After leaving Mansle around 9:00 we arrived at Rochefort at about 10:30. The room wasn’t ready for us as we were early, so we parked the car and went for a walk. The receptionist had given us a map with a few things marked, and we headed first to the market that was setup along Avenue Charles de Gaulle.

It was quite a large market, and most stalls were local produce, cheese and meats – not very many of the ‘made in China’ junk that can be found in some places.

We walked the entire length, stopping along the way so I could get a stylish new sun hat – it has an inner band so it doesn’t scratch my ears, and a chin strap so it won’t get blown off. At the far end of the market we found a nice cafe and had a coffee – it was actually Lavazzo – an excellent Italian brand.

On the way back to the hotel we went down to the river and saw the Hermione – a replica of the frigate that was sailed by general La Fayette to America in 1780 to assist in dislodging the British.

There’s another ship there as well, and this one is a ‘climbing attraction’ – they attach a rope to you and you get to clamber around on rope ladders, etc. The kids looked like they were enjoying themselves a lot.

We wanted to walk along the river back to the hotel but all paths were blocked – they’re setting up barricades in preparation for festivities tonight in honour of Bastille Day. It’s actually the River Charente, which, as is passes through Mansle, isn’t that large, but here in Rochfort is very wide – also very muddy from the effects of the tide.

When we finally made it back to the hotel the room was ready so we checked in and watched the day’s Tour stage on tv. We hadn’t had lunch but snacked just a bit before heading out for dinner. We walked back to the area where the market had been and chose an outside table at a nice-looking restaurant. I started with an appy plate that was excellent – several different tapas in a slightly vietnamese style. For my main dish I had chicken on a bed of mashed potatoes – also very tasty.

After eating we wandered back to the large park where some of the festivities are happening. There were food booths and tables setup in a large courtyard in front of a stage so we sat down and listened to a live band. The four fellows looked fairly young, and they played some pretty good music.

There was going to be fireworks, but we didn’t stay for them – I’d been wearing my contacts all day and I’m not used to them anymore as I usually wear my glasses/sunglasses instead. As we left the area more and more people were arriving to watch the display, but we continued back to the hotel.

I was still up reading when the fireworks started – Mo was dozing on Colin’s bed and made a few half-hearted barks at the noise but wasn’t really serious about it. She jumped between the two beds a couple of times during the night, spending about half of it snuggled under my left arm. I still miss my kitties very much and I think Mo knows it so she offers comfort when possible.

We had a couple of really good rides over the last few days, although nearing Goue on our way home one day we both almost got clipped by the machine that a tractor was pulling – he had the wings facing out instead of in and it must have come within an inch or two of my left shoulder. The sunflowers are going crazy.

One night the bar had fish and/or scampi and chips dinner so we went down to partake. Most of the local brits were there so it was well attended and we had some good company. I actually got the dessert for once and as I took the first bite of my ice cream bar I felt something weird on one of my teeth. It turned out that the right tooth next to the front one had broken about ⅓ off vertically! I’ve named it The Fang – it didn’t hurt and there’s no nerve pain but to my tongue it feels like a giant gap.

I got all of the deck rails painted black and Colin got almost all of the wooden slats sanded – when it’s finished it’s going to be beautiful. Mo is always interested in what we’re doing but has to be kept inside at times so she doesn’t get covered in paint or dust.

We’ve been watching the Tour on tv every day – there’s been some good action and I’m getting excited about going south to see a couple of stages live. The first three stages were in Belgium, the home of the great Eddy Mercx, and the crowds were fantastic.

It’s been several days of varying weather – from very stormy (especially at night) to blazing hot. We’ve gone on more than one really nice ride, including one day to see the ‘Dolmens’ which are burial mounds from about 2,000 years ago.

The next day Colin was out with the local cycling club while I took Mo down to the bar and visited with Peter (one of the brits). We saw a firetruck go by with sirens blaring and lights flashing, then a police car or two, and some utility trucks. As we looked up the street – towards Colin’s house – we could see several utility workers in their bright vests and hardhats going around looking for something.

When Mo and I left the bar we had to detour to the main road as they had blocked our path home. As I approached the house I could see that the medical clinic across from the house had been evacuated and all of the staff were milling around watching the operation. The utility guys had gone from house to house and were checking everywhere with their meters. I walked up to the police and they said ‘no no’ until I pointed to the house and they said ‘ok, but stay inside and don’t come out’.

I got inside and the power was out – they’d cut it to the whole area while they tried to track down the gas leak. At one point I went out on the balcony to get a better look at the action and one of the cops yelled ‘madam – back inside’ (in french, but I understood the gist of it). They eventually traced the source of the leak and brought in the heavy machines to tear up the road.

Another ride took us to Chenon to have a look at the war memorial, then on to Aunac for lunch. There’s a lovely little restaurant that has no menu, just whatever they’re serving that day. We started with a nice selection of buffet salads, then the main course of roast pork and rice – it was so tender it fell apart with the fork, and was very delicious. Next course was a selection of local cheeses, and lastly a dessert, which I as usual, passed on.

By day 3 of the gas leak they’d actually dug a hole about eight feet long, four feet wide and five feet deep. It looked like they’d replaced a couple of main lines with very fancy-looking new ones, then quickly filled it in and re-paved over it – job done!

The mighty Tour de France has started – watched stage one on tv, and looking forward to what we’re going to see live.

Mo has been farting a lot lately – not sure if she needs a change of food or what but we’re scared of lighting a match!

Housecleaner Yvette came over at 8:30 one morning, so when she arrived I took Mo out for a few hours so she didn’t get in Yvette’s way. We walked down to the campground bar for a coffee, but it wasn’t open yet so we sat on a bench in the sun and read for awhile.

They’re starting to setup booths and things at the hippodrome for tomorrow’s race so there was a fair amount of activity happening. Next we strolled up to the war memorial and sat on another bench, this time in the shade as it’s already starting to get hot.

Back down at the campground bar, which was now open, I did get my cafe creme, which was extremely strong but tasty. Our final stop was up at the Penalty Bar to wait for Colin to join us.

There’s a special lunch on today so the local brits started to arrive just before 1:00. The meal started with a really nice smoked salmon and shrimp salad, then the main course – that we’d pre-ordered – of ‘lamb in black beer’. It was excellent – very tender and flavourful, and served with rice. Following that we got to choose what we wanted from a wonderful cheese tray, then there was vodka on ice cream, and finally, of course, coffee.

By the time we were finished it was really hot out – between the heat and the amount I’d eaten I could barely make it up to the house. And thank goodness for air conditioning.

The next morning I actually set my alarm – first time since the day I came over, I think. I’m really not used to getting up early anymore so rising at 6:00 was a bit shocking. We made it out of the house on time just before 7:30 – Colin’s riding in a local sportif, and I’m helping with coffee and snacks for the riders. I was with Florence, the wife of Michele who organizes the local club that Colin helps out with. They’d stayed in the house in Papiano last summer and we’ve been to their house for dinner before – they’re both really nice people.

The local club had organized it and a total of 130 riders participated, which was pretty impressive. Luckily the major heat held off during the ride – it was actually a bit overcast and relatively pleasant for them.

Once Colin had finished his 67 km we headed back to the house for a bit, then returned to the hall to take part in lunch with the other organizers. It was wonderful – very similar to what we’d had last year at the ‘little ones’ race day. There was a nice sliced roast pork, fresh baguettes, a lovely mixed salad and – my favourite – rillette (kind of pate-that’s-not-pate). The next course was a very creamy camembert-type cheese, then for dessert apple tart – all washed down with red wine, of course.

When everything was packed up Florence asked if we wanted to take any of the leftovers home – I almost lunged for some of the rillette, and they also gave us the half-full box of wine.

Very full once again we popped back to the house so Colin could grab his camera and drop off the car, then headed down to the hippodrome to visit the horses and watch a few races. By this time it was starting to get fairly hot again but the race grounds at least have lots of trees for shade.

As usual we strolled around the horses’ area first and at one point we jumped out of the way of an incoming horse and cart that had just raced. We said ‘sorry’ for being in the way and the ‘jockey’ answered us in English. We chatted with him for a bit as he unhooked the horse from all its trappings – he’s actually Belgian, and it turns out he’s good friends with Philip Gilbert, one of the great cyclists on the Quickstep team. Small world! He has a second horse that would be in race number 5, and he told us that if he wins he’ll buy us a beer.

Colin actually placed a small bet on the Belgian’s horse, then we found a spot in the shade in the grandstands to watch. The first race we saw had a false-start – several horses were acting up so they called them all back and re-started.

When race number five came up we were, of course, cheering hard for the Belgian, but it wasn’t to be. He was dead last for most of the race, moving up to fifth or sixth by the finish – never bet on a ‘sure thing’, even when the trainer tells you he could win.

The last race we stayed for also had a false start – we saw one jockey sitting on the grass, having somehow been unseated, and several other horses got spooked. All of the racers eventually left the field, returning after several minutes to get restarted – I couldn’t tell if the unseated jockey had returned, however.

We didn’t stay for the last couple of races, opting instead to leave a bit early and stop at the bar for a quick drink on our way home. It’d been a very full, but quite tiring day and it was good to sit and relax for a bit with the air-con blasting.

We’ve gone for some nice rides over the last days – if we don’t leave early enough it gets pretty hot, though. We stopped one time for a quick visit with Tony and Joyce.

Mo’s been a very good girl while we’ve gone out riding each day – she now seems to understand that we won’t be gone long, and we will come back for her.

The sunflowers have almost exploded with growth recently – a couple of weeks ago they were just starting out and now they’re taller than the poppies. Some farmers are already cutting the first crop of hay.

One day after our ride we went out for lunch – first we tried the little cafe on the lake of the willows, but it was completely closed down. So we kept driving to Aigre and stopped at the restaurant in the square. We both got the beef skewers, which were one of the two daily specials.

The meal came with a salad, as well as green beans, small salty roasted potatoes and a mild pepper dipping sauce. Every part of it was just delicious – the meat was tender and flavourful, the green beans had a bit of garlic but not too much – it was really a very lovely lunch.

Another day we started taking the deck railings down so we could sand and paint them – Colin took the nuts off and removed the wooden slats from the metal railings while I pounded the bolts out of the slats. It’s going to be quite a job – sanding the slats, painting them and the railings, then putting it all back together again.

We drove to Saint-Sulpice-de-Cognac to get a few things for the campervan, including a couple of little portable chairs – they fold up into almost nothing and have handy little carrying straps. Now when we park somewhere and want to photograph races from up or down the road we don’t have to lug the lawn chairs along.

A couple of mornings started out very misty-looking – I wondered if it might be smoke by it didn’t smell like it, and I’m not aware of any large fires burning nearby. On one of our rides we went to Ligne, where there’s a cemetery with some Templars’ graves – all that’s left are the stones, with any inscriptions long since worn off.

We did a bit of tidying up – the book shelves in my bedroom look much better, although there are probably a lot of books that could go to the charity shop some day. One night we had donair kebabs for dinner, and another night we went down to the campground bar – they were showing the women’s soccer game between France and the US, and they had a live band playing.

The band wasn’t bad, but the result of the soccer game sucked.

Didn’t get up that early, and after I had a nice shower went down for breakfast – it was somewhat better than expected, and Mo was welcome. We checked out of the hotel but put our bags in the car and left it in their carpark for a few extra hours – they said it was not a problem.

I’d looked at the map and we chose a large park to go to that we hadn’t seen the day before – it’s just past the beautiful fountain and we had no problem finding it.

It’s very nice and peaceful, with beautiful flower beds, paths and ponds with different kinds of ducks, geese, swans and other birds.

Also a children’s area that we smartly avoided.

After circling the park we went to a cafe we’d passed and had a cafe creme – very strong but good, and not as atrociously expensive as yesterday’s had been.

After our coffee we walked back through the centre again, passing the tour buses loading up and along the street with all the fancy stores.

We took a slightly different route back – there was one road that had a plaque telling about the Camino de Santiago – St. James went everywhere!. And apparently he smoked also – ha ha.

I took my version of a selfie at an appropriate place…

We got back to the hotel and I did a quick change into something cooler – it’s a lot warmer than the day before.

We got on the way back to Mansle around 1:00 and made pretty good time – traffic in the other direction on the ring road wasn’t so lucky. Then just before Angouleme there was a convoy of motorcycles that were taking up both lanes and slowing all the traffic. They were protesting the lowering of the speed limit last year and cars and semi-trucks were backed up for a mile or more.

