Loire Valley. Great excitement prevails.
There was also great relief when Roger sighted Louise, one of the barn cats who had not turned up for dinner on Saturday night. Did the sly fox catch her? had she succumbed to ticks? (we had twisted 5 off young Tinks and 3 from Esme during the week), or did she decide the housesitters were not up to scratch and just leave home! No one will ever know but at least she came home.
A clean up of our house and one last walk through the forest with my best friends, Poppy and Tinks, before Christine arrived back from the UK. With bags in the car, we set off and had an uneventful drive 2hrs 40 mins home to Les Petites Rivieres.Read more
A housesit in Beauvais-sur-Matha
Apr 12–14 in France ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C
Our lovely host returned home in the middle of Sunday afternoon, and we departed for LPR, a quick 2.5 hr trip with no stops planned intentionally, as we were well aware of the dimanche (Sunday) traditions - its family time, so nothing is open, not even the servo. We weren't far out of bed and from memory, didn't even light the fire when we returned.
We only had two days between sits, so kept life pretty simple. Our lawns had taken off in the fine sunny spring weather while we were away so we pushed the mower around for a couple of hours and then stem injected the last persistent blackberry vines, that had permeated the front fence. I'm pleased to report that our efforts of 2 years ago have been rewarded with a thick blanket of honeysuckle now covering 4 out of 5 panels of the fence. Can't wait for it to flower!
We departed early Wednesday morning for our next sit at a little village, Beauvais-sur-Matha, just a short 30 mins away from Les Petites Rivieres. The house, Villa Carmen, is in the middle of the village, (population 654) surrounded by stone walls and with several outbuildings, as was the order of the day, 200 years ago. Candice and her late husband, Greg, have lived here for 20 years, and in that time have developed the barn into a large 'party space' complete with a mezzanine floor, potentially planned for theatre performances. There's a small gite for the family to stay in, and out the back a large swimming pool, the perfect retreat on a hot summers day.
The walled gardens, both front and back are just glorious, the epitomy of an 'English' cottage garden, which makes sense as the owners are originally from London. They are just a picture of colour, with red and yellow roses covering the front garden arbour, pansies, carnations, white lilac, irises, cosmos, and wisteria as well as herbs, mint, parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and chives, the later just popping up between the white stones in the courtyard beside the forget me nots. And then there's the perfume, sometimes quite overwhelming as we're sitting underneath a stunning peach coloured rose enjoying our GnT. We here for 8 days and were not complaining.Read more
At home with Wilson, le chat noir
Apr 16–18 in France ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
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.Read more
The Scots are alive and well in Tusson
Apr 19–21 in France ⋅ 🌙 16 °C
After a lazy Sunday moving between our sunny walled gardens, and smelling the rose scented breeze, we set off for our daily walk. Its become routine after 4 weeks in France, and Roger has surprised himself by actually conquering some hills, which he has viewed as small victories for his ongoing fitness, as, surprise, surprise, he is no longer breathless. His heart must be rejoicing, as is mine! I will generally set off 30mins before him and conquer some hills at my usual 6km per hour speed, before meeting him to walk the last 30 mins home together. We collectively conquered 6.3kms on Monday, on good sealed roads criss-crossing the paddocks of grapevines, flax seed, and maize, with only a couple of cars along the way.
One observation we've made is the incongruity of the road signs. The give way signs are always in French, 'cedez le passage' whilst the stop signs are only ever in English. The French word for stop is 'arret'. Go figure. And while we're on the subject of rules, we have noticed several manual car wash bays on the outskirts of some of the larger villages, and they are often very busy. We used one ourselves outside of Aigre, since the 'red machine' was in need of a wash. We figured that they were probably necessary as the locals do not really have driveways to their houses, cars are generally parked in the street and the front door (or gate) opens directly from the street. However Roger's research discovered that it is actually illegal to wash your car on your own property - in order to avoid the detergents getting into the drainage system. Just another positive environmental outcome in France.
We had heard of a fabulous patisserie, 'Gateaux', in a little village called Tusson, about 25 mins from here, so we ventured there late Monday morning for my coffee fix. Imagine our surprise when we were greeted by a broad Scottish accented women, wearing a white bakers beret, mid calf dress, apron and runners. She was typically quite officious, so we ordered promptly and sat out in the beautiful garden, surrounded by a plethora of plants, all for sale as the patisserie also doubled as a petit plant nursery. Such an enigma!
