Car with Klutz problems...

Our friends Mike and Liz over in Lesigny, knowing that Pauline was away on her 'girl's' trip to Granada invited me over for dinner last Saturday night and also gave me a bed for the night so as I could enjoy a glass or two of our favourite sparkly. Mike is a great cook and could show a few of the locals a trick or two, add to this the delightful deserts of Liz's making and you you have the recipe for a very good night - and it was.

This time of year has me waking with the dawn chorus and I can only lie in 'til around 6.00am - with this in mind I thanked them at the end of the night and let them know that I would 'sneak off' early and try not to disturb them. They have a slight hill on their drive so I thought it would be a good idea to free-wheel out, thus not having to start the engine and potentially disturb them. Great plan - a slight push and we were off, only to come to a halt just before going on to the road, which again was a hill (this time quite steep) another push I thought and we would be away - and it came to pass... have you ever tried to hold back,small though it is, a Citreon C3 and jump in at the same time? Don't! Before I could get in and steer the car, made more difficult because the engine wasn't on, I kissed the wall opposite - more of a 'smacker' actually, but do you know what - does it bother me - no - its only a car and after the 'hit-and-run' incedent it only meant that balance was restored as it was the opposite side.

The sound of silence...

Colin's post on his 'Black Redstart' house guest meant me not posting a similar thing last week. We had them nesting in our barn, so when I went off to Paris last Thursday I left the barn doors slightly ajar so as the young birds could be attended to. The reason for posting now is that on my return I missed the activity and sharp call of the birds that had greeted me on a daily basis for the last week or so.Could the young all have flown the nest in the time I was away? Or had David's cat played a part in their destiny? Unfortunately I could not get up to check the nest as a friend of mine (you know who you are) has my extending ladder out on loan.

In the days before I left for Paris I had made a number of attempts to catch one of them on camera - with little success - quick little birds! 

Here is one of it just having left the top of the lucarne...

 here is one of it just having left the top of the barn door...

here's where it sat on the inside of the door,although not long enough!

Ah got it at last - hope the cat didn't! 

Train-spotting...

I have mentioned before about how easily the Loire Valley can be accessed from Paris and vice-versa, well on Thursday last, we again took advantage of this. Pauline was going on her weekend away with 'the girls' to Granada and flying out from Orly. I took the opportunity to do some research for my new site http://www.about-paris.com/ so travelled up with her. We had got 15 euro fares to Montparnasse on the TGV (both ways) and I stayed with my brother Richard (Francoise was going with Pauline) so a great deal!. We took the metro from Montparnasse to 'Denfert Rochereau' and then caught the 'Orlybus' to the airport. 

All straightforward and good to do, as no point in advising other people to do it if I hadn't experienced it myself. After Pauline was settled at Orly I then took a lot of photographs and then the alternative 'Orlyval' back to 'Antony' station where I caught the RER back into the city.I have done the same thing at Charles de Gaulle and I am surprised that I have never been questioned as to why I am taking so many photographs. Especially with the obvious security presence.
 I then spent the day doing many of the trips on the site - like walking from Gare d'Austerlitz to Gare de Lyon (and back) and Gare de L'est to Gare du Nord. I had done these before but wanted more pics. to make it easier for visitors to the site.  

Afterwards,leg weary, I headed over to Richard's apartment with a nice bottle of red wine to ease the pain.

Top centre -how lucky are we having a brother in Paris.

Do not be mislead...

Travelling back down from Tours airport my curiosity got the better of me just outside Ligueil on the D 50. If you use this road you will know there is a new roundabout just before heading down Route de Tours into the village. This is to facilitate the as yet to be started, bypass to Loches to the left.

To the right the road is finished and takes some pressure of the village centre by taking away traffic heading for Descartes...

...but it also indicates that it is also the new route to Le Grand Pressingy and Preuilly sur Claise avoiding Ligueil - which can only be good as it not always the easiest place to drive through. So of I headed in the allotted direction in anticipation, trying to second guess where it might eventually lead me. Where it lead me to was a new roundabout on the D59 with no indication as to what direction Le Grand Pressigny was in. Now I knew it was to the left and I also knew that I was driving back into the village! In fairness I did miss out the tight main street but probably covered twice the distance I should have - how disappointing! I think it would be a good idea to force HGVs this way to take them away from the centre but I will be continuing to use the dierect route in future.

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Are the new 'Blondie' in town?...

When I went to Tours airport last week to pick Pauline up after a visit to her mum in Scotland I was sitting outside waiting for her flight from Dublin,(don't ask ) which was unusually late for Ryanair, I overheard two English chaps on their mobiles bemoaning the airport and referring to it as "not so much an airport, more a room". I could sort of understand where they were coming from as the current impovements mean that things are a little tight in the departure area and as you can see from the pic, just a little disorganized.

Some changes  have been in place a while - like the car park/hire car office reorganization -no longer a portacabin ...

...well at least a more glamorous one

There were a few people waiting for the flight to arrive but one pair in particular caught my eye - now I am in no position to comment on anyone's hairstyle but I had to do a double-take to check if they were for real -they were! Thought maybe 'Blondie' were gigging at Tours.Didn't hang around to see who they were waiting for but bet you they were blonde!

Victims of hit-and-run...

One thing to watch out for here in France is the lack of respect for the motor car.If you park in a car park you just might return to that all too familiar little dent where the car beside you has not paid enogh attention when opening their door. Almost every car over here has these marks and you get used to seeing them. You will probably notice that many cars have other scrapes and scratches perhaps confirming the fact that the car is not in many cases as much loved over here as some in the UK. On a recent outing we had parked up and returning to our car we noticed the front of our little Citreon C3 had had its offside bumper hit and scraped. Our little car parked innocently had been the victim of a small hit and run!. No note or insurance details, no thought at all for us or the car just another of life's little scrapes. Shame really!

Church on Sunday...Luze

Today we are visiting the Romanesque L'église Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais in the small village of Luze. Originally dating  from the 12th century it has been constantly modified through the centuries, the most recent during the 19th century.

It is a pretty little church, made more so by the internal painting of particular features like the pillars and the 18th century five-sided apse ceilings.

Two of the stained glass windows depict the saints that the church is dedicated to.

Where's Joan?...

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Jardinier mobiles...

 Our friend and neighbour, David, knows the importance of wearing safety equipment when working with gardening  tools - he takes health and safety seriously, as you can see by the way he transports himself and his equipment to his place of work.

Des fêtes...

One of the great things about living in rural France is that during 'the season' there is almost always some kind of event on in one or other of the local villages. These range from brocante/vide-greniers, foire aux vins and fêtes/festivals of every description.

On Sunday it was the turn of the 'Retro Mecaniques' to rally round... I caught them as they passed our front gates, they didn't seem to find the speed limit a problem.

Night and Day...

We had dined at Le Paille-en-Queue (explanation of name here..) in St Remy sur Cruese before, just shortly after it had reopened, following refurbishment. The new bright decor was a bit of a surprise, but not an unpleasant one! We opted for the 'plat de jour' that day for lunch and were seated in the lower level of the restaurant with the workers. The food was fine and good value for money, as most lunchtime menus are around here. We did get a bit of a surprise when, for dessert, we were offered a yogurt (in its carton) or wait for it... a frozen 'Snicker's' bar. 
I never thought I'd have this in a French restaurant but hey - the workers were having them, so I did as well -and enjoyed it!


We were hearing good reports re evening dining here so we returned to experience it ourselves.

Again, a picture is worth a thousand words as they say,so only need a few more...very good.

New skills...

A new skill I've tried to learn since moving over here is that of wall building. Not brick but walls using the local stone. My first experience was a little dry stone dyke plus small rebuild at our Le Grand Pressigny house.

 Then helping friends repair a wall at their lovely property just outside the village of Lesigny on the road to La Roche Posay.

Then on to my biggest challenge to date...

Friends in Lesigny had a wall that was spilling out onto the road - I don't know how long it had stood there but it had reached the end of its useful life - not helped by the 'backing-up' of materials over the years.    

The build went something like this..

In the end I and more importantly they were pleased with the result.

Barrou Bash...

Since silence befell the village of Paulmy and the L'Union bar (closed) on Saturday nights their has been a dearth of live music in the area with only 'Cafe de la Paix' in Descartes occasionally filling the void.

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It was good to hear that the restaurant in our village, Barrou, was going to have its first  live music night accompanying a barbecue. So last Saturday along with friends David and Karen I ( Pauline was in Scotland) we went along to check it out. It proved to be good value for money and quite entertaining with the audience split probably 50/50 French and English. A few local people requested that I should go up and sing but I resisted the temptation as my song choices would not fit the 'blues/rock' theme plus I did not want to spoil their evening!

A walk around...Villandry gardens.

The gardens at Chateau de Villandry here in the Loire valley are one of the 'must see' visits of any trip to this beautiful part of France. Split on three levels, the ornamental garden, the water garden and the kitchen garden.The gardens change with the seasons... here a picture is certainly worth a thousand words...