A busy weekend...Sunday, Patrimoine,brocante and music.

Yesterday we headed out with Angela and Dennis in search of some visits for Patrimoine - with our first port of call being 'Domaine de la Boutelaye' where a friend had visited the day before and recommended it, only to discover it was in fact only open on the Saturday! Undeterred we continued on our day out and headed to Angles-sur-l'Anglin for their brocante plus to visit some nearby sites there.  

On the way there we passed through Coussay-les-Bois and noticed the the Eglise Saint-Martin was open to visit so popped in for a look. We were met the ladies of 'Les Amis de l'eglise Saint-Martin' who explained that the main church in the village 'Eglise Notre Dame'  was closed as it is currently unsafe and their association is helping to raise funds for its restoration.

The brocante was a little quieter than previous years but as we were supposed to be there for the walk it did not really matter.

There was the usual variety of 'stuff' on sale with this stall holder having items just in case you needed them.

This one was offering some bear legs.

As I said we were only there for the walk but couldn't resist these glasses (12) which were still in their display boxes for 6 euros the lot! Only problem was we had nothing to carry them in so asked the stall holder to hold them for us and we would pick them up later.

As luck would have it a stall near him had this shopping trolly at 5 euros so the problem was immediately solved! Angel and Dennis bought a few items including some paintings as they were searching for something to hang in some spare wall space they have. After finishing our walk we stopped in at cafe 'Le Bellevue' for a refreshment only to find we were wearing our cloaks of invisibility. After waiting a bit to long and seeing people who had arrive a bit later than us, we got up, thanked them for their lack of service and left. 

We were more fortunate at our next stop in Vic-sur-Gartempe where we had headed to take in another visit at Villa des Iles. We decided to have lunch at 'Ô Bouchon Vicquois' where we were told we would have a wee bit of time to wait as our host was chef as well as front of house. We decided to wait and were delighted with our lunch.

After lunch we walked down to the house, which we understood would be reopening in the afternoon, only to find the gates locked - another disappointment.We then decided to drive down and have a look at the 'La grotte de Notre Dame du Bedoué' just outside the village.

Apparently the grotto was made to save the parishioners of Bedoué the trip to Lourdes to pray to the Virgin Mary, a statue was installed  in this small cave in 1920. The cave remained a local pilgrimage site until 1965.  It is still maintained by the owner and decorated with flowers by visitors.

Next we headed to Château de la Brosse but unfortunately my sat-nav took us on a road that was only designed for tractors. So after a number ups and downs and a couple of knocks underneath the car we eventually arrived at the gates of the chateau but not surprisingly it was closed. I did manage a couple of photos from over there hedge. 

Although we had failed to fill our day with heritage visits, with good company and a good lunch we had a good day out.

To end a busy day we headed over to Celtiqua's final gig at the Lavoir in Preuilly-sur-Claise where they put on their usual good show with a bit of audience participation.

With two of our friends showing some good moves.