We solicited a wee bit more info on the way out, to learn that she came from Paisley, a town right beside the Glasgow airport, but it would have been stretching the friendship to go much further with the conversation.
Apart from ' Gateaux' the only other shop in town that was open was 'La Maison Charente', specialists du Canard et du fois gras. A visit was essential and purchases made, all in the name of supporting the small enterprises of France, that are the epitomy of the food culture we love here. We walked of our indulgent morning tea and discovered a very pretty village with several artisans shops including a couple of potteries. We passed four people in the hour we walked, likely European tourists, but the locals were no where to be seen. We did discover a Distillerie Jardin Medieval, tucked away behind the closed tourism office. The huge copper still was just as it was left, and a delightful rustic herb garden had been restored and maintained, in a very natural way in the walled garden behind. This opened onto more fields of daisies buttercups dandelions etc all in the name of bees. C'est la vie!Read more
The deserted villages of France
Apr 20–22 in France ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
We have been in France for over a month now, and predominantly we've been living in the French countryside, which is definitely our 'happy place'. From the hills of Sainte-Germain-les-belles, near Limoges to the plains of our 'maison' at Les Petites Rivieres, in the Charente Maritime region, we are constantly struggling to understand how the small villages of rural France survive.
These villages are 'old' - most of the houses are original stone construction which after hundreds and hundreds of years is crumbling, and slowly eroding away. But even with a serious 'British expat invasion' in the 1990's, which resulted in some spectacular restorations and community connections, there is really something missing.
It is not unusual to drive through villages, where houses are literally on the street front, and at any time of the day, not see a single person. It's as if the aliens have been before us, or a terrible plague has wiped out the village. We often comment that the villages lack a heart - the boulangeries of old where everyone brought their daily baguette (or three) have been replaced by the supermarche conglomerates, now sitting proudly on the ring roads around the larger towns. The village square might host a marche once a week but there are only a few patrons, the elderly, the visitors, and the retired expats, who arrived 20 years ago and formed friendships with the vendors. The British are now packing up and leaving in their droves since exiting Brexit has made lengthy stays in their homes almost impossible. They are subject to the same rules as us, the 90 days in 180 rule, unless they also secure an annual 'tourist visa'.
And speaking of the baguette. This, too, is much less prevalent in the French countryside as it once was. Two of our 'local' boulangeries have closed since we were here in 2024, and the supermarkets are pumping out mass produced baguettes - how do we know this? Because a traditional hand made baguette (more commonly seen in the larger cities and boutique boulangeries), is rolled by hand and each end is finished with a small point. The supermarche baguettes, inevitably have 'square ends' and its just not the same.
French law dictates that to qualify as a boulangerie - beyond several administrative and legal requirements (including needing to seek approval before closing up for a vacation) - one of the most important rules is that the bread must be made completely on-site. It cannot be shipped in from a central distributor or baked from pre-prepared dough. There is also a 'fixed price' of €1.15 set by the government, so you have to sell alot of baguettes to pay the rent and this, combined with the diminishing population in the villages and the move by the younger generation to consume less bread and more 'fast food' makes owning la boulangerie much less attractive than it once was.
We've yet to try a baguette from a 'dispensing' machine, often found in small communes in the country. I'll keep you posted.
It seems bureacracy is also challenging the 'renovators' of this era. Having recently 'lived in' houses built over 400 years ago, with the idiosyncrasies of nonsquare windows, sloping timber floors and irregular staircases, one has to question the over zealous building regulations applied to our housing today. These old houses were built with far fewer regulations, very little paperwork and probably a plan scribled on a spare piece of paper, yet, they are still standing, people haven't died falling down narrow stairwells, or tripped over uneven stair riser heights - they were just more careful! Granted, the craftsman of old were a very skilled bunch of 'tradies', and I just wonder how many of our current houses will still be standing in 400 years.
