Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench - looking over the river Creuse at Descartes.

 

Citroën, pourquoi?

Spotted in Loches.

Not so taxing...

Went up to Loches yesterday to hand in/go over our annual tax return which we have had fun with in past and now like to go over with them face to face. The 'officer' we had was very helpful and remembered us from last year as he had only just started with them and was still in training, glad we didn't know that at the time! When we do go we make sure our appointment is on a Wednesday so as we can take in the market, followed by a walk in the park and lunch.

 

Wednesday is for windows...a view into the past.

Château d'Angles-sur-l'Anglin

Another walk in (and out) the woods.

 

Yesterday's short walk,led by Rodger, had us back up in the woods behind La Guerche, at 'La Rond du Chene' - on a beautiful morning under a clear blue sky.

Simon in search of spares 

Sunday by the Creuse...

Visited Descartes Sunday market yesterday morning followed by a coffee on the terrace of the café du commerce, good to see it returning to some form of normality. Then it was over to friends in Barrou and onto another terrace over looking the river Creuse for a lovely leisurely lunch - and all under a sunny blue sky.

Mon banc dominical / My Sunday Bench...Portobello

This was the lovely view on the seafront at Portobello on our Scottish trip last week - but it wis a wee bit cauld, as you can see.

Footnote: Definition of 'cauld'

1. having relatively little warmth; of a rather low temperature. - Aye that would be about right!

Ryanair - au contraire

Pauline and I came back early again from our latest Scottish trip as Eileen's move in day (today) was again postponed. We had decided when we booked our flights to also take advantage of  additional €9.99 return flights for yesterday as we were not confident it was going to happen (again). She has a new date for the end of the month but has asked us to stay away as she thinks we may be jinxing her move 🤭. When Pauline booked the flights she was given the usual threats of 'beware' if you don't pay to choose your seats you could end up in the middle of different rows in the middle of the aircraft.

We ended up in 4D & 5D,aisle seats with only 2 of the 18 seats in front of us occupied! We have a boarding strategy of waiting until the end as we now only hav a small carry-on bag for these trips so on this one it was last on and 3rd off! As we were waiting we got chatting to a lady from Glasgow who was going to visit her daughter near Limoges for the weekend on what was her first flight in eight years so we gave her the benefit of our experience and saved her a long standing wait to board. 

Footnote:

The couple who beat us off the plane were wondering where to get a taxi and as we let them know that you have to phone for one as we learned on our last trip. Then we decided as this time we had parked a car we could drop them off in Poitiers (their destination) as it was not much out our way. We had brought Pauline's car to give it a bit of a run and my driving skills were not at their best with a bit of stalling and gear crunching plus I took the wrong way (I blame jetlag), which is difficult to do, and ended up driving back out of the city and having to do a u-turn! They were appreciative of the lift but think they were also glad to get out!!

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside...

For the end of our with time helping Paul celebrate his birthday we went for a bracing (10 deg) walk along the seafront at Portobello. The town is just 20 mins (on a good day) from Princes Street and in spite of the temperature there was a fair bit of activity and even some people swimming in the sea!!

Loved the fact that this family had decided that it was Bank Holiday Monday and they were going to the beach - so Scottish, on the beach with anorak on and hood up.

BTW  I cropped the first pic. as our legs seemed to take on a life of their own. 

Happy May Day...

 

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.