Les chats

We are well and truely into autumn now.  The trees are bare and the rains are falling almost non stop.  Everything is vibrant green again and preparing for its last big burst of growth and show before the cold really hits.

The neighbourhood cats have been taking advantage of every sunny moment.  If you want to know the most warm and sheltered place to laze the late afternoon away ..... find the cats. (The mornings find them arranged along the top of our firewood stacked behind the house...the first place the sun hits each day.)

It is quite common to have up to eight cats lined up along the base of our front walls, or in the gutter along the road, making the most of the thermal mass and the suns last lingering rays, before the sun sets.

One of the oldest cats in the allée is Maiena.  She is so pretty and has a cute little tiny meow.  I managed to catch her napping on the terracotta tiles on top of our neighbours wall, soaking in the last of the suns rays for the day.

I love the way she has melted in to the undulating curves of the tiles so that as much of her as possible is absorbing the warmth from them.  The dreamy expression on her face shows exactly how much she is enjoying basking there.

It is a cats' life!

Sunday Walk

I love this time of year.  Perfect for a walk in the countryside.

Winter Sunshine

What a difference a few weeks makes.

When last I posted, we were shivering under a thick blanket of snow and wondering if winter would stretch on forever.

This weekend the sun came out and showed us that there is hope on the horizon for a glorious spring.

We decided to revisit the Chateau de Perigny.  A beautiful place near the town of Vouillé.  Approximately 20km from where we live.

Our last visit there had been to have dinner in the restaurant and as it was night time, we did not get to see the full charms of the Chateau, which is now a restaurant and hotel.

As you can see it is a lovely building overlooking a small valley. The outbuildings are used as the actual restaurant and accomodation, leaving the fabric of the Chateau untouched.

The meal was superb!  No photos as it was a bit too posh to be whipping out the camera to take snaps of the meal.... not that I have ever done that before....   For entree, I had a carpaccio of seafood and salicorn.  Wayne enjoyed mini croquettes of pigs feet.  We both ordered the wild boar with cranberries and quince paste for our main meal, and dessert was figs poached in spiced wine with fromage blanc for Wayne, and a crisp chocolate shell containing passionfruit mousse and a quenelle of mango sorbet for me.

The entrees and main course were sublime.  Roasted loin of wild boar with quince paste was a new taste pairing for both of us.  The boar was succulent and flavourful, and the quince paste brought out the savoury notes while adding a hint of sweetness and a tart finish. Toned down the richness of the boar and made it possible to enjoy every mouthful.  The sauteed wild mushrooms on the side were just a little bit of heaven to add to the whole dish.

Wayne loved his dessert.  I had wanted the figs, but they had orange in the poaching liquid... tant pis!  So I ordered the alternate dessert.  It was nice, and the presentation was gorgeous - but I found it too sweet for my palate.  I said to Wayne later that I probably should have had a cheese course instead of dessert and it would have been a perfect meal.  Oh well, always next time.

After a short walk around the Chateau grounds to take photos, we headed to the village of Sanxay.  All of the Poitou-Charentes is known for its Roman history and huge amount of ruins and remains.  Sanxay is the site of a large complex containing a theatre, thermal baths and temple. 

Whilst it was gloriously sunny, the temperature left a lot to be desired.... especially on the windswept slopes of the theatre.... We both wished we had taken our winter coats, instead of optimistically wearing spring weight jackets.  Not even gloves or hats had been thought of in our eagerness to go and make the most of the sun.

It was worth the effort of braving the cold though.  I would highly recommend a visit to this site if you are ever in the Poitou-Charentes.  Incredible ruins and well thought out plan for the visit.  No hard paths and obvious signage, but each person is given a guide book at the office which explains the site step by step and also gives information on the trees and plant life on the site.  A more personal approach.  You can read the hightlights, or go into more detail as you prefer.

Next weekend I embark on a new project, courtesy of our lovely neighbours.  Their father has vineyards and usually makes his own wine and pineau.  This year I too am going to learn how to do this, starting with the pruning of the vines and finishing - hopefully - with a nice table wine sometime next year.  I am looking forward to learning this skill and will ensure to keep you all updated as we accomplish each task.

Summer sun versus summer rain

Thought I would share a few highlights from our trip.

The first week the weather was spectacular. Really hot and brilliant sunshine. It was perfect riding weather.

Each stop involved cold rehydration drinks and a shady spot. It was so nice to sit on lush green grass, under a tree, in the shade and enjoy a break.

Every living thing was rejoicing in the sun and warmth. Bees buzzed through the flowers, horses munched grass contentedly in the paddocks, birds sang in the trees.

In Denmark we ate dinner outside, and then returned to the same spot for breakfast the next day. It was impossible to miss a moment of the glorious warmth and sunshine.

Then came day 2 in Sweden......
It rained.

Not just gentle summer rain.

This was gale force freezing cold winds, rain that stung and felt icy cold, and temperatures that made us wish we had every item of clothing we owned on all at once.

This weather continued on and off for the rest of our trip....... thank goodness not all at once like the first day though.

We still made the pilgrimage to Ales Stenar. Walking along the path from the car park to the hill I was astounded at the number of people who were also making the visit. This site is so spectacular and so significant that no amount of bad weather was going to stop the visitors!

A picnic had been packed with the intention of eating somewhere along the cliff tops enjoying a sea view. It was so cold and rainy that we opted instead for a hot meal in the tiny restaurant at the bottom of the cliffs.

I personally am glad we had the change in meal. The fried mackerel that I ate with mashed potato and lingonberry sauce was superb! They had bar be qued the fish on a huge grill plate and it was cooked to perfection. I had never eaten lingonberry with fish, but am now a convert.

The Swedes have a saying "There is no such thing as bad weather.... only bad clothing and equipment". We came to appreciate this saying over the next 2 weeks...

Sunshine

Well, spring has arrived. And with it the last of the cold weather.

Just when the bulbs are making a brave effort to show their faces and dazzle us with colour in our monochrome winter existance.

The sun is very welcome, even though it has meant very cold nights and cold days. Everyone complains about Paris being grey and cloudy all the time, but at least the clouds do keep a bit of the heat down near the ground.

Time has been flying by as if it had wings. In the past week I have a new mobile phone (and new number) and have been learning all about "apps" that I can put on it. Just because I could, the photo of the crocus was taken on my iphone. Not the best photo in existance, but it was so pretty and just begged to be photographed. Now of course, I have discovered the photo apps and things are going to get a lot more interesting...... stay tuned.

Speaking of flowers and growing things. I had a great day of gardening with a friend last wednesday. We hacked into an overgrown and tangled mess of dead honeysuckle, ivy and climbing rose. Now there is air and light and the possibility of flowers from the rose. Flowers which have not been seen for a long time as it was gradually choking to death amongst the mess.

Whilst we worked - and sweated - my friends cat sunbaked and supervised from a sheltered spot.

Oh to be a cat......