We got home at a decent time in the afternoon, then went down to the bar for a drink, before coming back for a nice salmon and salad dinner. As usual I stayed up a bit late reading.

We left for our little trip to Bordeaux just before nine – as usual most of the traffic was semi-trucks, and it got pretty slow along parts of the Bordeaux ring road. We dropped Neil Sr. off at the airport, then followed Miss GPS’s instructions to the hotel.

It’s right across from the Garonne River, but the room wasn’t ready yet so we dumped our bags and went for a walk. The nice young lady at reception had given us a detailed map and circled several places and things to see within walking distance.

There are nice wide paths all along the river that you can walk or cycle on, but unfortunately not all cyclists use the correct path, and further down there are barriers in some places because of a festival. There are several sailing ships moored, including two very large ones from Russia.

One of them had round shield-like barriers at the top of each mooring rope – Colin told me they were to prevent rats from crawling along them and getting onto the ships.

The area across from the river was very pretty – all buildings made of a lovely cream-coloured stone and none more than four or five stories high. There are beautiful gardens between the wide paths, and someone was actually camping in a blue tent in one.

It was lightly raining off and on when we stopped at one of the many food booths to get lunch. We chose one that specialized in Basque food, and each got a tapas plate and a half pint of cider – it was not cheap! – but it was tasty.

After we’d eaten we continued walking and the rain started again. Almost at once we came to a beautiful statue that had no placque – a woman that had just been released from her shackles. What was she released from? Slavery of some sort – from slave traders? Or put in the modern era – from an abusive husband, or a controlling religion?

We crossed the road and took shelter under some large trees for a bit, then headed towards a beautiful fountain.

There are statues here and there along the way, but the ones at the fountain are some of the best.

A large area was blocked off – there’s going to be a concert as part of the festival, either tonight or tomorrow night.

We wandered along a bit, then picked a cafe on the main square to have a coffee out of the rain. The place was packed but we got a table and sat down. The cafe creme was good, but I think it was the most expensive coffee I’d seen yet – over 5 euros each.

There are already hordes of tourists everywhere and combined with reckless cyclists and the odd car, walking down the narrow streets was a bit challenging. We managed to find our way back to the hotel without any problem – as long as we knew where the river was we were ok, and the map we’d been given was helpful as well.

We checked in and relaxed for a few hours – watched the day’s stage of the Tour de Suisse and read a bit.

At around eight we went back out to find a place for dinner. If we’d thought there were crowds in the afternoon that was nothing compared to those out at night. Thousands of people everywhere, and each bar or cafe we passed had music loudly blaring.

We tried to find an Italian restaurant we’d passed earlier but couldn’t locate it so we settled for a nice outdoor table at a different place on a small square. Again there was music playing but it wasn’t deafening – you could hold a conversation without shouting.

The crowds were actually great – many young folks, but also whole families with children and older people – a good mix. And even though people were walking around openly drinking – and smoking (the good stuff, not cigarettes) – there didn’t seem to be any problems. Everyone was just out having a nice evening.

For dinner I had an excellent salad with smoked duck breast, followed by a grilled steak with fries – also very good. By the time we finished it was almost 11:00 so we went down to the river and sat on a bench awaiting the fireworks that the hotel receptionist had told us about. Unfortunately we believe she meant the next night, so continued back to the hotel. It was by then pretty late and I was very tired – I think we’d walked about 10 miles or so altogether.

Mo was exhausted too – she slept on my bed much of the night and hardly moved.

The spectacular sunset presaged a terrific storm in the middle of the night – first came the lightning, which lit up my room even through the skylight shade, then the thunder and finally pouring rain. It lasted about an hour and a half altogether, and in the morning the terrace was covered with debris.

Colin and I went for a short ride in the late morning, then he drove the team car for the local club in the afternoon while Mo and I sat in the bar chatting with one of the local Brits.

When we got home we did yoga, then when Colin returned we headed down to the campground for a drink and a bite to eat. Neither of us was terribly hungry so we shared a ‘tapas plate’, which was actually very good – it’s difficult to know what to expect when ordering Spanish dishes in France, but we were pleasantly surprised.

The next morning we headed up to the charity shop again and managed to find several good books as well as a tea cozy, which we’d been hoping to find but didn’t think we would in France.

