Back home the holiday continued with my sister and her husband. It poured with rain day after day and was so chilly in the evenings that we had to light the stove!
The forests were still recovering from the gales and the huge holes left by the uprooted trees turned into a morass very quickly. The torrents of water caused rock and mudslides onto the roads. It is never dull here!
It probably didn't change our activities very much, Charlotte and I can pass hours chatting, philosophising and generally putting the World to rights. The rest of the time we read. We try to read different books during our months apart then swap when we meet up. I am just reading the third part of the Hunger Games trilogy by Susan Collins.
I am totally gripped by it. I didn't think I would like it, it is aimed at teenage readers but don't let that put you off. It is a real page turner. It works on very many levels and my only regret is that I read so fast!
We went back to the Auberge du Pont (click here for details) where Rodolphe regaled us once again with exquisite food.
These ice-creams were all home made using pistachios, Victoria pineapple and best of all raspberry, lychee and rosepetal, a blend of flavours that was extraordinary. I'm going to ask him for the recipe for that one.
Les Medicis in Puy En Velay (here)also provided another wonderful home cooked meal including these little jars of beetroot gazpacho as an 'amuse bouche'.
So perhaps it should be a Market day fast instead of a recipe this week!
We also visited a local Chateau where they were very proudly offered us English tea and cake! There was a deep green earthy smell that really evoked England for me (this has never happened to me before). Charlotte said it was because it was still pouring with rain and everything smelt damp.
The Chateau de Chassaigne ( here )is quite unspoilt, it appears to be in need of renovation which I hope they do with a light touch to keep the mossy crumbly charm. The gardens are a wonderland of small 'rooms' by divided by hedges that protect tender plants through the Winter.
It was also memorable because none of my bank cards worked at any cashpoint! (My poor brother in law had to pay for everything).
Next day I set off to La Poste a few hundred yards from home, as I turned the corner I was stopped by a gendarme who refused to let me past.
Was it something I said?
I could have become quite paranoid if I hadn't discovered that there had been an armed robbery at La Poste a few minutes beforehand. Quite a shock for a small mountain village. Luckily our lovely postmaster, Pascal, is unhurt but very shocked and still off work. Apparently post offices are easier targets now that banks do not handle cash over their counters any more.
As I said, it is never dull here!
The forests were still recovering from the gales and the huge holes left by the uprooted trees turned into a morass very quickly. The torrents of water caused rock and mudslides onto the roads. It is never dull here!
It probably didn't change our activities very much, Charlotte and I can pass hours chatting, philosophising and generally putting the World to rights. The rest of the time we read. We try to read different books during our months apart then swap when we meet up. I am just reading the third part of the Hunger Games trilogy by Susan Collins.
I am totally gripped by it. I didn't think I would like it, it is aimed at teenage readers but don't let that put you off. It is a real page turner. It works on very many levels and my only regret is that I read so fast!
We went back to the Auberge du Pont (click here for details) where Rodolphe regaled us once again with exquisite food.
Les Medicis in Puy En Velay (here)also provided another wonderful home cooked meal including these little jars of beetroot gazpacho as an 'amuse bouche'.
We also visited a local Chateau where they were very proudly offered us English tea and cake! There was a deep green earthy smell that really evoked England for me (this has never happened to me before). Charlotte said it was because it was still pouring with rain and everything smelt damp.
The Chateau de Chassaigne ( here )is quite unspoilt, it appears to be in need of renovation which I hope they do with a light touch to keep the mossy crumbly charm. The gardens are a wonderland of small 'rooms' by divided by hedges that protect tender plants through the Winter.
Next day I set off to La Poste a few hundred yards from home, as I turned the corner I was stopped by a gendarme who refused to let me past.
Was it something I said?
I could have become quite paranoid if I hadn't discovered that there had been an armed robbery at La Poste a few minutes beforehand. Quite a shock for a small mountain village. Luckily our lovely postmaster, Pascal, is unhurt but very shocked and still off work. Apparently post offices are easier targets now that banks do not handle cash over their counters any more.
As I said, it is never dull here!
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