Monday, April 29, 2013

Saturday's Snapshots

A walk in the countryside with my friend "Madame M" uncovered yet more interesting vistas, undiscovered areas of rural France and her musical talent.

Again, I left the cottage without my pedometer so I couldn't check how far we had gone and my fate was in the hands of "Madame M's" pedometer.

We walked in excess of ten kilometres up and down the lanes and byways many with steep declines and inclines.

Later this evening, we enjoyed aperitifs and a lovely dinner with "Madame M" and "Monsieur Guy" at our local Auberge.

The walnut grove down the road from the cottage.




Nature's sculptures in the trees.






Beautiful colours found in the countryside in an abandoned barn.. green shutters, orange and terracotta bricks, yellow and grey stone, and graduated shades of brown in the old wooden door.




This might well be my dream house in France. It is a gorgeous property but not listed for sale.


Catching up with my friend after a great photo opportunity.
"Madame M" broke out in song ...singing her version of "Lonely Boy"
"I'm just a lonely girl, lonely and blue...." and on she went and surprisingly very much in key, not at all like my karaoke interpretation of Patsy Cline's "Crazy".


Today was the first time "Madame M" said..."I don't think I know where we are".
Lost in the French countryside, we just trekked on and eventually found our way back to the village.


A view of the Church spire from a different angle on our return walk into the village.


The old cloister that has not been used by the nuns for many years.


The gate entrance to the old cloister property.


Decorative door architecture.


A stone wall lined lane way.




Traditional French aperitifs of Pastis, hot steamy vegetable soup, followed by "moules " (mussels) for a starter and for our entrées we all chose something different.
Monsieur Honey had his favourite...a slow braised lamb shank served in a creamy garlic sauce.
It was a fun evening with "Madame M"and "Monsieur Guy".

Bon week-end mes amis!







Saturday, April 27, 2013

At "Lantis"

Thursday, April 25th, 2013.

Today, Monsieur Honey had a day out with the boys...his story to follow in another post.

I spent the morning doing some laundry and other household chores.

Madame M,  my new friend who doubles as my walking companion/ tour guide arrived at my door just after 1PM and I joined her for another walk..she said "we can do as much or as little as you want..and if you need to stop we will call "Monsieur Guy" to pick us up".

Away we went, walking out of the village into the countryside with my plan not to do a too long of a trek today.

Madame M suggested we walk to "Château de Lantis".

The Château de Lanits is a 17th century monument that is now privately owned, offering tours.
Centuries ago in one of the interminable wars in France, this castle was a safe house for soldiers.

It was a very warm and sunny afternoon.
I had left the cottage today without my pedometer so I had no idea how far we had gone..by the end of our tour we had walked just over "10" kilo-meters through tiny hamlets, tree-lined lanes and we found our "Atlantis ".



Setting out.


Who knows what's down this lane?


The rolling hills.
"Over hill, over dale
Through bush, through briar....I do wander everywhere"
Quote from William Shakespeare..Midsummer Night's Dream.




The Château de Lantis.










Colourful shutters.


The road home!

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Antiques Road Show....

On the road again....
this Wednesday we headed to Prayssac where a two-day "Brocante" was being held.

This event was highlighted in yellow in Monsieur Honey's "Brocante" guide book.

I was indifferent about going after last Sunday's outing which was held outdoors in a large stony field.

This event was listed as a "Salon des antiquités - Brocante " but I did not read the book until after we returned.

As we arrived I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was an outdoor section of vendors with their wares and inside a building similar to a Community Hall...there were several shops set up by quality antique dealers.

The Hall provided a great venue for this event with wonderful wall hangings for a back drop.

The "Salon" was inviting and the wares pleasingly displayed by the dealers with some added accessories, such as beautiful flower arrangements of fresh cut lilacs.

We wondered through the various stalls and saw several items that appealed to us...there was a "Christophe" silver soup ladle, a set of Hermès bottles from 1952, some beautiful linens (napkins and tablecloths) and I think I found my new kitchen table but getting it home would not be that easy.

To "Monsieur Honey's" surprise an addition to his French bronze collection was found.
A deal was made at an acceptable price and it "feels" like our luggage will about 8 pounds heavier.

We enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine as we checked out the other vendors set up outside.

Monsieur's new acquisition is a dog believed to be a Pointer on a black marble base.































Will the dog and bear live side by side?