Gastranomique...

Our last day...started off grey and overcast, but you guessed it....cleared again for another day of fun and sun. We had decided that we had better experience an authentic French restaurant and that lunch would be a good option so after enjoying the morning pottering around, lying in the sun and all the usual good things we set off at 12h45 for La Marmite in Mansle.

We got French menus but when the proprietor heard that we were English he whipped out some English menus for us and we were all relieved not to have to go through the menu with the French/English dictionary in hand...especially as we had cleverly left it lying on the dining room table at home.

We decided to splash out and go for one of the 3 course options and Malcolm and I both opted for the prawns on a bed of fennel accompanied by a cream sauce to start, I had rack of lamb with thyme for mains (with carrots, green bean bundle, cauliflower and chips/frittes) and Malcolm opted for a fillet with peppercorn sauce (with same accompaniments as me). After lunch we were given a side plate of dressed mixed leaves and a cheese board with a selection of cheeses which was utterly divine, we did not have a lot of cheese and I have never eaten it that way before but I certainly plan on eating it that way again! The cheese board is passed around from table to table which I thought was great and took delight in handing it over to the owner when I saw that one of the other tables had just been served their salad! Then we still got to choose dessert, cremé caramel for Malcolm and mine was....well I know it as floating islands, a soft meringue floating on a kind of cremé anglaise. We drank a bottle of rosé wine with our meal and I pleasant buzz settled on me as I sat day dreaming and marvelling at the blue of the sky and the fabulous surroundings.

The pictures are in sort of black and white because the natural colour on the photograph is not great - all the reflection of the umbrella did not take to well in the pictures...I had to add one of the red umbrellas, blue sky and green trees, unfortunately the picture does not actually do it justice but anyway...

In case you are all wondering...the kids went for the children's menu option...tomato salad to start, hamburger and frittes/chips followed by ice cream - for €7 each!!!

After lunch we headed home and once our food had settled went for a walk and spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and sipping wine.

Dinner was easy - left overs or anything that takes your fancy as we still had a fair bit in the fridge - people arriving after us should be well fed!

Wednesday

Yes, you may get jealous here...woke up to a glorious day AGAIN, getting a little tiring now, but how can I NOT mention it?

We started off with our usual coffee and then headed off in a new direction on our walk. We ended up going along a very quiet road and had the misfortune of an assault on our olfactory senses by the most foul smelling fertilizer ever - well I hope it was fertilizer! The walks are decidedly pleasant under normal circumstances, sunflower, wheat and maize fields abound in the area we were based.

We got home and had some breakfast and then I did my daily ritual of donning my polka dot bikini and heading for the sun lounger with my book for about an hour. Then it was back to the shower and off to Dixieland for lunch and we hoped that the chateau would be open for visitors. The menu at Dixieland was unexciting but we decided that we liked the setting and settled for one of the few options they presented to us and then spent a pleasant 40 minutes waiting for our lunch and enjoying the pleasant surroundings. After lunch we chatted to the waiter and discovered that the chateau was not open to visitors so we walked around the town for a while before heading home again. The afternoon was spent playing badminton, Malcolm and I had a great game and a good bit of exercise too.

Dinner was easy...I found a hand held blender, abused the ratatoiulle from the previous evening, added creme fraiche and served it over tomato, basil and mozzarella tortellini - delicious! Quaffing of more wine followed and a pleasant evening of Rummikub rounded the evening off.

To market to market

We woke up to yet another absolutely awesome day, the sky was an unbelievable blue and not one fluffy cloud in sight. We had our ritual coffee on the patio and then got ready to go to the market in Mansle - our only planned activity of the day.

We purchased some strawberries and raspberries and then with all the wonderful vegetables avaiable I was inspired to make rattatouille (spelling?) and so spent an unbelievable €6.46 on our dinner! If only there were markets like that in Dublin, we would eat like kings. We also walked into a 'boucher' and after surveying the many different cuts of meat decided that the easiest option were the beef kebabs, pointing at them and holding up 4 fingers was definitely the easiest way to go!

After that we did some more exploring and discovered a lovely place to sit and have a coffee and as kirstin was hungry we surveyed the menu and decided that jambon frommage would be a cheese sandwich/roll. What arrived to our surprise was half a baguette with ham, which was delicious but we were fairly sure that frommage is cheese? Turns out that jambon is ham, but I am still at a loss as to the where the frommage was.

Mansle:

We also stopped in at the bolangerie again and got a baguette as Jess was desperate to prepare her favourite meal - bruschetta, this time I had managed to get together all the necessary ingredients after we finally visited a grocery store for the rest of our supplies.

