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.