Thursday morning was a bit foggy, and when it started to lift the sky was overcast, but we went for a nice bike ride anyway.  At one point I stopped to take a photo of a horse and her little one and they were somewhat uncooperative – while I was waiting for them to lift their heads Colin got a bit ahead of me.

When I gave up trying to get the horses to pose for me I couldn’t see Colin anymore but by now I know my way around enough that I got back to Mansle ok.  I really like the long straight downhill now – my biggest issue is to keep my shoulders down and not clench up so much. I still haven’t gotten over 50 kph again but 46 is still pretty fast (for me).

Stopped at the bar for a nice coffee – Alain was there but was just about to leave.  Later in the afternoon I took Mo for another walk, and stopped by the campground pub – every time I go there a different person serves me and the wine is cheaper – this time it was only 1 euro per glass.

Neil went out for dinner while Colin and I went to the bar for our pre-dinner beverage, and this time Alain joined us again for another nice chat.  Back at the house later we had spicy meat patties, and I made mashed potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce – it was pretty good considering I haven’t made a cheese sauce in ages.

Friday morning we headed up to Ruffec to check out the indoor market, but it wasn’t happening.  I’d never been in the actual city centre before and quite liked it – they’ve put in a bunch of large flower/plant arrangements around the main square in front of the city hall, and each one has at least one ‘bee house’.

There’s also some really cool paintings on the garbage/recycling bins in the area – Colin knows the lady that did them.

Later in the afternoon we went, of course, for a drink at the bar – Alain arrived shortly after we did and we had yet another really nice visit.  He’s very interested in old cars and knows a fair amount about them.

On the way home we passed two of the local cats – they both watched Mo but didn’t seem too bothered by her.  I don’t believe they’re strays as they’re always around the same gate/entrance to one of the houses.

On Tuesday after a nice ride followed by coffee at the bar, we decided that instead of going to the Charity Shop like we usually do we took a little trip to the town of Rochefoucauld.  

There’s a fabulous chateau there that’s still inhabited by the duchess – the family used to own half of southern France and were very close to royalty. I’d been through the town once before while driving with Colin in the cycling team car, but of course we weren’t able to stop at the time.

The chateau was closed for the day but we didn’t care – the town itself seems quite prosperous, as almost all of the stores on the main street were actually open rather than being boarded up and empty like many towns.

On the way home to Mansle Colin stopped by a friend’s place for an impromptu visit but Chris was expecting company so we just said a quick hello, turned around in his yard and left.

We stopped at the bar for a drink and by the time we got home Neil had returned from his trip to the Alps – he had ridden up the Galibier (!!) and then done some work on water heaters at a hotel.  We had steak with roasted vegetables for dinner.

On Wednesday Neil spent the entire day attaching a tow-hook to Colin’s new car – it was far more complicated than I would ever have imagined.  While he was doing that Colin and I walked Mo down to the bar for a coffee, then Colin went out with the cycling team again while I took Mo for a longer walk down to the hippodrome and around the campground.

Colin returned from driving the team car then he and I headed back to the bar for a pre-dinner drink.  When we arrived there were no empty tables outside, so Sylvain (the owner) called out to an older french gentleman to ask if we could join him.

Alain said of course, so we sat down and got to know him a bit.  He’s extremely nice and spoke english very well – his ex-wife was British and she’s still his best friend.  He taught her French and Colin knows who she is and she’s a nurse at the hospital in Ruffec. We really enjoyed the visit with Alain and I’m sure we’ll see him again.

Also, once again I’m struck by how friendly and polite many of the french folks are – most of them say bon jour and shake hands with us as they go past our table into the bar, even the ones I’ve never met before.

We had a lovely roast chicken thighs dinner with roasted veggies – I made a nice Greek salad to accompany it.

So this is 60!!

I don’t feel older, and I don’t think I act like most 60-year old ladies, so what is a number?

My birthday started with beautiful blue sky and sunshine.  Colin went out for most of the morning while Mo and I stayed home and did yoga – she actually participated instead of lounging on the couch watching me.

