Sitting out in the 'sitooterie'.

Our temporary 'sitooterie' yesterday ready to greet friends for a very enjoyable 5 hour lunch!

You just have to...

On last Saturday's visit to the beautiful Angles-sur-l'Anglin I couldn't help but take these shots even though I must have taken them a hundred times - couldn't help myself.

 

Wednesday for windows - from Angles-sur-l'Anglin

 

In Angles-sur-l'Anglin could this be where Robert Palmer's ladies who were 'Addicted to love' retired to?

Mon banc dominical/My Sunday Bench

 

From our visit to Chateau Villandry on a beautiful Easter Sunday. Great to see families out and about again.

The last lunch...

 

Said farewell to Bert & Geraldine after our last lunch together for this visit, It was great having them and giving them a taste of our lifestyle here in Touraine. A big shout-out to all our friends who made them feel so welcome! 

The last outing...

 

For our last outing with Bert and Geraldine  we headed over to 'Cave des Producteurs' in Montlouis-Sur-Loire for some more wine tasting...

and buying!

We finished the morning of with lunch at the Petit Tonneau on Quai Albert before heading back to join our friend Karen for a wee refreshment in her lovely garden.

Even more out and about...at Chateau de Chenonceau.

Very good day out yesterday with Geraldine and Bert at Chateau de Chenonceau. The weather had taken a little turn for the worst but it did not dampen our spirits or spoil our fun. 

Monday's walk...

Good turnout for our short walk up behind Barrou yesterday which I was happy to lead. Great weather for it and we followed it up by some of us having a good lunch at the restaurant (Les Tilleuls).

More out and about...at Langeais and Villandry

 

Yesterday we took Geraldine and Bert on a trip that took in a 'drive past' of the chateau at Azay-le-Rideau, a visit and lunch at Langeais then finally a visit to the stunning Chateau de Villandry and its beautiful gardens.

Out and about...

Yesterday we took Bert and Geraldine over to the beautiful Angle-sur-l'Anglin which never fails to impress visitors especially under a blue sky! 

After a walk around we stopped in to No 15 for a bit of cake and a refreshment before finishing the afternoon with a walk around the gardens at Descartes.

14 years in the making...

Last night we opened a bottle of 2007 'Chateau Le Bert', Saint-Émilion wine at dinner that had been waiting to be shared with our friend Bert who had given it to us as we left for France 14 years ago with the intention of coming over to drink it with us. 

Although we had seen them almost every year since on our visits to Scotland this was their first visit to France since our leaving. This is part of a road trip that has taken them through France to Spain and Portugal and back to France.

Pleased to report that it had aged well and complemented Pauline's duck dinner very well.

We are looking forward to showing them the delights of our region during their stay with us.

Vendredi et une vue - Princes Street Edinburgh from the castle esplanade.

 

From our visit last week.

Wednesday is for windows...

Thought I'd share some of the diverse window architecture of Edinburgh.

 

More planes trains and automobiles...

Back in La Guerche after a day of travelling yesterday - 10 minute walk to the tram from Corstorphine to the airport which is very straightforward and direct. Then a Ryanair flight to Poitiers which was 40 minutes late and one where they made us stand in a packed corridor for 20 minutes before boarding. 

Then we headed to the taxi rank for a taxi to the train station to catch our train to Chatellerault. There were no taxis waiting for the flight's arrival and we found out that in fact there never is! 

A Romanian couple let us know you had to call a cab and even then you had to keep your fingers crossed that they would arrive! They  were kind enough to call for one for us and as we chatted we found out that the lady used to work in the dentists in Ligueil. By the time their taxi arrived another couple  had joined what they thought was a queue - we shared our new found information with them. When our taxi had not arrived after 20 minutes there was talk of us perhaps missing our train but they said they were heading to the train station as well to pick up their car before heading up to Montrichard and if we did miss our train they would take us home, how kind are people? Just as our taxi eventually arrived another couple arrived confused and we managed to get our driver to organise one for them. 

Our friend Dennis picked us up at Chatellerault for the last part of our journey home.