Walking on Sunshine (and In The Rain)

Sunday...the weather was just so unpredictable, but my body said "You need to go walking" so off I went with Madame M packing her umbrella just in case the clouds poured some water on us.

Our walk was just under 10 kilometres...and part of the walk was a different route providing some varied photo postcard opportunities.

The photos show the difference in the light when the sun was shining and when the sky clouded over and in some the effects of the flash rains...yes, we got wet!

The irises have just suffered a beating from the rain...

Orange irises against the wall blending in with the stone. 

These piles of wood are measured and packaged in square meters to be shipped to Provence for sale.

Daisy the cow saying "Bonjour".

A different view ...Dégagnac from above.  

Almost back home...

The view looking towards the cottage.

Monsieur Honey busied himself making a wonderful tasting pot of vegetable soup while we were  busy walking...Madame M and Monsieur Guy joined us later in the evening for Sunday dinner.

"Dolce Vita" à Nabirat

"Dolce Vita" or "Return to Nabirat, Part Two".

No, Monsieur Honey and I haven't moved countries, but we did enjoy a great evening out at an Italian  themed dinner at "Le Diabolo-Fraise" in Nabirat. 

It was a fun evening of sharing a wonderful meal with old and new friends.

The table ready for tonight's guests...photo credit to the proprietor, Catherine.

Vases of fresh red poppies dressed the tables...photo credit to proprietor, Catherine.

Fresh lilacs and some of Chef Fred's artwork in the background. 

Chef Fred's artistic talent is not limited to his cuisine creations and the restaurant walls provide an excellent place for him to display his paintings.

The soup tureens ready to be filled.

Minestrone soup...which took me back to Tuscany!

The soup with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese...delicious!

Veal wrapped in Parma ham, stuffed artichokes, asparagus served with pasta and three home-made sauces...a fantastic pesto, a tuna sauce, and a tomato based sauce with eggplant, olives, etc....everything was excellent. 

The cheese course was very different ...herbed focaccia, Gorgonzola cheese and a well dressed, seasoned arugula salad.... An explosion of flavours!

The finale...Lemon Merigune pie with Strawberry Coulis...made by Catherine, must get this recipe..it's not your typical Lemon pie.

 All of the above plus wine and coffee included for €22.

Catherine and Fred did an amazing job creating their Italian inspired dinner.

Thank you again for a wonderful evening of great food, wine and fun!

À bientôt! 

Making the Most of It.

Today (Saturday) there was not too much sunshine, with rain on and off most of the day that quickly altered the plans to do some outside activities and gardening. 

At midday, noon... we decided to go to town for a quick pickup and as we were heading out we decided to check out an advertised Brocante/ Vide-Grenier in Daglan in the Dordogne.

What a lovely village and deserving of a return visit on a dry, sunny day when we can stroll the streets, alleyways and enjoy a coffee at an outside café.

At the" Brocante/ Vide-Greniers" the die-hard sellers were set up with their wares in the rain sodden grounds, and the dealers with higher quality items were set up inside the  "Salle de Fêtes".

There was a beautiful dining room table with eight chairs that appealed to me today...but again too large for the suitcases.

Another item of interest today was the umbrella stand...but it came with no umbrellas which would have been useful.

An unique umbrella stand.

Some cast iron pots (planters), a bird cage, a garden frog...lots of things to add character to a garden.

What a novel idea...the drawer fronts are made of wine box lids.

What's behind this fence?

A lovely hidden garden.

A street view in Daglan.

The old "Mairie"..the Mayor's office/Town hall.

And behind gate number one.....