Monday…is NOT a market day

There are no markets on Monday anywhere close by which is probably just as well as our refrigerator is still stuffed with food from our excursion to La Rochelle.

The place where we are staying is part of a gite complex built from converted farm buildings on the outskirts of Bouin. The agricultural hamlet does not have any commercial outlets but the a twice daily round by the bread van means that the farmers do not go without their baguettes and the Laundry King gets his pain au chocolate.

Bouin is surrounded by fields. As you can see, we missed the sunflowers in all their glory but autumn colours are coming to the laneways.
 
 
 

Ouvert 24/7 (sauf dimanche)

Translation: Open 24 hours, 7 days a week - except on Sundays

I’ve seen many signs like this in France but the message was particularly apt today. Since we already had to travel to Poitiers to get Amy (one of my sisters) and Paul back to the airport, we decided to take in the sights of the old town. The place was VERY quiet. The good part was that we did not have to jostle with other visitors. The downside was that all of the shops were closed and the only restaurant we found was open was a [non-Catholic] north African joint that, fortunately, served a passable tagine.

When the Lonely Planet guide remarks that Poitiers is not a very fetching place, they were being kind. However, the city does have some exceptional Romanesque architecture and we spent some time admiring both the facade and the interior of the church of Notre Dame La Grande. (See this site for more detailed photos of the elaborate facade.)

La Rochelle

Friday found us in the port city of La Rochelle. First stop, where else?!, was the market where we purchased all kinds of cheeses, olives, fruit and vegetables along with some special lamb fed on the salt marshes. Secure in the knowledge that we would not starve for weekend dinners, we then ventured down to the waterfront and old town and found some lunch. Oysters and sardines (not together!) - yum yum. As we drove home, we came across various chateaux and romanesque churches.

Fit for a [Laundry] King

No, alas, this is not where we are staying. However, Le Chateau de Javarzay* is a few miles down the road in Chef Boutonne and is in a wonderful setting for an autumn walk. We took a stroll around the town yesterday before heading to the airport to collect Amy and Paul. Gotta love those blue skies!

* Just imagine how grand the chateau used to look when it had 14 towers!

Sleeping in a “courgette”

Our overnight train travel went very smoothly. Our couchette (or “courgette” as David took to calling it) was compact but we both slept fine. I was relieved that we only had to share with one other person and not the loud couple with a large labrador. (There wasn’t enough room to swing a cat in those compartments let alone squeeze in people, luggage and a dog.)

No sooner did we emerge from Austerlitz station in Paris than our connecting bus came along so we transferred quickly to the next station for a TGV trip to Poitiers with lots of business types and their laptops. More updates later.

Nesting

As regular readers will be aware, this extended sojourn in France is only possible because we are undertaking two home exchanges (see Home Exchange FAQs). Once again, it is proving to be a very agreeable way of travelling with all the comforts of home and without the expense and confinement of other accomodation options.

This is a pre-scheduled post. By the time you read it, we will hopefully be comfortably ensconced in our new abode near Chef Boutonne in the Poitou Charente region in western France. We will have had a refreshing shower; unpacked our bags; taken a tour of the house and wandered into town to stock up the cupboards in preparation for Amy & Paul’s arrival tomorrow.

On the subject of nesting, don’t forget to keep a lookout on the Twelve by Twelve blog. Our “shelter” themed quilts are due to be revealed on 1 October (US time) and there will be some special treats as we celebrate the midpoint in our challenge timetable.

A toute a l’heure

As you read this e-mail, we will be making our way across to western France by rail. The first leg, from Nice to Paris, is an overnight train where we will be sharing our couchette with up to four others. I’m not sure that we will get much sleep, and we won’t be able to see any scenery, but at least we can lie down and I don’t have to navigate. We will not have fulltime internet access at our next home exchange destination but I still hope to bring you some highlights on a regular basis.

A toute a l’heure [see you later].

Olive, chartreuse and citrine

Today is our last full day in the south of France. I will miss the colour and perfume of this part of the country but I am also looking forward to exploring somewhere new. What surprises will be in store?
    

La Confiserie

These colourful marzipan confections (above) were on display at the markets in Nice. Closer to “home”, the Florian confiserie at Pont du Loup makes candied fruits, jams, crystallised flowers and other goodies using traditional methods. I love all the colours!
    

French Quilting

According to this article on the history of quilting in France, wholecloth quilting first appeared in Provence in middle of the seventeenth century. We saw some exquisite garments incorporating quilting at the Provencal Costume and Jewellery Museum in Grasse: