A trip to the Old Port

It might be 35c but that doe snot stop the intrepid travelers popping into La Rochelle for a stroll around the Vieux Port and to take a beverage in the shade of a quay side cafe-bar. It being Saturday morning we called by the Market that was in full swing. However our search for chicory/endive failed and so plans for a green bean and chicory starter were abandoned. Such hardships.

Charron and Port de Pave

Les Tracteurs de Port de Pave

Just north of Marsilly is Charron and its Port de Pave. Port de Pave is at the point where the river, Le Sevre Noirtaise meets the bay, Le Baie de l'Aiguilon. The port serves the needs of the mussel and oyster fishermen / farmers and consists of a broad concrete runway that dips into the bay/river enabling the launching and collection of the specialist craft used in the activity. Such launching requires a tractor and on this trip there was a fine collection of tractor on show. I am now searching the shops for a copy of I-Spy Tractors but no luck so far.

And Mary and Sheila were there aussi

Greetings from Nantilly

We did a combo evening meal of tapas and bbq - Michael got some help with the tapas "ere what's with the Spanish stuff...."

NN has been to the Olympics in London

Here's a link to the snaps we took on our visits to London 2012. You will find four sets.albums, one for each of the days we went.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mckaysnaps/
Eat your hearts out gnomes!

What's that noise?

Ello, what iz going on - there's loads of movement and funny noizes in zee house? I wonder if we ave de burgerlairs?

Where has the week gone?

 Well, we moved some furniture around - swapping the desk and the cupboard around. We think this will make it possible to make better use of the cupboard now it it more accessible.

We went out on the bicycles a couple of times. Sheila is in two minds about getting a new cycle so we need to lots more on the bikes to make it make sense. The trouble was that when it wasn't a bit too hot for cycling, it was a bit to windy.

Talking of it being too windy - we endeavoured to play golf twice on our local course. It was rather windy and therefore a bit disheartening. At the end of the first round we decided that our poor play was all down to the wind. We were both a bit tired at the end of the golf and decided the wind had made the whole thing difficult.
So on the second time out - with a stiff breeze still evident we thought having a buggy would make a difference - it didn't.

In between the two rounds of golf at La Pree we headed of to Ile d'Oleron with the idea of enjoying the island and perhaps playing the Nine hole course on the island, As ever our first stop was Le Chateau where we hoped to buy some of the pink "bordeaux" salt that has proved such a good element to cooking steaks - but the shop was closed for lunch! So on we went to the golf course to discover that there was a competition was happening and we wouldn't be able to get on to the course until well after 3pm. At least this opened up the chance to visit Boyardville where we enjoyed a salad lunch by the harbour.

We had heard somewhere that the replica of L'Hermione, the sailing ship that took Lafayette to America in 1780, that has been in progress for over ten year was nearing completion. So we thought we'd pop in to Rochefort on our way back to LaR. And caught a glimpse of it we did - but only just. Now out of the structure inside which the construction happened the site is now surrounded by 2m high panel fences to make sure you pay the €9 per person entry fee to get a good look. We felt we did not have time to made do with our glimpse. It is due to set sail for the USA in the not too distant future so we will keep an eye out for when that happens.

On Thursday - it rained - at lot - all morning. With clearing skies we headed  in La Rochelle in search of Tamarind for a recipe. We headed for a "Flavours of the World" shop we noticed on the last trip - quite close to the market. As wonderful as it was he did not have Tamarind but he directed us to an "Asian" shop about 100m away and there we had a choice of the fruit or the sauce. Asian is defined very widely to include China, Japan, Thailand and seemingly, Ireland (bottles of Guinness) . Suffice to say that between these two shops we reckon we can get pretty much any exotic ingredient we are ever likely to need. Although buying fresh coriander still presents bit of a problem. The day did clear up to a very pleasant afternoon but not quite good enough to warrant a bbq and outdoor dining so the Tamarind Chicken Kebabs got done on the griddle.

Friday (today) has started well with almost clear skies and welcome morning sun - if the wind has gone, perhaps a round of golf, or a bike ride and then the men's semi finals from Roland Garros.

Fetes des Meres

Sunday June 3rd turned out to be a real mother of a day - yes it was Mother's Day here in France. What better way to honour the mothers of France than by having a car boot sale, right here in Marsilly. But not just any car boot sale but a Foire aux Grenier!
Now it may be a bit difficult to understand the difference between a Vide Grenier and an "aux Grenier". Perhaps it was the stall selling hot dogs & frites, or the stall selling vin rose for 80 cents, or perhaps the punch and judy show or even the folk dancers? My vote goes for the folk dancers - a clearly motley collection of young and old, men and women all sharing a major lack of musical sense or ability to dance - and marked by the fact that they seemed to be dancing classic Mexican folk dances. And when I say "classic" Mexican folk dances I mean the men wore sonbreos and the women waved their dresses around.
Perhaps the thing that really distinguished this "grenier" was that Michael and Ann missed it but Peter and Sheila went to it, not once, but twice and BOUGHT something!

So 8 Rue de is now proud owner of an electric toaster, a perfect size when two of you fancy a bit of toast or one of you fancies two bits of toasts.

While on the food front a new cafe / take-out has now opened in the new shopping centre in Marsilly. It describes itself as a "coucousserie" and seems more take-out than cafe but there are a few basic tables and chairs inside as well as outside as this snap shows.
It seems that the "new shopping centre" has a name it is "Les Carrelets" and will be celebrating its first anniversaire on 15 Juin a 20h with musique, chant, tombola. "un aperitif vous sera offerert par l'association des commercants"

Back to the Friday ferry crossing

As we breakfasted on Saturday morning prior to arrival at St Malo the ferry was treated to the sight of fice or six dolphins tracking the stern of the boat. It was a lovely way to start the day.

Bonjour Mesdames and Monsieurs

Nous sommes ici! Bonne Fete

Saturday Arrival

27c - in need of some shade

A very chirpy, but busy, crew member told us that the Friday night crossing to St Malo was completely sold out - every cabin, every seat sold -1600 passengers, And I'd say with an adult to child ratio of about 1:3. Our own cabin was on deck 2, that is to say two decks below where we parked the car!
However the dinner in the restaurant was as reliable as ever and the entertainment in the bar served to pass enough time before hitting our berths beneath the decks.

Arrival was on-time and processing through Border Control took no time at all so we were soon bowling along on a bright and sunny morning. It is hard to imagine a better transit from the port to Nantilly and we unlocked the front door at a couple of minutes before midday and immediately set about putting out the garden furniture in the back yard and creating a bit of shade.

The afternoon soon passed, with "opening  up" the house, a trip to the local Ecofrais for some catering essentials and a look-in at the French Open tennis (via the TV). Late afternoon we headed out for a quick recce of the vicinity. Esnandes was the first stop, mostly to get some cash at the ATM by the Coop. Down to check out Viviers were we came across a great melee of people. We had seen a notice about some event in Esnandes and it turned our to be a rowing competiton, conducted along side catering, bouncy castles and a mini vide grenier. All of this happening at the shore, right by Viviers - whose new shop is now open and doing a roaring trade in "regional products".
Day one, brilliant weather, concluded with a barbecue and an early night.

Donc, l'aventure est finie

Do you think that the gardening implement is a hint?

Bonjour, tout cela semble très familier. Ils disent que les voyages forment l'esprit, mais il ne semble pas avoir élargi les esprits des deux êtres humains qui ont enfermés dans le jardin à l'arrière. Je vous demande?


"Hey you guys - get a move on - you don't seem to have moved an inch since we went to play golf. Get back to work"

St Xandre - une jolie ville

Countless times we have driven through St Xandre and marveled at the two bars, two boulangeries, two pizza places and a host of other things, but never have we stopped and taken a walk about. So we did this morning.
We drove to ST Xandre by going down the Villedoux route at the roundabout at the Nantilly end of the Commune. That way we pass the splendid looking home and business that the family we bought the house from now have. A lovely two story house, stable, the free range chickens and three handsome gites. So that't what a handful of GBP can do for the locals!
We parked up in a handy car park that is down the side of the church, that is pretty much in the centre of things and poked around. It really does feel like a pleasant and lively town. The Tabac /Presse is much bigger than the Bar/Tabac in Nantilly, not that it extends to English language papers or anything.
We did not stay too long as we had to get back to wait for the TV repair man - or rather the TV Satellite dish repair man - to turn up and fix the telly. Yes, we have gone two nights without television - unheard of!

This is Bar / Restaurant Le 16 - perhaps more bar than restaurant but it does advertise a three course €12 menu and that it is open in the evenings from 5.30pm to 11.00pm

This is the "other" bar - no sign of food and nothing to indicate opening hours. Looks like a proper bar, complete with  the betting counter and large TV screen. It is next door to the Tabac/Presse and a bank with ATM

A Sunny But Chilly Afternoon on Il de Re

You might need to visit the blog itself to view this???? CLICK HERE

Mid Week Update

This morning the sun streams through the windows in between the heavy showers that might turn out to characterize the whole day. This looks like the day we do phase two of tidying the garage.

Sheila's starter

Tuesday was cool and blowy and not a good day for golf so became a very "domestic" day, catching up on correspondence, reading and even (for Sheila) rael domestic chores. The washing machine did not know what hit it. Our "reward" for this domesticity was to go out to dinner in La Rcohelle to a place called La Cuisine De Jules on rue Thiers. It was one of the very best meals we have had for a long time and to be thoroughly recommended. Their €27.50, three course menu provided enough choice for the two of us to pick different dishes, although we both plumped for the fromage for the third course. They have that annoying habit of asking for the dessert choice when taking the order which demands that you imagine what you'd like to eat after downing the first two courses before you have had a morsel. rue Thiers runs down the side of the Market in La Rochelle and the restaurant is close to the Market - the website does not do justice the the very pleasant modern dining room. I bet that in the season reservations will be needed.

Easter Monday, was a quiet sort of a day although lots of local businesses were open and not just those aimed at visitors. We drove to La Rochelle and parked up at the north end  - past the casino - near the (one of the) war memorials, and wandered into the old port and around and about. Whilst having a cafe creme at a pavement table overlooking the basin we were handed a leaflet about  the "Course Croisiere" that runs out of the marina starting on Friday 13th. We have put that on our agenda for Friday.

Sunday afternoon saw us back on the golf course at "La Pree" our local golf course. I had discovered a free Blackberry app, a golf course gps, that had the course on it, so I thought I'd give it a go. It was somewhere down the long second hole that Sheila pointed out that I was probably incurring huge data charges that I realised that the app might have been free but using it abroad would not be. GULP for the next phone bill. We were paired up with a couple of locals, Pascal and Giscard and once again it was a comfortable, even pleasant experience - golfers do seem to be pretty decent and amiable types.

Saturday was our day for Chateaillon Plage for lunch and the Kite Festival. Just for a change we took the train. From the station at La Rochelle it takes about 10 minutes and costs €4 return. Only snag is that the trains are once every two hours and so you don't want to miss one!

Nearly Niort

Two 6km walks in the last two days - that is the way to greet spring. And oh yes there was 18 holes of golf on each of the walks. Yesterday (Thursday) we played at our local course - Golf de La Pree - and that was also our first round of golf in 2012. All in all we did OK but it was pretty tiring.
Today the weather looked as if we'd not get a chance to play, coolish and heavy showers. So we decided to drive to Niort with the idea that if it cleared up we'd play the golf course over there ad if it didn't we'd mouch around the town. It was around 3.00pm when we got there and we decided to take a chance and play.
as it turned out the weather got better as the day went along and we had a very pleasant three and a half hours going around a very pleasant parkland course that intertwines with the racecourse.

Other news - Le Distribteur returns to Esnandes - not in quite the same place but in the corner by the side of the Coop.

Steak Anyone?

Hmmm connecting one thing with another - hope we have enough gas!

And by the way Mary...

We have started to tidy up the garage!

Today's Big Event in Marsilly

The Ecofrais is the local supermarche and starting to day they are selling the meat of one particular, award wining cow. We spoke to the butcher and we think he said that its name was Daisy.
And it is a nice picture of its backside aussi.

Domesticity

We are beginning to think that the gnomes have gone on holiday, or else been kidnapped. Since we have not had any ransom note we are thinking the holiday option is prime - but you would have thought that they would have left a note  - or at least send us a postcard!

Direct from Willow Court to Nantilly; the vegetable rack is pressed into service right away, it nestles nicely into a spot in the Pantry and is laden with more fruit and vegetables than this house has ever seen before. Conscious of "food miles" one has started to notice the source of fresh food and it is interesting to note that the sort of fruit that the UK sources from the Caribbean and South Africa tens to come from former French colonies in Africa

It might have been too cold to eat out last night but that did not stop us from cooking on the bbq - note the pans with vegs cooking away on the bbq griddle.

Splendid morning with the sun streaming in the fenetre de cusine. A bientot

Chilli chicken and pineapple kebabs anyone...

...well that was the plan.
After a productive day that included getting the electricity supply upgraded, clearing out the garage, washing down the patio tiles and pruning the olive tree, the idea was to basque in the evening sunshine and rustle up a bbq!
By 17.30 we had the chicken marinading, the skewers ready and the pineapple ready to slice so we settled down, in the sunshine to read for a bit before dinner.
Fast forward to 7.00pm and we are sitting in front of a blazing log fire wondering (a) where the heat of the day went and (b) who will go outside in a winter fleece and anorak to cook the kebabs!!??

Final note on the Olive tree - sad to say it was in a very poor state when we got here, with much of its foliage dead. Not really knowing what we were doing, we none the less thought that a hard prune was in order. The poor thing was clearly not going to prosper as it was and so a kill or cure approach seemed best. Our next visit in May / June time will likely indicate the effect of our TLC. (The photo is before the pruning.)
The hard winter and heavy snow has also killed of the "other" semi-tropical palm tree like plant in the corner by the garage and we don't even want to think of the job involved in getting rid of that one. Perhaps it is time for a bit of a rethink of the "planting" or otherwise of the back yard. Ideas on a postcard.

Palm Sunday in Nantilly

 The journey to Nantilly began on Saturday with a visit to Tillington to see Mary and Jez. They had popped over to their local with friends Dana and Robert and we arrived with the cheese board - very nice too!

Tillington is just outside Petworth and is about 45 minutes from the cross channel ferry terminal at Portsmouth and so providing a quick last part of the trip. Arriving at around quater past six the boarding "checking-in" had begun and we were quickly through the check-in and joined line 11 that was soon waved through customs and border control. There was quite a long wait before embarkation but none the less the ferry departed promptly at 8.15pm with the two of us in the Restaurant ordering our meal.


As has become our custom after dinner, we went to the main bar to see suss out the evening's entertainment. "Live" music was supplied by a duo of voice and drums delivering a very pleasant of songs, most of which we recognised. In the end it was a shame that they didn't get too much attention from the family dominated crowd. There was also a magician Rick O'Shea!!!! He was brilliant with the little kids and delivered some very good illusions and feats of  prestidigitation. 

 Getting off the boat took rather a lot of time and it was 9.15 before we were on the "high road" but we had a very smooth trip south and pulled up outside number 8 at 12.30.

The most significant element of packing the car was putting our bbq from home into the boot. This required it being dismantled and it still filled the boot and so I was determined to get it rebuilt and ready for use as soon as possible - hence the first of the photographs, proud bbq engineer.

That done we had a bit of a spin round the immediate locale. Pleased to report that Viviers continues to develop with the conversion of the old dining room into a shop and a modest boardwalk added to the frontage along with timber cladding. And good news, the restaurant reopens on April 6th.


At the end of summer we reported that Viviers had competition, right across the road from them and it is good to see that it is not only still here but it looks like they are near to completing a deck for outdoor dining in the season.

Les humans left la porte arrière unlocked....

...and zo we snook out of zee garage through zee cat-flap ("Eh, ou est le chat?") and in through the back door and now we are settling down to hibernate until les printemps.

Bonjour Mr Michael

Bon Anniversaire

Friday Fun - Ile de Re

The posh side of the harbour in St Martin

"There’s something oddly egalitarian about the French island of Ile de Ré. It’s Unesco-protected, attracts wealthy Parisians and British holidaymakers, and St Martin, the capital, has restaurants and boutiques that post prices to rival Paris or Nice. And yet its former citadel is home to France’s largest correctional facility, and until 1938 was the departure point for convicts bound for the French penal colonies.

The island is in its prime in the summer, but is equally appealing off season... " or so said Simon Horsford in a newspaper article a couple of years ago and so we went to test his view.

