A walk around the Etang du Louroux in pictures.

Copied this from large photo on back of cabin by the parking @Loïc Mauléon 

The promise of a fine day weather wise saw Pauline and I take a walk around the lake at Le Louroux yesterday.It  proved to be a good choice even if it was rather muddier in places then we anticipated.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench - by the Etang du Louroux

  Captured during our walk around lake at Le Louroux earlier today.

Getting out again...

This week we have been having some unusually high temperatures for the time of year allowing us more walking opportunities. On Wednesday we repeated Tuesday's walk but in reverse,the pic. above was taken as we crossed back over the Cruise from La Petite Guerche.

First walk of the year...

 

We had been looking forward to rejoining the walking group for our first walk of the season on Monday but it was cancelled because of the weather so with yesterday being a reasonable day we took ourselves  on one of our walks up behind La Petite Guerche.

We saw our first daffodils of the year in La Petit Guerche as we headed back over the bridge.

Mon banc dominical/My Sunday Bench - Mormoiron

From November's visit to my brother's home in Mormoiron in Provence. With Mont Venteux in the background.

Thursday's 'taken in Touraine'

Le Grand-Pressigny  this afternoon. 

Bringing some light to a dark Edinburgh...temporarily.

On the Tuesday of our last week in Edinburgh Mara joined us for lunch at the award winning *Scottish Cafe & Restaurant under the National Galleries. After lunch we visited an exhibition of  38 Turner watercolours within the Galleries.The collection was left to the nation by the art collector Henry Vaughan in 1900. At his bequest they can only be exhibited during the month of January when natural light levels are at their lowest to preserve their quality and viewing must be free to all.

 

We also had a look around the other temporary exhibition of the work of Scottish artist Sir William Gillies who we knew little of before our visit.Below is a short biography courtesy of the National Galleries Scotland.

Self portait of  Sir William Gillies

'Bornin Haddington near Edinburgh, Gillies studied at Edinburgh College of Art. After graduating, he taught there for more than forty years until his retirement as Principal in 1966, having influenced several generations of artists. A college grant enabled Gillies to go to Paris in 1923 to study, and for a brief period he worked in a cubist style. But, by nature, he was more inclined to the traditional, and in his later work only his still lifes show a general debt to Cubism. Gillies concentrated on landscapes and still lifes, and was particularly fond of depicting the Lothian, Fife and Border regions.'

I have to admit to being a bit of philistine when it comes to art - the 'Red House' above 'screams' bad to me but then what do I know?

Mara brought her own 'light' to the afternoon.

*Sadly not a great dining experience.

Back in La Guerche,

Drove down from Calais yesterday afternoon after an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn Express only 5 minutes from the 'Chunnel' which proved an inspired choice as it meant we had no more UK roads to cope with (not a lot of fun) before heading to France. The drive down was a joy,(even negotiating Rouen was straightforward), compared to what we had experienced in the UK. The dive through the north of France was framed by lines of trees made enchanting by a heavy frost.

Looks like we timed ourreturn perfectly as the Met Office has only just issued new snow and ice warnings covering the whole of Scotland and parts of Wales and England,

A detour for lunch... with Ada and her Grans & Papas

Before heading over to Edinburgh to spend our last few days in Scotland with Rose,Michael and Ada we took up a kind offer of lunch with Rose's mum and dad in Comrie a pretty village in Perthshire, west of Crieff. The village sits in a lovely location between Glen Lednock and Glen Artney. 

Ada and Rose came up from Edinburgh to join us and we had a lovely lunch and afternoon with Rose's parents and aunt.

 

Mon banc dominical/My Sunday Bench

Bench on Princes Street Edinburgh - look behind you!

Mon banc dominical/My Sunday Bench - Chateau du Rivau

 

Another one of the many choices at Chateau du Rivau

Sisters...

We left Ayr on Monday after a very comfortable stay with Pauline's sister Eileen who had very generously hosted the family over Christmas and New Year and put up with us as lodgers for what must have felt longer than the actual 3 weeks we were there! We headed over to Edinburgh to spend the last of our time in Scotland with Michael Rose and Ada - with a little detour on the way.

A winter's walk...

We met up with Paul on Sunday for a walk along part of the Forth and Clyde Canal before heading along the river Kelvin onto Glasgow's Botanic Gardens - it was a goodwalk but a wee bit tricky underfoot for us auld yins.