Our place in France Chapter 95

After a rather long day for all on Saturday which included fetching Carol from the airport at Bergerac, we thought a quiet day would be good for all of us. Andre had to leave again at lunch-time in any case, so the morning was spent dodging the chilly showers and inspecting the site. The girls were delighted to find an enormous free library of DVD’s and games, a snooker table, ping-pong table and heated swimming pool. Also a sauna which they decided to try at some time. For a start, however, they  went for a swim in the heated pool after supper which was something of a novelty.

On Monday, although the weather had not really improved much we just had to get out and about. The resort very thoughtfully provides all sorts of information about things to do and to see, amongst them a list of suggested sightseeing routes. We chose Route 2 and set off on a circular tour which took in numerous charming little old villages as well. This is definitely the area of chateaux and we were treated to a different one around almost every corner. The first one was in the small village of Clerans which has a semi ruined castle in its center. As our guide book didn’t have much to say about it, I went to the Mayor’s office to find out if they had any information but all I discovered was that it is privately owned and there is simply nothing written about it’s history. A shame really. Could this be a niche waiting to be filled? When we walked around the castle, we found that one section of it had been restored and was actually inhabited but none of us were brave enough to knock on the door to find out more.

From Clerans we drove down to the River Dordogne to the spot where there is  vast barrage and a hydro-electric plant. You may think it was a boring  thing to do but in fact it turned out to be rather interesting. With the river being in flood, there was a massive amount of water flowing through the turbines and spurting out of the exit pipes. It was a magnificent sight!

Driving on we visited Lalinde and since it was about lunchtime, we looked for somewhere to eat. After lunch we retraced our steps to Couze where there was a paper factory we had decided to visit. Apparently the Dordogne has perfect water for making acid-free paper and a number of factories started their business up and down its banks. Sadly with the commercial world growing larger by the day, the demand for handmade paper was soon overshadowed by paper that was thin, smooth and  sharp-edged.. One by one they fell away and the buildings fell into disrepair. Today, one is a museum while the other is still a working mill. Unfortunately, without realising it, we visited the museum mill which closes for several months of each year, February being one of them. Anyway, we had a good look around and were amazed at the good state of the buildings.

Going on from there, we visited two chateaux – Lanquais and Banne. Neither are open to the public but are well worth seeing. Lanquais is unusual in that one half of the building is a sturdy and very solid construction and is well fortified, while the other half is full of decoration and is a direct contrast. Banne, on the other hand, is enormous and solid and makes a bold statement from its position on top of a rock. Considering that it was built by a  bishop, it somehow demonstrates just how wealthy the clergy were in the old days.

The following day was again grey and miserable so we stayed home for most of it. The office is well-supplied with DVD’s and the girls have had a ball on the days we have stayed in. In the afternoon, Carol and Neels and I went for a short drive, just round the back of the hill the resort is on. Called Lapeyrousse it has little more than a church and a few large buildings that we subsequently found out were a disused hospital and a retirement home for retired clergy. When we showed interest in the church which had an unusual dome on the roof instead of the more common steeple, and old man came wandering over to us and started giving us a tour of the property. He was simply charming and  what he had to say was really interesting. We are so glad to have stopped there.

Hooray! The next day was sunny so we hopped into the car and set out on a huge circular drive. Not far from here the Dordogne River makes two huge loops which are very spectacular but difficult to photograph. To see the first one we drove up to a viewsite above a town called Tremolat to admire the sweep of the (overfull) river; then down again to water level and a town called Limeul where all was tight shut so no lunch stop there. We could see evidence of flooding there and no doubt the day before had been a nail-biting one for the inhabitants as the high water mark was almost up to the lowest houses. As the town happens to be at the confluence of two large rivers – the Dordogne and the Lezere – and both were flooding, there was still a great deal of water coming down. An interesting fact is that the bridges over the two rivers are at right angles to each other and can be  seen together. So we had to drive on to the next town which was La Bugue.

Unfortunately, as so often happens when touring out of season, a lot of places were closed for a few weeks and the few that weren’t were already full. Finally we found a delightful place which served both a French menu and an Asiatic one. They had a table for us and with relief we sat down and hoped that the food would be good. We needn’t have worried – it was divine and if we can we will return before the end of the week.

On the way home, we visited the correct paper mill, which was worth every minute. The owner of the paper shop was about to leave but stayed on to give us a private tour around even to the places the public is not usually allowed to visit. He was absolutely delightful and we must have spent almost an hour listening to him and peering into the nooks and crannies of the mill. When we left he gave us an invitation to visit at any time in the future.