A lazy afternoon followed, I lay in the sun and read my book and Jess fed me her divine bruschetta and we even added an avocado to some of the mix for something a little different - bliss. After that it was a cold shower and then a late afternoon glass of wine and a long chat with Malcolm while the kids tried to catch some fish and played more badminton. I went inside and prepared my planned dinner and a fruit salad and then the kids challenged me to a game of badminton, mom vs kids ensued and I was victorious. Kirstin told me that as a parent i should have let them win, that is something a good mom would do...I told her that a BETTER mom teaches her kids that they cannot win all the time and that losing isn't so bad....What can I say....sometimes I really like to WIN.

Bastille Day

I woke later than usual, Jess had taken it upon herself to close the shutters outside our bedroom window so my usual alarm clock, the light did not stand a chance. Malcolm and I started the day off energetically and went for a walk/run for an hour choosing a different route and discovering another village. I do not think that you can walk in any direction from our cottage for more than 2 km's without stumbling upon a village!
I had bought crepes on our first grocery trip and brought them out for breakfast on Bastille Day, the kids took great delight in eating them with all manner of sweet toppings...what the heck we are on holiday!
After breakfast I took advantage of the loungers on the patio and the sun and grabbed a book and got lazy. The kids went off on the boat again and after being a lizard for a little over an hour I got called up to the badminton court for another round of shuttlecock whacking.
At 13h00 we decided to head for Ruffec, a town 10 km's away to find a spot for lunch and to get a few things we had discovered were necessities...like mosquito spray and water.
We discovered a ghost town upon arrival and drove around marvelling at the quietness of the place. There was only ONE open restaurant and so we decided to drive to a bigger town, Angouléme 30 km's away. Again we were greeted by deathly quiet streets, it was so bizarre. We did manage to find a small convenience store and bought some water and candles, the only things on our list we could get hold of but it was still progress! We also found a boulangerie that was open and bought a boulle and a baguette, the baguette we could not resist ripping pieces off of it as we walked down the eerily quiet streets.
We did not see any open restaurants and so we headed BACK to Ruffec where we knew at least one place had been open, only to discover that he was closing, and we thought the French were ruled by their gastranomic habits. We were also very quickly learning that it is very frustrating not being able to communicate and that French lessons would be a top priority if we ever plan another trip to France - or take along somebody else who CAN speak French...free holiday anyone?
On our way home I remembered reading that there was a restaurant/pub called Dixieland in Verteuil with an English speaking owner so we dicided to make one last effort at actually eating out and headed in that direction.

Wow! There is a magnificent chateau there, which may date as far back as 1080 sitting atop the village its glinting turrets keeping a watchful eye over the town.

When we got to Dixieland they were closing...story of our day...but the friendly Englihman insisted that he would stay open and we could have a drink in the beer garden around the back. When we got to the beer garden at the back we were treated to a view of one of the turrets towering above us.

We had one drink, felt too bad to linger and then headed home for sustenance - another great evening for a bbq so it was salad making for me and lighting a fire for Malcolm while the kids honed their badminton skills.

Sunday

We awoke to a spectacular day in Pitou Charente and headed for the kettle and coffee and then out to the porch and the chairs to soak up the early morning sun and watch the river lazily flowing by...ahhh peace.
After a breakfast of smoked salmon and baguettes - yes odd I know but I had been hankering after salmon...(need the oils to keep the brain functioning) we all climbed aboard the little green boat and went for a ride with Jess at the helm, okay then - the OARS. She used to do rowing in S.A. and has certainly not lost her touch, her confidence and handling of the boat is impressive. Of course I could not resist having a go myself and I was not too bad although my facial expressions apparently made for a good laugh and the kids spent most of my rowing time in stitches. Kirstin was delighted at getting a few candid pictures but I got to them and managed to oblierate them - thank goodness.

Enjoying being rowed around...

At about noon we got back to the cottage and I prepared bruschetta with a twist for lunch. i ahd no basil, olive oil or garlic so I used a jar of pesto with the tomaoes and onions and it actually turned out pretty well.
After lunch Malcolm and I donned our walking shoes and headed off to explore the village of Chenon and beyond. Chenon is literally a few homes, not sure if it even qualifies as a village because there is not one single shop there. The walk was lovely though and we vowed to have many more during our week long stay.
When we got back to the house the kids were playing badminton and they managed to cajole us into joining them for a game, the joys of older kids!!!
When in France do as the Italians do....pasta on the menu for dinner! I made spaghetti bolognaise as it is so easy and always provides left overs for another day. The kids went for another boat ride, took the fishing rods and tried to catch some fish, it was absolutley awesome to see them making the best of their surroundings, besides meal times I do not think they se a foot in the house!