...and the not so posh - see the difference

The bridge is as ever a brilliant site as it crescents across the water. In the low season the tariff for a car is 8 euro - the tariff is now an eco-tariff, replacing the bridge toll as of January 1st. We passed by Rivedoux and pottered through a picturesque but (all bit) deserted La Flotte and pulled up on the quay in St Martin. It was - very cold - as it had been all week - but with less wind around we were able to have an amble around. There was plenty of life around the harbour including a several cafes open for lunch. We settled for a coffee and a snack in Fred's at Rivedoux before returning to Nantilly to settle in front of the fire for the rest of the day.

Wednesday's Wandering

With the main roads clear and the secondary roads OK to use with care, we decided on a day trip to Ile D'Oleron and Rochefort. Now this would be a rather big itinerary in spring or summer but on a freezing cold day in February it was more than possible. Our first target was to do a first time visit to the Phare de Chassiron that is at the far end of the island.
The whole island was eerily quiet and then we realised that we had arrived during the two hours of lunch time, that is clearly still observed, at least during the off-peak winter season.
The extent that Ile D'Oleron is a holiday place becomes very obvious on a winter visit by the number of businesses that are "closed until April", even most of the garages selling petrol have closed up.

Once at the Phare we parked up and donned every item of clothing we had with us set of for a cliff top walk. Most of the photos in the collage are from the point. Note the condition of the trees in the bottom left and you get some idea of the wind. The walk did not last long and was dominated by a discussion on the merits of thermal underwear. Oh for the days of summer when we complain about it being to hot!
We left the Phare and drove down to Le Chateau D'Oleron in search of a warming coffee but everywhere was closed and we found ourselves in the the square in Rochefort before settling into a cafe for cafe.
The photo in the bottom right is the Ecofrais Supermarche in Marsilly that has become our second home as we have bought just about everything we wanted there. Looking at the receipts we have made a significant impact on the local economy!

The trouble with shopping on the internet....

...is that what turns up may be a bit different to how you expect.... but at least I'm not the albino gnome any more....and what is more lads I am getting the whiff of chocolate banana cake.. get yourselves up here! 






That's better - I reckon the cake is in the box

Bonjour a partir des gnomes

Hey this www is great, I am ordering some clothes pour the nouveau bloke....ah you can keep zee netbook, thiz tablet (avec le android OS) est superb...quelle est cette chose skype?

With the roads clear we take a lunchtime trip down the coast

....and back to La Rochelle for lunch. Everything is startling clear in the sharp winter sun.

We have a new plaque on the wall to welcome all comers and a detail from the Swiss guard (or so they claimed) to keep and eye on the wine cellar.

A busy morning dans la cuisine

Je me demande ce qui est dans les escaliers?

Hi ho hi ho it's off here we go.......les humans want to talk to vous

Well it has been all go since we arrived in Nantilly. Lots of things to unpack from the car and a house that needed to warm up. We got the fire going early on, especially since we kept hitting the limit of our electricity puissance.

The car journey from Beckenham to Portsmouth was a bit trying. Very busy with traffic and we had to take a long way round because of bad problems on our preferred route. Usually we do the journey in less than two hours,  even close to an hour and a half. Friday's journey was two and a half hours.

The ferry was very quiet and we had a relaxing dinner in the restaurant and then retired to the bar to listen to "Over Easy" - a duo who performed nightmare versions of songs we thought we kinda recognised????

Arrival in St Malo was a very civilized 7.15/8.15 and with the ferry being so quiet we were off the boat and through the Border Control and on the road by 7.30/8.30. Four hours later we were unlocking the door of 8 Rue de Nantilly.

Once unpacked and had the house on the way to being warm, we took a stroll to the shops and picked up a few essentials and decided that it was so cold that a lazy night in was in order. Back at the house and Les Gnomes who seen to be taking over!

Hey so zis iz what we look like.... we gotta do zumthing about ezz clothes!

White Out in Nantilly

 Dimanche matin et le neige est ici aussi!

Dans La Cuisine avec Les Gnomes

Core this is a bit of alright - 'e can cook as well! We are going to ave to do zumthing about his clothes though. (And it is really warm here as well)