Yep. We are off again on Sunday 2 November, lightly packed. The final hectic clear out and surrender of keys etc.
I’ll keep you posted and try to find things of interest in these gloomy November days. The intention is to return on 18 November from St Malo.
The Del Arte meal last night was pretty good and more enjoyable than the Sarlat blow out! We obviously have plain tastes🤗.
Hotel pretty basic and no longer a Kyriad/première classe group so we might go elsewhere next time. It’s just so convenient though.
Anyway today we headed off across the marshes as the sun was rising and stopped in the old favourite café in Luçon. Very nice, good coffee, good croissants. And then up country via St Nazaire, popping in for a stroll round the headland at St Brévin to say hello to the serpent.
There was a cavalcade of vintage open topped sports cars driving past as we parked and then hordes of their occupants tramping down onto the beach. It is an odd place, France, on occasions. The other week in Ste Cécile there were convoys of American cars roaring up and down.
Over in Chantiers de l’Atlantique they are building yet more cruise ships. The big one on the right under the red gantry is MSC World Asia.
As we were setting off into yet more marshes the other side of the Airbus factory, who should appear overhead at rooftop height than Big Bertha herself - or one of her spinoffs! Quite atmospheric looming out of the mist.
Then a slow progress up through Brittany. Sandwich stop on the Nantes Brest canal outside Redon. It is a very pretty part of the Province around here. Roscoff at 5 on the dot and, hooray, for some reason we have a big room with two single and a double bed overlooking the square.
Sail tomorrow morning and should be back in Bullsmead by 4 or 5 depending on how quickly we are disembarked. So this time it really is All For Now. Thanks for reading - gives me something to do.
The usual trip through the beautiful Périgueux along the valleys of autumnal woods, ochre cliffs and mist rising from the meadows. Car pinged 4 degrees more than once. Once again no lunch - no breakfast either. We were too stuffed from last night!
But there were detours and wiggles. At one roundabout we could see black smoke rising above the trees and there was a massive tailback. Eventually a fearless truck in front decided to make a break for it down the wrong side. We followed and spotted the cause - a lorry blazing away. Then I plotted us a cut through back to our route down C roads and farm tracks. Anyway it was fun! But we were still making much too good time and needed a diversion to avoid arriving in La Rochelle at lunchtime. Again the country roads were deployed and we made it to oyster country on the river Seudre.
Now here begins the real story... at a village called Nieulle sur Seudre we plunged once more down unmade tracks into the marshes towards the river.
Absolutely teeming with birds - egrets great and small, heron (enormous), a swallow, kestrel, buzzards, lapwing, swans, flocks of things I thought were oyster catchers but which might not, little warblery jobs etc and... ducks.
Vast groups of them on a distant water with a hide on the bank. We approached slowly trying to identify them. Adrian said pintail and maybe scoter. We got nearer. They didn't flinch. I even made it to the water's edge and then the penny dropped - they were decoys! The hide was for shooting not watching.
Back to the car. It had been a lovely walk but we still hadn't eaten anything all day.
So off to the oyster beds by Marennes where we dégusted a dozen with bread and wine sitting in the warm sun.
A final stroll on the edge then off to La R to our budget hotel and (doubtless) pizza supper.
Well Adrian has urged me to at least chronicle the journey so I give in!
Thursday 9 October was leaving day. Which we achieved as dawn was turning the Dentelles pink on the dot of 7.30. We stopped in Violès for croissants and then St Victor across in the Gard to eat them with GCs at the usual café - inside this time. It was a bit chilly.
I didn’t need a map as the journey is familiar. So it was through lovely Uzès and its surrounding landscape and up into the Cévennes. Stopped for fuel in Le Vigan where we helped Germans to puzzle out the card payment machine at the very SuperU where years ago we’d had to buy Adam a complete wardrobe because he’d forgotten to pack his clothes! Mind you forgetting was the name of the game today because we realised we’d left a bottle of milk back in the kitchen…yoghurt awaits our return.