Colin and Neil went for a ride in the later afternoon while Mo and I stayed home and did yoga again. We had a nice late dinner out on the terrace, which I had swept clean from the storm the other night.

We took a nice walk up to the orchard and back past the pub, looking for Chips the cat – no sign of him at the moment, but I’m sure he’s still around. They must have recently done a cleanup of the pond – hardly any floating plastic and no shopping carts or bicycles to be seen.

I had a short nap in the afternoon, followed by a delicious lamb chops and roasted veggies dinner.

Up fairly early the next morning we packed and walked down to the train station. We managed to get a direct train to Bristol rather than having to change in Cheltenham as I’ve done in the past. As usual the airport shuttle bus was only a few minutes wait right in front of the train station.

Once again we got to the airport in plenty of time for the flight back to France – this time getting through security in Bristol was a bit of a hassle, however. Even though I was going back with the same things I’d come over with the english security system flagged several things. They considered that my toothpaste, deodorant and face cream were now all liquids and I hadn’t packed them right. They also flagged the bag of carrots I had in my coat pocket (looked like sticks of dynamite maybe?) – it’s Ryanair, after all, and they don’t feed you on the plane so I’d come prepared.

This time I got a window seat and had a better view – seeing the coast of England down below, then an offshore wind-farm was pretty neat. The drive back to Mansle was nice – we stopped at one point so I could take photos of some Poitou donkeys – they are so cute!

Some of them had quite large heads and very long ears, with shaggy/woolly coats. First one, then another, then all of them came over to the fence and we fed them my leftover carrots. This type of donkey almost died out after WWI but have actually made a bit of a comeback.

We got back too late in the day go retrieve Mo, so settled back at the house for a nice BBQ burgers dinner with Neil Sr.

When we did pick up Mo in the morning she at first didn’t seem that excited to see us – she even stopped to ‘water the lawn’ before jogging up to Colin. She is pretty happy to be home, but apparently enjoyed herself well enough while we were gone.

We took her for a walk down to the campground bar and had a nice cafe creme, and Laurent brought us a small plate of tapas – some lovely sheep’s cheese and some little ham and gelatin cubes which were very tasty.

On our way back to the house we stopped at the Penalty bar for a drink, then crossed the street and got some fresh produce from the market seller that Colin knows. It’s so nice to be in a place where almost everyone will say bon jour, shake your hand and/or kissy-kissy cheeks, whether they last saw you yesterday, or eight months ago.

We got caught up on laundry, sorted out what we’re taking to England, and took Mo to her ‘vacation property’ in the village of Chez Renard. I wanted to see where she would be kept but as she’s staying in the owner’s house I couldn’t – she trotted off without a backward glance.

The next morning we had lots of time to get ready, and left for Limoges with time to spare. The flight wasn’t too bad, and we landed on time in Bristol. Young Neil was there to pick us up and we had a fast ride into Worcester.

We’d intended to go to the Bull for fish and chips for dinner, but discovered too late that Neil had one set of keys for the mini and neighbours Lyn and Philip had the other, and they were out. As an alternative we walked up to the Grange Pub, which was ok, but not the Bull.

Saturday morning we went into Droitwich as Colin had a dentist appointment, while I went shopping, then had a decent cappuccino – the best I’ve had since we left Italy.

We stopped at the Bull on the way home and had lunch – it started to just pour with rain right before we left. By the time we headed out to the party the rain had mostly stopped and the sun was trying to come out.

It’s the 25th anniversary of the fencing company Colin co-founded, and the current owner (Colin’s former partner Tim) put on a great event.

It was held at the beautiful venue of Stone Manor near Kidderminster, and he’d gone all out. There were events for the kids in the afternoon including games and a magician, followed by a pig roast, and a band.

All drinks were free, as were very cozy warm blankets – also umbrellas, just in case.

There were a lot of very nice people – many that were with the company when Colin retired 10 years ago were still there and all were very pleased to see him.

I might have had one or two drinks too many, although the zambuca at the end of the night went down very well. I danced quite a bit, and managed to stay on my feet without face-planting and totally embarrassing myself – it was a lot of fun – good company, good food, free drinks – what could be better?

Breakfast the next day was great – I felt much better than might have been expected, and then we headed back to Worcester.