When Colin returned we headed up to Villejesus for my birthday lunch at the restaurant of my choice, La Cagoulle.  Mo came with us so we sat in the courtyard under a nice large canopy. The restaurant cat was curled up the whole time on a chair on the other side of the courtyard – I don’t think Mo even knew it was there.

Of the two available starters Colin got the tomato and mozzarella salad (that looked awesome) while I chose melon with ham – just as lovely a flavour combination as I remembered the first time I had it at Michele’s and Florence’s.  We both got beef for our main course, which was extremely tender and delicious – kind of a casserole in a tomato sauce with bok choy and zucchini, along with seared potatoes. I was very full but did manage to eat almost half of my dessert – rhubarb crumble with vanilla ice cream – it was tasty, but a bit on the sweet side for me.

On the way home we stopped to visit with Tony and Joyce for a couple of hours.

Back at home we watched the final of the Tour of Britain that had taped yesterday – today’s a rest day at the Vuelta so nothing new there.  After such as large lunch we didn’t have dinner – just an ice cream bar and a few cashews.

A lovely sunset capped off a lovely day…

On Saturday I stayed home and did yoga – Mo lounged and watched again – while Colin went out for a ride with the local club.  I was surprised when he came home only about an hour later – apparently they were going for a mountain bike ride but Michele had forgotten to tell Colin that and he’d taken the wrong bike.

A little later we took Mo for a nice walk down to the campground and along the outside of the hippodrome to the river.  I noticed a mommy duck with her little ones, and there were only three of them – I don’t know if it’s the same duck family that we saw last week that had eight babies.

We stopped at the bar for a drink, then went home to catch up on cycling races on tv – both the Vuelta and the Tour of Britain are happening at the same time so we’re kind of binge-watching.

Sunday morning I took Mo for a walk to the hippodrome again – this time there was a cricket match going on.  The team in white was mostly older white Englishmen, and the purple team was younger Indians/Asians. They were just changing over from fielding to batting – half time? – so we didn’t actually get to see any action.

Early in the afternoon we hopped in the car to go see a junior national road race.  First we went to the beautiful village of Beaulieu-sur-Sonnette where the riders had to go up an extremely steep climb on a very narrow and rough road.

We parked in a plaza at the top and walked down a bit to a churchyard that was a perfect watching spot.

The church door was wide open so I took a tour around.  The church is all stone and has nice high ceilings – very open.  There are several stained glass windows and some decent paintings and small statues, but there is mold on some of the walls, and the plaster is falling off in places – there was a musty smell everywhere too.

A group of five was the first to appear, followed by a large group, with a second large group several minutes later.  

We jumped back in the car and drove to the town of Courcome where the riders did a circuit five times before finishing.  We stood at the barrier about 20 metres from the finish line. The fellow that won was in the first group of five that we saw on the hill, so looks like he was fairly dominant through the whole race.

Once again cars on the road during the race were an issue – I know that the ‘marshalls’ that let the cars onto the road are volunteers but they really need to be trained a bit or something.  There were two instances where riders were almost hit by stupid drivers that shouldn’t have been on the road in the first place.

Back home we had a lovely dinner of lamb chops with roasted potatoes – just delicious.

Tuesday was, as usual, up to the Charity Shop at St. Soline to support the animal shelter.  We picked up a few more books and had a cup of tea. One of the shelter dogs was so friendly and just wanted to meet everyone.  We found out on Wednesday that no one had scooped him up – I could hardly believe it as he was so sweet.

Got a nice little ride in on Wednesday morning, followed by coffee at the bar on our way home.  I stayed home in the afternoon with Mo while Colin drove the team car for the local cycling club.

Woke up early Thursday morning to rain pouring down onto the skylight in the bedroom.  It continued off and on almost all day, so we didn’t go for a ride. I did yoga while Colin went out and took care of some business – Mo just lounged on the sofa and watched me.

