Yep, I know. More food. It does seem as if we never stopped eating while we were away, but in fact, there were a lot of times in between, when we walked, we talked and we worked, either on planned projects in our house, or in the garden. Thank goodness, because otherwise we’d have come home carrying quite a bit of extra baggage, and I’m not just talking about what was in our suitcases! Yet again, it’s been too long since I last wrote, and we’re home again now, after an unexpectedly pain free and seamless departure via CDG. There was a grève (strike), so we had anticipated long queues and significant frustration, mais non! We breezed through, which was a welcome relief, given our previous experiences of CDG, and afforded us ample time to enjoy a very leisurely petit déjeuner (breakfast) and a hot coffee, before our flight.
The memories of our time in France have not diminished and we feel as if we were away for much longer than the planned 3 months, so full to bursting was each day, each week. Life can change in an instant and the last few years have bought that into even sharper focus, so we definitely made the most of our time away. I’ve mentioned in the past, that we consider our little house in France as our home, not just a holiday house and I have to say that this last trip, maybe more than any other in the past, cemented that feeling. It’s difficult to explain why, or how. Was it because it was so long awaited? Perhaps. But our deep connection to our little town, our community, our beautiful friends and to our house, which is now much more ours than the house we initially inherited, was palpable. Intoxicating, overwhelmingly emotional and intense.

Les Repas…..

..of which there were many!

Patrick and Corinne came for dinner and, as it was a balmy, summer night, our terrace was the perfect venue. We sat under candlelight, eating, drinking, laughing, talking (and translating) until 1am. We lucked out when we bought our house. They are kind, friendly, helpful and both have a great sense of humour. They are not only wonderful neighbours, they are now also our friends and it was (and always is) a fabulous night, in their company..

Josiane, Claude, Sandra and Ben also were welcomed to notre maison for dinner. We’d had a brilliant night at Josiane and Claude’s earlier in our holiday, plus an equally enjoyable evening of apéritifs on the terrace at Sandra and Ben’s, so we wanted to return the favour. Friends since our arrival in Montmorillon in 2017, we knew we were could look forward to an easy, relaxed and full of laughter night, and it was. No cognac and cigarettes this time, though….

We had yet another long and wonderful dinner on our terrace with Anna, Thierry, Julian and our Australian friends, Andrew, Deb, Steve, and honorary Australians, Heidi and Richard. Such a great night. Anna, Thierry, Julian and his wife Charlotte, like us, have houses on the river, downstream from ours, so Anna and Julian decided to arrive to our little soiree by canoe! Waving them off from our river terrace at the end of the evening, into the quiet, velvety darkness, the ghostly shapes of medieval houses on the opposite bank as our backdrop and with only torchlight to guide their way, seemed like something out of a dream……

During past holidays, we’ve eaten at a small restaurant in town, La Table de Paulo. The food is always delicious, as Paulo is great chef. When Le Palais, one of our coffee haunts in the main square, came onto the market recently, an opportunity to move and expand his premises became available. We had lunch with our close friends, Petra, Bruno, Martine and Sylviane at Paulo’s new venue and the food and ambiance were as impressive as always. We’ll definitely continue to be repeat customers! And, since opening, the new premises has been filled to overflowing, with people who clearly feel the same as we do. Everyone wants them to do well. Paulo’s wife, Pascale, who runs the front of house, manages to keep calm (or, at least, appear that way!) whilst navigating between tables, taking orders, delivering meals, making bookings, in amongst overseeing their little 5 year old daughter.. They are a formidable team…

The local food producers banded together for Le Dîner du Terroir. Held in Le Vieux Marché, on a hot summer night, it was an outstanding success. Of course we went, pourquoi pas? We dressed up in our party clothes and, after only a short stroll from our front door, we sat at long tables out in the square, with several hundred of our closest friends (😉) and ate delicious, local food, drank wine, listened to music, laughed and talked. It was an enchanting night, and one that I hope will become a regular event each year.

Anna suggested that we go to a recently opened pop up restaurant, known as a guingette, to support the owner, one of her collegues at le lycée (high school), where they both teach. And so, on a warm summers night, we found ourselves at Les Petites Sardines, in Antigny. Only open during the summer and serving as it’s premiere dish, grilled sardines, we have no doubt it will be an amazing success. The venue was fabulous, the food delicious, the service friendly and fast, plus the view across the parkland to the old bridge crossing the Vienne river was spectacular. Bring on next Summer, I say….