Which brings me to exciting news. The builders will be arriving on site at Les Petites Rivieres on Monday 4th May. Let Le Projet begin. We are picking Emma Lou up from her flight on our way back from La Loire next Sunday and she will be here for about 3 weeks as Le Project gets underway. I'm guessing we'll be busy. Watch this space.Read more
Les Petites Rivieres
Apr 22–27 in France ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C
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.Read more
TravelerLucky you re the ANGRY BEE. I recently read a fictional book with the subject honey and learned alot about bee behavioiur. If it was a female honey bee it will have died as the sting ruptures the bees body. So they dont sting lightly.
La Loire Valley - Vouvray
Apr 28–29 in France ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Our drive to Tours was un eventful, mostly just zipping up the A10 at 130kmh, with a quick lunch and loo stop at one of the frequent, well managed motorway service centres. Driving on these roads is a breeze as the law requires trucks to stay in the far right lane and travel at 110kph, thus keeping traffic flow in the other lanes fast and consistent. Its a joy, and much less stressful than an Australian freeway situation, where trucks are constantly flicking from lane to lane unpredictably.
We do a quick reconnoitre of Tours, before collecting Gavan and Elaine from their Paris train and returning to enjoy a refreshment in one of the old town squares. There are plenty of interesting windows to photograph, an impressive crumbling tower of historical note and an excellent kitchen shop, where Roger could finally procure a decent sharp knife and steel. We picked up a few supplies at the local market, think cheeses, duck terrine, strawberries and some wine before heading just along La Loire River to the delightful town of Vouvray, just 20 minutes away.
We checked into our three story apartment, overlooking the flood plains of La Loire, and then decided, some exercise was in order, exploring the village of Vouvray. It's a very well presented village, nicely landscaped and with a mixture of old and new housing, a large supermarket, schools, the ubiquitous Cathedral up on the hill, that dominates the town, and your typical boulangerie and boucherie, plus a very predictable bar/tabac, called La Haut, which just happens to be along the road from our apartment. Naturally our exercise had built up a thirst, so we stopped en route home, to enjoy a refreshing GnT/wine in brilliant sunshine on the delightful terrase overlooking the village. Rogers homemade quiche and salad made for an easy dinner.
On Wednesday, it was another beautiful sunny day so we decided to visit Chateau Villandry, known particularly for it's Renaissance-style gardens. Viewed from the woodlands above, they form a spectacular mosaic of design, and include the ornamental gardens, the water garden and the kitchen gardens. The latter are planted seasonally, in different geometric motifs, using a wide variety of colourful vegetables. The photos tell the story.
Not content with our daily steps, and a need to discover just what lies at the top of the high tuffeau (limestone) cliffs at the rear of our Air BnB, Elaine and I set of with google maps, to follow a winding path in a vertical direction. We passed by large locked gates, concealing an imposing residence, a small cave carved into the cliffs with bars at the windows and a locked metal gate and clamoured up very steep stone stairs, through the undergrowth until we come across a perfectly formed tunnel.
Its about 20 metres long and has a clear light at the end so in the absence of animals, spiderwebs and monsters, determine we could safely enter. It was only afterwards, we considered our good fortune, that we did not disturb any local bats!
The plateau we arrived upon was resplendent in grape vines and there was a beautiful 360 deg view over La Loire Valley. The uphill trek was well and truly worth it as was the GnT and wine at the bottom of the Cimeterie lane where we met the 'boys' in our local bar/tabac.Read more
Chateaux of La Loire
Apr 30–May 1 in France ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
Whilst the sun kept shining, we made the most of our exploring, beginning the day underground in the Cathelineau wine càve. This winery was created at the beginning of the 18th century and is now being managed by the 10th generation of the family who are still hollowing out more tuffeau limestone from the hill behind their homes. Whilst the wines were not overly impressive, a bit too minerally for my taste buds, the story of the vineyard was fascinating and the collection of fossils, discovered quite amazing.
Lunch was pending so we headed towards a recommended picnic spot on the river Cher. We were the only people there and enjoyed a very typical French pique-nique complete with appropriate beverages, before making our way to Chenonceau en bateaux.