Friday was a sad/happy day – Colin is trading his car up to a newer Beemer but I’m really going to miss the beautiful blue one.  The new one has four doors and a hatch – or five doors as they say over here. Also a lot more room for all of our stuff if we’re using the car instead of the campervan when we travel.

The saleswoman, Delphine, had all of the paperwork ready – Colin had to sign dozens of times but it was all organized and smooth thanks to her assistant, who Mo, of course, made friends with.  A guy came and took Colin’s phone to set up the hand’s free option in the car, and they assured him that the GPS spoke english – it’s the same version he had in the old car so needs to be updated at some point.

After the business was done we went to the same cafe we ate in last week – the ‘Fast Good Cafe’.  This time we both got the pasta-of-the-day, which was spaghetti with seafood, and was it ever delicious – large chunks of salmon, with mussels, calamari and shrimp in a lovely cream sauce.

Back at home when I was outside taking a few photos of the new car I heard a little ‘cheep cheep’ and looked down – I had almost stepped on a tiny baby bird.  I didn’t want to pick it up and move it, as I know that sometimes the mommy bird won’t take the little one back if you leave your scent on it. I stepped aside and saw what I thought might be the mommy looking for the little one – the baby was fully formed and did have feathers – maybe it was on its first flying lesson.

Just then Colin’s neighbour, Elwa was pulling his car into the parking area – I waved my arms to stop him and he got out, somehow understanding what I was going on about.  He was able to shoo the baby to the side of the campervan, and when I checked later I saw the mommy bird next to the baby chirping at it to fly – at least that’s how it interpreted the chirps and cheeps.  When I looked out a bit later they were both gone so I’m hoping that means that they’re both up and away, or at least out of harm’s way.

We walked down to the bar for a drink or two, and on the way passed a nice dog that Mo had to prove her fierceness to.  Then in the bar there was a very large dog that Mo had no problem with – little diva that she is.

It has been pointed out recently, by more than one person, that I haven’t mentioned Dominic or the kitties much lately – rest assured that I miss them all fiercely.  I do facetime with Dom now and then but the babies don’t understand and probably think that I’ve abandoned them again. I think that Mo feels my sorrow and tries to make up for it by letting me pay attention to her – win win, I guess!

Sunday morning was again bright and beautiful but with a chill in the air, at least at the start of our ride.  We went as far as Mouton before heading back via Fontenille and La Salle.

Coasting down the hill from the roundabout-under-the-highway and into Mansle was thrilling – I may not have reached over 50 kph like I did last week but I felt like I was flying.

Arriving home after stopping for coffee we were very pleased to find that Mo had been a good girl two days in a row – no protest puddles (or piles).

After lunch we hopped in the car and went up to Vieux Ruffec to watch the local cycle club in a race.  It was the men only – no little ones or teens. The course was several km and they did between 7 and 10 laps depending on which of the three groups they were in.

It was sunny and very hot up on the plateau, except that the wind helped cool things down a bit.  Had nice grilled steak with roasted potatoes for dinner.

Monday was a bit lazy for me, except that I did take Mo for a nice walk down to the campground and let her run off-leash at the hippodrome while Colin stayed at the house and made some phone calls.

Started the day with a really nice ride with Colin – it was pretty chilly but beautiful blue sky and sunshine so the wind-breaker didn’t stay on long.  We rode over to Aunac and I don’t believe I’ve actually been through the whole town before, but just ridden past it a couple of times. It was larger than I expected and like Mansle is on the Charente.

After our usual coffee at the bar we headed home for a quick shower and to retrieve Mo then got in the car for a day-trip to Cognac.  We’d been there only just over a week ago to see the end of one of the race stages but I hadn’t really seen much of the city.

The whole centre of the city was closed to traffic as they’re getting ready for some sort of fete or festival so we parked on a side street only a couple of blocks away from the main square.  Almost right away we saw one of the big ‘Cognac Houses’ that are all over the place here.

First of all we walked to the cafe that we’d had a drink at last time we were here, and had lunch.  We both got the beef carpaccio and it was good – lots of flavour and very tender, and the fries that came with it were especially tasty.