Good friends, Pat and Keith, invited us for dinner on their terrace. A disused and abandoned old forge when it was first purchased, they have spent many years restoring and creating their beautiful home. The combination of a delicious dinner, their wonderful company and the stunning view, made it a night to remember.….

Quelle erreur…!

We always learn something new, when socializing with our French friends, and this time was no different. Sometimes it’s new vocabulary, a correction to my grammar or pronunciation, a suggestion of a beautiful place to visit, perhaps a French recipe or two, or maybe just the clarification of the way things are done. Or not done, as was the case this time, and on two separate occasions, no less!
When Patrick and Corinne came for dinner, I served the cheese course after dessert, which I thought was the norm. Mais non! They explained, with very good humour, that cheese is always offered between main course and dessert and never should that order be transgressed. Too late, I’d missed the opportunity entirely, so no cheese was eaten that night. I was therefore very determined that I would not make that same mistake twice, and so felt very proud of my new found ‘Frenchness’ when offering the cheese board several nights later, to Josiane, Claude, Sandra and Ben. But everyone sat very politely and did not touch a thing. I could not understand why. What vagaries of French étiquette had I unknowingly trampled on, yet again? The cheese knife was in place, there was a fresh baguette and there were several varieties of cheese to choose from. What could be wrong?? Claude very quietly explained that in France, each person should have their own knife, rather than using the cheese knife provided. A quick trip to the kitchen easily solved the problem, but it was yet another French cultural learning opportunity for me!

Brocante buys..

It goes without saying, that a brocante will always pique my attention and during le printemps (Spring) and l’été (Summer), fortunately for me, there are plenty to choose from! I love them, and Jeff too, quite enjoys the thrill of a bargain hunt, so it’s not hard at all to convince him to go to one, either. We don’t always go together though, as Anna and I love our ‘girls day out’ and make several forays on our own. So, what did I purchase this time? A little jug, for our toothbrushes, a pink velvet stool for our bedroom, a variety of bowls and plates for entertaining on our terrace, a bike for €35 (yes, you read that correctly!) an oyster plate (for Jeff), a slow cooker, a cane market basket, 2 very old lampshades made from pig skin (the diffused light is just beautiful, so soft), several small oil paintings, 3 hand embroidered linen tablecloths, some old french grammar books, a french recipe book, and some copper saucepans. For a total spend of just over €120, I feel quite justifiably smug! At the Croix Rouge (Red Cross) in town, I found a great denim jacket and a lightweight trench coat, for a grand total of €4, so my smugness now is, undeniably, in overload…

If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck..it probably is a duck!

Living in a little town, means that often friends will unexpectedly pop in. Let’s face it, we’re all only a short walk or bike ride away from one another, so it’s an easy affair. We love it. What we didn’t expect though, was to wake up one morning and find, not one of our friends outside our door, but some of the local ducks noisily making their way down our little rue. A quick run down the stairs to fling open our kitchen window, and feed them some baguette made an unusual, but delightful, start to our day. They often make their way to la place (the square) as, prior to the sale of Le Palais, the propriétaires, Thierry and Chantal, had made it their habit to feed them each day, as they come strolling through town. We’ve had many a coffee on the terrace at Le Palais, with the ducks noisily keeping us company, as they happily tuck into old baguette and croissants. Jeff suggested that rôti, confit and l’Orange might be good names for them, but we’d much rather they keep meandering about town, than imagine they might end up on someone’s dinner plate!

Random moments..

Being held up in a long line of traffic, due to a horse drawn gypsy caravans.

Fields full of poppies. Spectacular.

Beautifully decorated wedding cars, and the resulting procession throughout the town, of cars beeping and sirens blaring, in support of the newly married couple. Noisy, but joyous!

Evening walks. Those views!

French markets. It’s hard to go past one, we just love them.

Our garden. ( just not the bitey bugs…)

‘N’oubliez pas vivre’

This is the french version of ‘Stop and smell the roses’. To take a breath to really live life. In english, or in french, it always resonates with me, and there were a myriad of moments which were the perfect reminder yet again, of how important it is.

And so we did.

Bisous et à la prochaine…