Chateau Chenonceau is probably the most recognisable of La Loire chateaux as it straddles La Cher river and features in alot of promotional material, but there are some things we just don't have control over, and whilst La Loire was in flood back in January/February, after 2 months of drought, there was not much water in the river, so we were unable to actually travel through the arches of the Chateau to view it from the more picturesque side. It was still quite spectacular but not as imposing and grand as I had imagined.
In fact neither of the Chateaux we had visited thus far, had the WOW factor, so I felt a little short changed. We retreated to Vouvray for drinks and dinner - a delicious salad nicoise, whilst planning our May day activities, since word has it, most shops and businesses would be closed.
This in fact turned out to be not quite true. Our local Vouvray market was open, with a few necessary stalls, the boulangerie was also doing a roaring trade and on our way out of town we discovered the wine shops were open. Surprisingly, it seems, the French bureacracy is recognising the people's need for their daily baguette and bottle of wine. We opted to head out of town to the Domain of Chaumont-Sur-Loire Chateau. Sitting high above La Loire, we'd finally found the storybook Chateau, imposing, grand, and set in very stunning grounds. The Chateau interior had been restored to reflect, its past life, whilst integrating several modern art pieces and digital displays that were interpretative and often quite provocative.
The large gardens were equally spectacular, with converted stables, a greenhouse and The International Garden Centre for Arts and Nature Art fair, in a designated setting. This program has been running for 15 years and in 2026, was titled 'the Garden, the star of the show' celebrating the impact of gardens on film sets, cinema and movies. We decided, we had arrived a little early as the exhibition had only been 'bedded down' 3 weeks previously, so it was still in it's 'growing stage' and not as established as it probably should have been. Never the less, there were some clever displays reflecting modern movies such as Jurassic Park and Festival de Cannes, represented by a fabulous collections of 'old canes'.
A bottle of wine was required, by the boys of course and so we stopped at a very bizzare càve du vin by La Loire on the way home. Guy Durand was an eccentric wine maker who probably lived with his wine bottles in his càve du vin. He was surrounded by miscellaneous rubbish, containers of receipts, bottles trinkets and some wine, all covered in thick cobwebs - even the window photo doesnt do it justice. Wine was purchased, and drunk reluctantly.
We well and truly reached our step count for the day and even climbing to our attic room on the top floor was an effort.Read more
A fitting farewell to Vouvray
May 2–3 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Our Vouvray apartment had all the essentials of the home of a fairly wealthy local in days gone by. It was high up on the hill, overlooking the village and le local docteur, was our neighbour. The views came at a price though, a narrow twisted timber staircase that circulated from the spacious ground floor living/dining room to our equally spacious attic room on the third floor! 34 steps in total, so luckily Roger's fitness routine has continued.
Vouvray was a well established French village on the outskirts of Tours, with a large primary school, highschool and local Catholic school just at the end of our street. The village had recently had a 'makeover' with new paved footpaths, artwork and landscaping, and there were lots of locals out and about most of the time - quite a different vibe to so many villages we've visited.
On our last day, we opted to explore Chateau du Clos Lucé, the home of Leonardo da Vinci for the final years of his life. He is actually buried in the nearby Chateau Royal d'Amboise. Chateau du Clos Lucé has been restored to pay tribute to this man, who after reviewing his inventions and artwork, can only be described as a genius, well ahead of his time. I had no idea of his incredibly diversity of talent, from military inventions, to town planning, the infamous double helix staircase, a plane, bicycle, bridges and a waterpump. Not forgetting his most obvious talent for painting and the famous Mona Lisa. I was simply in awe.
We had a loooong lunch at La Terrase restaurant, in the shadows of Chateau Royal d' Amboise - almost giving up on receiving our main courses. We were aware of the laidback French way and patience is always a virtue, but after 45 minutes of waiting, we intervened and 'voila' our food arrived. Others in the restaurant were not so patient and just stood up and left. Luckily the food was good or the review could have been much worse!
After five nights of food, wine and friendship, it was time to say our farewells and we dropped Gavan and Elaine off at the Tours railway station for their trip to Basel, Switzerland.
We headed down the A10 to La Rochelle Airport, where we collected Emma Louise, our maison owner, who has arrived for a couple of weeks to be on site for the start of the long awaited renovation - Le Projet.Read more
Le Projet begins
May 4–10 in France ⋅ 🌧 14 °C
Emma Lou arrived yesterday to be on site for the commencement of Le Projet, which was scheduled to commence on Monday morning. However, mother nature had other plans as we woke up to pouring rain and a message from the builder that he will now arrive for an on site meeting tomorrow morning.