After lunch we walked around, which was very nice due to the lack of cars.  First of all we went to a large park that was pretty crowded.

There are all sorts of games for kids, as well as a small area that has peacocks and other birds and 2 goats.  

There are beautiful flower gardens, and a playground made of wood that has lovely grape carvings on it.

We next walked to the river, where many more of the Cognac Houses are situated – they used to ship the product by boat on the Charente.

After leaving Cognac we stopped at the town of Jarnac which is where the Courvoisier Cognac House is located – it was the favourite of the emperor Napoleon and they use his image on their logo.

Back in Mansle we weren’t that hungry after our late lunch so just went down to the bar for a drink.  On the way we could see and hear an altercation between two groups of men – it was getting loud and physical with one guy going down and being hit and kicked.  By the time we got near them the fight had kind of broken up – one group had been dragged inside a house by some of the women, and the other group going further down the road to linger outside another door/window.

We quietly sipped our drinks while the fight went sporadically on and on – the ‘downhill group’ milled around and three of them started up towards the house the other group had been dragged into, with one of them holding a crowbar and another a pipe.  They went past the house, shouting out and taunting them, while two girls ran up and tried to calm them down and stop them. I told the kebab-guy he should call the police, but he and one of his customers asked ‘why?’. I said because they were drunk and had weapons but they didn’t seem to think it was that serious.

I shut up and sat back down, and not too much later the police did arrive – not the local gendarmes, but more like heavy-duty army-type police.  We walked past them as they were talking to one of the combatants who seemed to be saying ‘I didn’t do anything – it’s not my fault’.

 

Went for a really nice ride with Colin and Neil on Thursday – only got behind a couple of times, and stopped to take a few photos.  Ended up – guess where? Had a great cafe-creme.

In the afternoon Colin and Neil went to Angouleme to retrieve Colin’s campervan from the dealership – they still can’t seem to figure out what’s wrong with it and all they’ve done is replace the battery and then said it was fixed.  I stayed at the house with Mo and did yoga half-heartedly.

Had awesome BBQ mushroom-cheeseburgers for dinner.  Neil had a look at the campervan and traced where the wonky wiring was going.  It seems that the two solar panels that Colin had had installed – by the dealer – were wired to go directly to the main battery rather than the two leisure batteries so the main battery was effectively being cooked.

On Friday I went with Colin to Limoges to look at a car he’s interested in trading up for.  We arrived in the city just after 12 noon and, of course, all businesses were closed so we found a nice cafe and settled in for lunch.  We both got the salmon quiche, which was quite good.

After lunch we headed for the BMW dealer and Colin had a look at the car.  He went for a test drive with the saleslady while I walked Mo around the showroom and all over the outside lot.  Colin liked the car and spent a little time going over details with the saleslady while Mo and I did more walking around.  I noticed a fellow looking at Colin’s ‘old’ car – walking around and around it – and started talking with him. He’s looking for a car for his girlfriend and really liked Colin’s – I think he might ask to buy it – it’s a beautiful blue and most BMW’s are black or white.  Meantime the deal’s done for Colin – he comes back next Friday to drop off his old car and pick up the newer one.  

Back in Mansle we headed to the bar for a quick drink, then home for excellent bolognaise that Colin had put in the slow-cooker before we left for Limoges.

Went for a nice ride with Colin on Tuesday morning followed by our usual coffee stop at the bar.  Colin pointed out a sign on the outside that I’d never noticed before – it seems they were put on bars in France by the Vichy regime and are dated Sept 24, 1941.  They are still using the same system today, and the IV is a category that determines what kinds of alcohol you’re allowed to serve.

Went home and had a delicious salad with left-over roast chicken, then headed up to the Charity Shop to look for more books and have a cup of tea.  

As usual they had a couple of dogs for folks to view and maybe adopt – one of them was a large black female that was super friendly.

We took a different route home and stopped in a small town for a drink.  Just before leaving I visited the loo, and by the time I found it I wondered if I was going to be outside with the goats.  