Then across the Millau viaduct - worth €11.20
Somehow we managed not to get sandwiches and actually weren’t hungry so just had short breaks - one of which was in Decazeville, a former mining town incongruously situated here with landscaped slagheaps which has really fallen on hard times. But valiant efforts are being made to regenerate it and there are vestiges of former style. Lovely Art Nouveau tiles on houses, a fabulous WW1 memorial and a facade mirroring its miners’ lamp design. Good luck to them.
Another break by the Lot for more GCs and a Bounty bar! Then on to Sarlat and the Ibis with its free bag of walnuts. A good day - 9 hours 276 miles.
I might not do any more posts unless something amazingly interesting occurs. We leave for the first return tomorrow and it will be three days slog up country through the usual places. Then return on 2 November for the last time. So…check in if you feel like it, there might be an occasional snippet. But for now…
Mornings in Sablet
I get up and walk through to the terrace living room, pull back the curtains and look out over the village and the vines to the hills and mountains beyond. Inspect the sky, watch for signs of kites and other large birds. Rasteau across the valley is catching the morning light, Séguret on the nearest hillside is still in shadow - it only lights up towards midday, but remains illuminated into the late evening sun. Sometimes, away to the left, Mme el Raqui is standing on her terrace. She looks out towards different hills and the Dentelles. If our eyes meet, we wave.
Going downstairs, drawing back curtains on the way, I unlock the front door and open the shutters. Often Hilarion is on his doorstep across the road with cigarette and cup of coffee before setting off to his vines and wine making. We exchange greetings. The church bells chime the hour, not once but twice. And when there is no bread for breakfast I walk up to Mme Moulin, the aptly named boulangère, for a gros pain. Passing the bar with early morning customers having a quick coffee before work. If I’m lucky there is no queue and Mme M and I have a few words about how she is, her daughter in Canada, how long we are staying. If she’s busy, it’s simply a business transaction! On Sundays you need to get there betimes for the pâtisseries.
And on Sundays we are creatures of habit. Around 10.30 it’s off to Rasteau. There we park in the large square and walk up into and around the vines. We pass familiar landmarks - a bank of flag iris, an olive tree planted in memory of a young local fireman killed outside Vaison, the pine on the ridge that’s lost a branch, the roses on the ends of vine rows, planted to warn of aphid attack. We sit under the trees for a while on some wine barrels looking over Le Plan de Dieu towards the Rhône. Sometimes there are other walkers and occasionally a female jogger with her dogs, but more often than not it’s just us. We’ve seen hare and, one year, a flock of cranes battling northwards against the strong wind. In early summer we hear nightingales and all year there is the song of woodlarks.
The walk continues down past the church at the top of the village. If we time it right we get midday rung out as the massif bells swing back and forth above our heads. Then it’s under the clock tower and round down past the lavoir to the bar. The sky above Rasteau’s square is a particularly vivid shade of blue. I call it Rasteau Bleu. We sit beneath it sipping kir, pastis, wine or beer. Often I get the bonus of hearing Spanish spoken - ex-pat grape harvesters who have settled here. I wish I could have done the same.
This seems to be the current infantile way of counting down the calendar if The Archers is anything to go by! Anyway, yes we have only tomorrow and then we are off. The day was slow to get going and brooded about until midday with chill wispy white clouds. I cleaned a bit and walked down to the clothes bank with yet more unwanted items we’d found at the back of the wardrobe. And…ssh…the jacket from Nicole. Well I mean, it was polyurethane!! Courrèges or not!
Then all of a sudden it got sunny and we were encouraged go out. This time to Violès again where we determined to have whatever was on the menu for the workers. A leetle strange…2 thin Frankfurter sausages with grain mustard in puff pastry as entrée, followed by a pyrex dish of chunks of chicken in a cream sauce with scoops of mashed potato on the plate. Plus a glass of wine of one’s choice - €18.
Now you know I am not one for photographing my food, but this does need an illustration.
It was OK and why not. This is just everyday fare and what we like to do.
The café is delightful and we sat under the vine clothed pergola watching mothers take the offspring back to school and nursery, breathing in the aroma of trailers of grape detritus, finishing off with glasses of ice cream.
By then the sun was on full power so we meandered back via Le Plan and the Bergerie du Bois des Dames opposite the American airmen memorial.
So peaceful and warm and lovely views of Sablet and Ventoux.
Finally up round the back of Séguret and Mourchon looking towards Le Crestet. A man with mushroom gathering basket was strolling through the olives. He looked at me suspiciously as if I might steal his best cèpes! The road wiggled like a corkscrew down and round to the main road right by the déchèterie - we just can’t keep away! Then home again for a cupoftea.
It was a bright day with Mistral and we lingered indoors until just before lunchtime, having decided to go up to Villedieu to eyeball next Autumn’s gaff.
And just as we were locking up Adrian started talking to someone in the Montée. I couldn’t see who it was then suddenly realised it was Barbara and Pascal, our old neighbours! They’d come for a lunch date in Vaison and wanted to see if we were in. So wonderful to see them. So of course we had to invite them in for coffee and a catch up. Really super. Brightened the whole day. But how fortuitous…another five minutes later and we would have left. Apparently they did come last year and we weren’t there.
So we left for Villedieu with a smile and a spring in our step. And found the house pretty much where we thought it would be.
Then sat out in the square for a light lunch in the sun. The roadworks are continuing but no jack hammering today - just enormous concertina drainage pipes being installed down both sides of the street.
Too nice to go home so we drove round to the Toulourenc valley between Malaucène and Mollans where we have often walked. As beautiful as ever. And hot! I walked down between vines and olives with Ventoux before me removing layers as I went! Lovely mustard yellow butterflies and still a few house martins overhead.
We finished off in Malaucène for coffee and brioche in the sunny café surrounded by folk in most odd cycling garb🤗
And so, more things move on…Today, Shelley, who bought John and Louise’s house, came and took baskets and pots for her garden flat.She will also probably come for a few other things when we return next month.
It is very windy today so the Rasteau walk was confined to just a turn round the village and up to the church. The jackdaws were having a whale of a time being blown about. We braved the exterior of the bar and watched them. And also one of the parasols that suddenly came crashing down breaking chairs!
October is breast cancer month and this time Rasteau has got the professional graffiti artists in!
I have a little bit of positive news…Found a house in Villedieu to rent next autumn. A long way off but at least we will return.
Adrian has done sterling work packing the boot! Not a spare inch🤗
The clearout continues. We wander the land scattering unwanted items.
Today after market we stopped off at Rasteau Vignerons to deposit corks. They have a recycling bin.
Then this afternoon we joined the Saturday queue at the Déchèterie to leave goodies for La Ressourcerie and pillows for recycling as dog bedding!
After which we felt we deserved a break so went up to Le Barroux for a stroll, culminating in a sit under the trees in Les Géraniums with delicious (rather dear) kirs. To think it is 26 years since first we sat there…
The clouds are looking ominous so it might well precipitate on us soon.
Despite trying to offload terracotta pots on Nicole she says she can’t take anything as she is chucking out stuff herself. And what happens? She insists I take red leather Courrèges blouson🤗
Well slowly. Yesterday we went through the Tulette carwash and had a nice lunch at Roaix - lapin for Adrian! But it was remarkably quiet. Then a walk up to St Hilaire where a few tears were shed I have to own. Warm, still and sunny.
Today we took Dorte and Soren to the station at Monteux and promised to meet again. Well you have to, don’t you. And back via Violès and the café. First getting the best croissants in the area from the boulangerie. The café is pretty and serves interesting food!
When we got home Jaouad next door was drilling out his raised beds. I wonder why. Does he also have to install a SUEZ inspection hatch??
And the packing has begun. We’ve put the pine trunk into the car boot and filled it with breakables and kitchen stuff, padded with towels. All the pictures and mirrors are down. The house is looking a bit sad. So am I.
One by one they are taking place. We’ve done Liz and Keith. Today we had a final cup of tea with Gerard and Jen and on Friday we are ferrying Dorte and Soren to the train at Monteux.
But this lunchtime we had a joyful and delicious lunch with D and S at Côté Terrasse in Séguret. I had the wonderful Tataki de Thon. And will again!
But the house is looking very sad. We have taken down pictures, dismantled items of furniture and bundled up knickknacks and unwanted linens. Return ferries and hotels are booked and even the return return trip!