This gave us a welcome reprieve from too many on site decisions, the chance to get some groceries, and to determine a list of priorities to tick off while Emma Lou is here.
Tuesday morning dawned a stunning day, 10am came and we waited with bated breath. We'd heard stories of the French builders being a bit laissez faire, taking their time, and not necessarily 'getting on with the job'. So we had anticipated today's onsite meeting would be all paperwork, chatting and confirming site details.
How wrong we were! Willy, the builder and project manager, arrived just after 10am, along with a large yellow excavator on the back of a truck. There was great excitement - almost disbelief, and before we knew it, the measuring tapes were out, the hurdles put up (that's survey talk for the setup of the excavation), and the big yellow digger got to work. We were like school kids watching the on site action and by lunchtime, we all had a good idea of just how 'le projet' was going to sit on the block. At 12.30pm the boys all gave us a wave and said 'bon appetit' which we knew meant lunchtime and they were off in their little white van and home for lunch. This is very French and you may remember that the local hardware (think Bunnings equivalent) even closes for lunch for 2 hours! Cest la vie.
They were back on site by 2pm, refreshed and ready to work, which they did right through until 5.30pm. There is no checking mobile phones, chatting to the girlfriends, or mistresses as the case may be en France, when they work, they work. Hallelujah!
Emma Lou and I had a meeting with Patrick, the cabinet maker about the kitchen designs which were reviewed and reviewed again, and on Wednesday and Thursday we spent time collecting tile samples for the flooring, and looking at appliances. Meanwhile, the builders had been in demolishing mode, taking down the last of the little stone wall, and removing the ancient preform concrete BBQ, that had provided plenty of hot coals for the Aussies to cook on until the gas Weber arrived last year.
A decision was made to replace the old terrase, currently looking very tired and loosing its crazy paving stone tiles on an almost daily basis. It made sense to link it formally to the new upper terrase, and thus give the original maison, a connection to the new kitchen/dining room, which overlooks le jardin. Around the edge of the old terrase was a century old stone wall, just 'hanging in' with the help of some very old crumbly cement. This too was destined to go as a brand new wall tapered to ground level, was on the plans for le projet.
And it just so happened, that Friday 8th May was a Public Holiday in France- the official end of the Second World War, so there were no builders on site and we could all enjoy a long weekend. The sun was shining so the Aussie's, not wanting to appear lazy or idle, and always looking for ways to 'give back' for our free accommodation, decided to 'relocate' the old limestone fence to join the pile along the side fence.
A quick push of the 600mm high wall, and bingo, it totally collapses. Two days later, and many barrowloads of limestone rocks added to the pile and the job is done. All that's left is a pile of rubble, small rocks and old cement. You can imagine to look on Willy's face when he turned up the next day. We must be careful though, as we may be offered a job 😂 which is definitely against the rules of our long stay visa.
The long weekend began with a visit to the Saint Jean D'Angely Marché on Saturday and a wander up the road to the Spring Flower Fete in our lical village of St Loup. While most of the time it appears deserted like many other villages we pass through, one Fete days the people come from miles around, and imagine our surprise on this occasion to arrive to the sound of 'boot scooting' live music and a crowd of 50 or more French people, appropriately dressed, doing line dancing. The world is truly universal - just sorry I missed a video. We ended the long weekend by celebrating the Australian Mother's Day on Sunday, with a delicious roast chicken lunch.Read more
Le Projet - another Public Holiday
May 11–18 in France ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C
Willie and the team are not on site on Monday so we decide to take a trip to Tonnay-Boutonne for a few supplies. Luckily I dialed up my 'in house' barista, Roger, for my morning coffee fix as we're just cruising down the local road when a deer leaps out of bushes, in broad daylight, narrowly missing the front left panel of the lease car. It happened so quickly, I didnt even have time to brake as by the time I caught it in my left peripheral vision, it was 100ml from the front of the car and moving straight across the road into the bushes. We all blinked, in disbelief, just grateful that it was moving fast enough not to make contact with the car!