You entered the restaurant, turned right and went thru a kind of store room, then out a door and turn left towards a weed-covered grassy area.  Just before getting to the grass there was a door on the side with ‘WC’ on it. The washroom itself was small but clean and didn’t smell like goat.

There was a great storm that started in the late evening with fierce winds, soon to be followed by sheet lightening and thunder.  Then the rain came – just poured and poured – the forecast was for hail, but I wasn’t outside so I’m not sure we got that.

Wednesday we didn’t go for a ride – Colin had some business to do in Angouleme so I stayed home with Mo.  I did a quick vacuuming of the upstairs, then did yoga for the first time in many days.

After Colin returned we waked down to the bar and had a drink, then continued onto the campground – passed a mama duck with a large batch of little ducklings – must be her second brood of the year.  

At the campground we had a nice walk around the outside of the whole place – Mo got to run around off the leash, which she doesn’t get to do very often.  Walked back up to the Penalty Bar for a second drink, then home for dinner.

Didn’t ride out on Saturday morning because Colin had a bunch of running around to do in Angouleme.  First stop in the city was a place he got a dog-tag for Mo – if she ever goes off on her own again she’s got her name and Colin’s cell number on her now.

Went to several other places then got home just after noon.  We thought we’d go down to the bar for a drink, thinking that the special meal we said we’d partake of was for dinner tonight, but when we saw the bar full of the Brits and others we realized that it wasn’t a dinner but rather lunch.

Colin had asked for mussels and I had requested the fish – and it was a very tasty feast.  Just before we left Edithe asked us to join her in having a Cognac – bit of a mistake on my part.  I drank water after every sip, but it didn’t sit well.

I felt like the snake that had swallowed a goat – all I could do when we got home was sit and try to digest – although that wasn’t until after I had barfed up the Cognac.

We did go for a nice ride on Sunday, and Neil joined us for the first part.  It started out very foggy, but as we climbed a hill and turned east the fog lifted and it was suddenly bright and sunny.  Neil left us to go on a more ambitious ride while we headed towards home.

As we approached Mouton we realized something was going on – first we thought ‘oh – there’s a really great turnout for church today’, but that wasn’t it.  The main street was blocked off to traffic and was lined the whole way with tables full of ‘things for sale’. It looked like every single person in the town was cleaning out their attics, garages and barns and seeing if they could sell it.

Back in Mansle at the bar for the usual coffee we chatted a bit with some of the Brits.  The church bells go especially crazy on Sunday – at about 10:05 they go mental for at least 5 or maybe 10 minutes.  They don’t even play a tune – just bong and bong and bong. Then same clammering again at noon – I would love to climb up and cut the cables just to get some peace and quiet.

Had a delicious roast chicken and potato dinner and a fairly early night.

Monday was another non-riding day as Colin had calls to make and I used that as an excuse to not go out.  Had a fairly lazy day followed by a really nice evening.

We had been invited to dinner at Michele and Florence’s house as thanks for Colin letting them stay in his house in Papiano in July along with their son.  We got there around 7:30 and the table was set outside on the terrace.

The dinner was just lovely – it was five (!) courses starting with olives, cheese and shrimp with dip.  It was accompanied by an aperitif that was based on cognac, but very diluted – it went down much better than what I had on Saturday.

The second course was cantaloupe with parma ham – not something I would have thought went together but turned out to be an absolutely wonderful flavour combination.

The main course was a layered baked dish of salmon, spinach and potatoes in a creamy sauce – very tasty, and we had a rose-type wine with it.  The next dish was a cheese plate – my favourite was a soft sheep cheese. For dessert was a pear tart with almonds – the pears came from their own trees, and with that we got a sparkling low-alcohol wine.

Michele and Florence are both teachers and they are planning to retire next year.  They said they loved being in Papiano and using Colin’s house was a wonderful base to make day trips from – and the air-conditioner he had installed was very appreciated.  Their son is currently living in Paris and is well educated and speaks English very well.

Back at home after 10:30 I once again felt like the snake/goat creature.