The we went to Beaumont which is another charming village with an enormous fortified church in the centre, which towers over the rest of the town. It was getting late and there was an icy wind blowing so no-one was very keen on seeing any more sights but we quickly went on to Monpazier which is a typical bastide town with an enormous square and market place in the centre. It also has some ancient grain measures in the market place as permanent museum exhibits. By now the wind was positively freezing and we could barely stay outside for more than a few minutes. This is definitely a place to visit on another occasion.

Saturday was the end of our week and we sadly packed up everything and loaded the car. Carol was leaving from Bergerac and we had decided to explore the town before seeing her off. What an ancient and fascinating place it is. We saw the statue of Cyrano de Bergerac who in fact has very little to do with the actual town, but is impressive all the same. We also saw one of the seven old hydro-electric plants that are scattered around the town and provide some of the electricity required. We admired the  ancient houses that are of a timber construction with spaces between the timbers filled with tiny bricks. The streets through the old town are all pedestrian walkways and are paved with beautifully laid brick. Little twisty streets run off from the main road through the town and just invite one to explore. Lunch at a handy creperie  and then it was time to go off to the airport.

What a simply lovely week we have had and what an amazing introduction to the Dordogne. We shall definitely have to return.

Our place in France Chapter 94

Quite a busy week this time although hardly eventful. We spent a lrge portion of the time getting ready to go away for two weeks – something I am really looking forward to. Apart from the fact that we will be in heated accommodation which will be amazing, we will also have both the grand-daughters with us and I will be seeing my sister again.

The week didn’t start off all that auspiciously as we had the heaviest snowfall of the season on Tuesday and we also received a call from the school on Tuesday telling us that Courtney was not well and would we please come a fetch her. That wouldn’t have been a problem normally, except that the night before had been exceptionally cold and the car would not start without the help of the neighbours car and jump leads. There had also been a plan to go and fetch more firewood that day but by the time we had sorted the other problems the weather had put a stop to that plan.

However, by Wednesday we were back on track and I was desperately trying to get washing done and dried to take away with us. I described before what a tedious business  it is, but , one way and another we managed to end up with enough clean and dry clothes to take away for two weeks.

As the first week was to be self-catering, we also had to buy in some groceries and to make a large pot of curry which I then froze to take with us. We also made a double batch of ever-popular rusks and hoped they wouldn’t get finished on the first day!

On Friday evening Courtney arrived back from school by bus as usual and Andre arrived with Cassidy. We had arranged for him to come with us and spend the first night in our self-catering cottage, and so the next morning we set off in convoy for St Felix la Villadeix in the Dordogne. We had asked our GPS to select the shortest route, forgetting that she always ends up taking short-cuts through farmlands and making use of less than desirable roads. Anyway, it was very scenic, but I doubt that we would choose that route again. Quite near the end of the trip we were expecting to drive through a small town and then our destination was about ten kilometres further on. Hoever, when we got to that point, there was a large notice informing us that the route was ‘barree’ – closed. Andre and Courtney who were in one car, had found an alternative route along the river, so off we went again, only to find our way barred yet again, this time by the river which had burst its banks and completely inundated the road. This was obviously the result of the heavy rains of earlier in the month, during which Paris, among other cities, was flooded. We thought we had had rain but we had nothing like this. It took us little while but eventually we found a way around the obstruction and could finally get to our destination. This was the Village of Constant, a Holiday Property Bond resort. The company bought a whole village some years ago and spent time restoring the houses and doing the gardens and now it is perfectly charming, with each house or part thereof, becoming accommodation for the members and their guests. Although we explored some of this area when we travelled in the caravan we haven’t ever been to this exact part of the Dordogne , so we are looking forward to getting out and about.

Our place in France Chapter 93

When we moved from the Witwatersrand to Knysna it was like a breath of fresh air. Country living for the family and work just a few steps away across the road for Neels. How much better could a young family ask for. If only we could have known that what was to happen soon, was a taste of things to come. Within a few months of our arrival and totally out of season, it snowed the workers in the saw-mill across the road all rushed to Neels’ office in panic asking what this strange stuff was on their overalls. They had never seen snow at close range before, and some of the workers were in their 50’s.