The builders were here bright and early Tuesday morning to dig the trenches, and they didn't leave till the job was done. Emma Lou and I followed up with another kitchen designer in St Jean D'Angely and hunted out some more tile samples for the external terrases.
We had a few jobs to finish off on Wednesday, including a trip to Bricomarche to buy some timber poles for the new woodshed, which we plan to construct before Johhny and Emma Lou return at the end of June. So we rocked into Bricomarche late in the afternoon, select 4 x 4 metre posts, 7 bags of beton (concrete) and ask for delivery. €56 was quoted for the 10 min journey to St Loup, but there's a cheaper option madame, you can rent our truck for €30! You guessed it, we rented the truck, and Thelma (Emma Lou) and Louis (Roger) were off in a flash. Lightning McQueen (that's me) followed just in case and we were whizzing through the streets and farmlands in a flash. It was hilarious. Dropped off the timber, returned the truck and were home for a well earned GnT within the hour. And on Wednesday after the reo framework was fitted into the very deep - 500mm trenches, the boys departed, 'Aurevoir, bonne vacation, à Mardi prochain' - happy holidays, see you next Tuesday.
You see, Thursday 14th May is Ascension Day, another French Public Holiday and it seems taking a 'sickie' on the Friday is de rigueur. And we're still not sure about Monday's. As there was not alot happening on the building site for the next 5 days, Emma Louise decided she had plenty of work back home in the UK so the plan was made for us to drop her of at Bordeaux airport. So we head south on Ascension Day, with a stop at Saintes and the very large Leroy Merlin store, think Bunnings on steroids, and because of the Public Holiday, the place is absolutely packed. Parking is almost in the paddocks of the relatively new commercial subdivision just off the motorway, and we have to make at least three circuits before we are successful. Once inside we move relatively quickly between the outdoor tiles, the kitchen taps and the aluminium windows frames, with some deliberate distraction avoidance to prevent any delays. We've decided, we now know where the population of these small empty villages disappear too when they're not at home!
We head down the A10 as the rain settles in and arrive at our cute little BnB to park our car. A tricky but successful park in the covered carpark and we jump on the tram onto Bordeaux city. Its only 2 stops to the old town, where I've luckily located a wine bar called Frida, a short walk from our tram stop. All would be well except its starting to rain harder and poor Emma Lou hasn't really got a raincoat. Once inside a warming negroni hits the spot and thankfully, the bar staff can rustle up the chef to produce some delicious tapas for us, right at 7pm, which was when the kitchen opened, as we only had a 20 minute window of opportunity before we had to make the mad dash back to the tram, then to collect the car and take Emma Lou to the airport. Safely deposited, we returned to the tricky car park space, noting parking was much easier after said negroni. It was still quite early so some research highlighted a bar just around the corner.
The Cooldown bar seemed quite legit, had good reviews and displayed an image of a fairly typical bar with a wall of spirit bottles in background. What it didn't show was the rooms full of computers, overhead monitors and mostly male gaming clientle with a few goth females for effect. As it was still raining and only 11 degrees, we perched at a bar near the door, enjoyed a negroni while we observed the world of gaming, and shared a pretty good beef burger, rather than wander the streets looking for an alternative bar. Just another adventure as the saying goes.
On Friday we enjoyed a delicious breakfast at our BnB before heading to Auchan Bordeaux shopping centre to revisit some of our favourite stores in order to pickup some accessories for our International Chaine event in Aix-en-Provence in 4 weeks time. We were both pretty tired - it had been a full on 10 days with the start of Le Projet and Emma Lou staying so after a few less than fruitful hours of wandering and browsing, we headed for home, relishing a refreshing GnT by the fire.
Our weekend was pretty non eventful, plenty of sleeping, not much 'thinking' and a few walks around the farmlands pretty much set the scene. As usual, the builders were absent yesterday so we cranked up the lawn mower and Roger started disassembling the old wood shed. The weather remained grey and miserable with frequent showers, so we kept the home fires burning because it's one way to reduce the load of wood that needs moving.Read more
TravelerGood to hear the world chaos didn’t interrupt your travel plans too much…I’m very impressed that you travel so light! Enjoy