This week was a more social one. We had two special
meals out and met a lot of new people. Not, of course, that I am likely to
remember all their names!
To begin with though, there was something else to
attend to. Next month Jenny and Ryan will be visiting Europe and want to do some
mountain-biking while they are here. So we have been hunting around for a
suitable bicycle for to borrow or hire. One of the options was to borrow a
bicycle belonging to our hairdresser, Jayne, who lives in a small village called
Boisse-Penchot which is about 40 kms north east of us and on the Lot River. We
offered to go and see the bike, so on Tuesday we set off just after lunch, eager
to explore new roads. We set the Tom-Tom from the house and then immediately
confused it by going to post a letter at the post office, which wasn’t on ‘her’
route. However, she quickly recovered and we were soon on the right track. A few
minutes later though, we missed a turn-off and didn’t turn around to go back to
it, but once again she quickly ‘re-calculated’ and gave a us a new route. How
pleased we were with that, as we drove through huge swathes of deep forest with
charming little villages dotted along the way. We are always amazed at the
hidden gems that we keep finding all over France. Most or the route was on the
Aveyron side of the Lot River but just before we reached our destination we came
to St. Martin-de-Bouillac – a big name for a small place, but it has an
impressive narrow bridge across the river. We drove across and parked and then
walked back to take some pictures of the river, and of the lovely flower baskets
arranged along the hand-rail of the bridge. When we got back to the car we
noticed the strange trees that were providing the shade. We later found out that
are Indian Bean Trees (Catalpa). Very unusual, with enormous leaves and long
slender seed pods that look like very long young beans. After admiring the trees
which look quite out of place as they are tropical and shouldn’t survive here,
we went on to Jayne’s house.
Boisse Penchot is a medium sized village on the banks
of the Lot. The house is a little four-square building perched precariously
between the road and the river, and has been a ‘work in progress’ for the past
two or more years. The place was pretty much a ruin when they bought it, but
with her husband a builder, things have moved along quite nicely. There is still
a huge amount of work to do, but what they have achieved so far is amazing and
beautiful. They both work which cuts their time down considerably but they don’t
really seem to be worried about how long it’s going to take. After a cup of tea
and a chat, we had a look at the bike
which is very smart, but is not quite what Jenny wants. But not a wasted trip at
all. We have seen where Jaye lives and we had a wonderful drive out and back. In
the way of GPS’s, even though we put in the same start and end points, just
reversed, we didn’t retrace our steps but came back on a different road, seeing
even more interesting little places.
The following day we had been invited to a
70th birthday party. Our neighbour-over-the-back-fence has a house
which she visits from time to time throughout the year, and as she has owned it
for about 20 years, she knows everyone in the village, all of whom were invited
to the party. Add to that about 20 guests from all over the world consisting of
family, extended family and friends and you have a fairly large crowd – probably
about 50 to 60 people. It was a midday event and a wonderful, delicious and
extensive spread of finger snacks had been laid out in the barn. The weather was
perfect – clear skies and just a hint of a breeze, so everyone could sit out
doors on chairs on the lawn. It was so relaxed. Everyone mingled well and we
were introduced to a number of new people. The trouble is that few of them were
locals and those that were, we already knew. Anyway, it was a lovely day and by
the end of it we also had a bicycle to borrow for Jenny.
To round off our week, we joined our next-door
neighbours for a barbecue. This is the family of the British architect who
restored the house we live in and who live in Bath but come here from time to
time to stay in their holiday house. Initially we thought that they were stiff
and stand-offish but as time has passed we have got to know them well and the
evening that we spent with them was delightful. Once again the weather allowed
us to eat outdoors and for once there appeared to be no midges or mosquitoes to
annoy us. The conversation ranged back and forth, covering a whole range of
topics, which was really rather fun.
We had thought of going to another ‘vide grenier’ on
Sunday but when we discovered that the temperature was forecast to be 36
degrees, we baulked. Walking around in such heat in the sun is not my idea of
fun and Neels agreed, so we stayed home with the shutters closed and tried to
stay cool
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