We bought a caravan in 1976 and decided to try it out by spending a long weekend in a campsite on the banks of the Knysna Lagoon. As we pulled the ‘van out of the garage to start packing it, a fine drizzle began. Not deterred by a minimal bit of water, and looking forward to the weekend, we carried on, in spite of the rain getting harder all the time. We drove down to the campsite and set up camp in spite of the rather soggy conditions, and spent the night listening to the rain drumming on the roof. In the morning, I had to go to work and as I set off up the road that looked down on to the lagoon, I was shocked to see that our usually beautiful, blue lagoon was a dirty brown colour and was dotted with floating tree-trunks. Those parts of the town which were particularly low-lying were now under water and the streets were littered leaves and ripped off branches. So great was the ferocity of the rain and storm that some houses further upstream from the lagoon had been flooded to the level of the eaves and a few smaller buildings had been swept away. In our relatively sheltered camp site we had been unaware of any of this apart from the incessant rain. We were later told that it was the most rain to fall in one place for about 30 years.

Some years later, we moved to Onrus River driving down with fully laden cars to an empty house. Our furniture followed us down and duly arrived the following morning. By evening practically everything had found a place although the garage was still full of boxes to be unpacked. The only items still without a home inside the house were two tables one, a fairly heavy pine table and the other an enamel kitchen table. Both fairly large. During the night a wind came up and as we lay in bed wondering what we had let ourselves in for and if the roof was going to stay on. The following morning, both tales had been upended by the wind but we were lucky – some houses actually did lose their roofs. ‘Wow’, said neighbours and friends, ‘That was the worst wind we have had in at least twenty years’!

So now we are in France and enduring the coldest weather we have ever experienced. Our neighbours had assured us that this little piece of France is in the ‘Golden triangle’ where it seldom, if ever, snows, floods or has strong gales. Oh really?! What is this white stuff that has been falling in dribs and drabs all week?. We are not alone though, as the whole of France is in the icy grip of  a really vicious winter. Poor Paris had floods and then snow all in one week. And it hasn’t snowed like that in Paris for thirty years! Do you wonder that we think we are jinxed?? Every time we try a new venture there is a weather disaster. We will not be going anywhere or trying anything new again for quite a while.

Our hibernation plans are going quite well. So far we have had two days when we didn’t have to venture further than the bathroom all day and it was blissful. We are definitely going to do more of it.

Our place in France Chapter 92

I think that next Winter, or, in fact for the next two weeks, we should go into real hibernation. Just get into bed one night and not get out again for two weeks! There are a few logistical problems with this idea, I know, seeing that we do not have the physiology of polar bears but we are prepared to deal with those problems. It just seems to be the only sensible way to deal with this climate. There was no blog last week because there was simply nothing to write about. I could, I suppose have told you about our trip to the supermarket to get eggs, butter, bread and cheese and other essentials but that would have been far too boring. Although, I could have told you how much nicer it was in the car (with the heater on full blast) than in the house before we get the fire going. Only trouble with that is, of course, the getting out at the shops!

What I am really trying to say is that this week is not too different and we have been nowhere of note and done nothing interesting. In fact, we had a trial run at hibernation on Monday and on Thursday staying upstairs in our cosy bedroom until three or four o’clock in the afternoon. It works extraordinarily well! We have everything to make coffee up there, and a supply of home-made rusks, as well as our books if we feel like reading or the TV if we want to watch for a while Apart from real food, there is no reason to venture downstairs at all. The only problem is that we are always worried that someone will come and knock on the front door and then one of us will have to go down and find out what they want. Not good!

Isn’t it amazing how accustomed one can become to a sound that occurs regularly. I’m talking about the church bells that are only about 30 metres away from our bedroom window From ten at night until seven the next morning, they are silent, but at seven o’clock they go all out to wake everyone up Seven strikes for the hour, followed by three sets of three strikes, followed by sixty-four strikes to let all the good Catholics know that it is time for the morning service and they should be getting up, or rather, up already. The sixty-four appears to be variable and we have wondered if it is more to do with the time taken to do all those strikes. Two minutes probably covers it and because our church has a single bell, it manages to fit a lot of sound into the time allowed. The end result is a bell pealing outside our window for approximately three minutes which should be enough to wake anyone. But, as I said, it is amazing how accustomed one can get to a sound which occurs regularly. As a result we sleep on blissfully for at least another hour and a half.

No pictures again this week for reasons given above, but take heart, we are going away for a week on the 17^th to a whole new area for us and will have more than enough pictures after that.