14 May 2015 - Preparing to move on

Karl and I counted how many times we have moved places so far on our trip and we think it is at least 16!  It is far easier to pack and move with our 70 litre big packs and our smaller day packs and some food and extras we have picked up along the way, than it was for our big move as we left our home for a year some 5 months ago!  I must say it was easy to call this gite "home" as it was well equiped and spacious and really comfortable.

Cute but very efficient wood burner

Living area - very homely

Packing up usually means hair cuts, nails trimmed and other tidy ups which would normally take place as part of a routine at home.  As we have undefined weeks with no particular structure,  those "routine" things don't know when to happen!

Early morning "mirror" lake

Tim and I had a 6 km walk this morning in warm, in fact quite hot sun, to take a slightly longer wander to check out the lake in the mirror stillness of morning.  Before long the dark clouds gathered, as predicted and heavy rain set in.  I was sort of glad for a dull day for schooling, cleaning and packing.

View to the garden

View from kitchen window

 The biggest challenge of the day was trying to remove sunscreen from the car's upholstery.  After several attempts, finally the clothes washing powder and boiling hot water did the trick (for future reference!).  We are hoping to avoid the cleaning cost when we return the car so now that it is really clean, we have lined the traffic areas with cardboard so hopefully when we drop the car off, it will still be clean!

Skipping and bouncing along

 Luke and his friends played for hours which was so lovely.  We don't know if he'll find other friends en route, but the three weeks here have topped up his "friend tank" and hopefully he will manage ok until the next dose of friends! 

A rainbow!

As we set out on our evening walk, the clouds cleared and apart from one or two drops of rain and a beautiful rainbow, we enjoyed the setting sun.  We met Rod and Maelisa en route and walked down yet another "new" path to the lake for one last look!  The younger kids skipped and bounced the whole way and Luke was still bouncing when he went to bed.  How wonderful it has been here!

Friendly mule

11 May 2105 - Circuit des Rives de La Charente and a tick!

A beautiful day ahead according to the weather bureau and they were right!  We had planned a family walk along the marked Circuit des Rives de La Charente path (11.4kms), so today was a good day to walk.  We saw no other walkers on the path, 6 farmers, 3 tractors, 3 cars and several farm dogs.  Apart from the cows and random sheep, that was it! Silence, tranquility, rural France! 

Our sign!

Ode to Videix

You may ask me where Videix is,

You may ask how to pronounce its name,

You may even ask why would anyone ever go there…

And I’d say: ”Try it for yourself, you’ll love it”!

If you like peace and tranquility,

If you like fields of wildflowers and curious cows,

If you like soft sunshine and evening reflections...

I’d say: ”Try it for yourself, you’ll love it”!

For me, Videix was a bit of France to discover,

For me, Videix will remain beautiful forever,

For me, Videix is no longer a mystery…

Try it for yourself, you’ll love it!

And by the way: It’s said Vid-ex

(leaving out one letter as you do with most French words!)

Slightly unkempt, the path was clear and signs obvious.

Morning hike

Acres of wildflowers

And more, simply stunning.

One of my favourites!

Of the few vehicles we saw, this old car with an even older driver was heading up an unmown lane!

 Back for an afternoon of schoolwork with various degrees of motivation!  The sunny day  made it very tempting to run around outside.  Fortunately, Luke did finish the required schoolwork by the time Sasha and Daniel got home from their French school and they all got straight back into their game of knights and princesses and slaves!  Fabulous fun!

After dinner stroll with neighbours

 The evenings are as lovely as the days and a stroll after dinner is mandatory!  Luke is so enjoying playing with his friends and vice versa, that they chose to join our family's walk rather than their own!

Evening reflections, coypus calling

La Mas Mazet

One of the fascinations of the day: a millipede trying to battle a worm and winning! Kids were keen to see it to the end but it was getting dark..  The millipede was thrashing about with incredible strength.

By the time Luke was finally in bed it was so late and THEN he mentioned the sore bit on his head: A TICK!!!  Fortunately, my sister who lives in Switzerland warned me about ticks just a few weeks ago, so I was on high alert.  Karl looked up Google while Annika and I performed the tick removal service and plied Luke with lollies to keep him still, then doused the area with Hand Sanitizer to kill any remaining bit of the tick and any bacteria.  Hopefully, the little critter had only jumped on board today.  Luke has playing in and under bushes so I suppose that's where ticks hide out.  A lesson for us all.

10 May 2015 - Happy Mothers' Day (for Australians anyhow!)

The day started or at least could have started before dawn with Annika awake with a headache needing a neck massage and Luke awake because he was lonely!  My early morning reflections on motherhood simply were that this is what mothers do: they love and nurture and care for their children at all hours of the day and despite the weariness, they would have it no other way.  Fortunately and unusually, I managed to go back to sleep as did the wakeful ones and by the time I woke for the day, the sun was high in the sky.

Before long, I had a cup of tea in bed, a lovely card from Tim and a sweet card from Luke and Sasha (!) and some camelias from the garden here and my day had officially started.

Cards and camelias!

 The birds were in full song to herald the beautiful day and Tim and I had a brisk walk to the mirror like lake.  Cities are our next points of call until September, so let's embrace this lovely countryside!

 

What better way to start the day!!

At home, we would usually go to church on Mothers' Day, and I would cry at the lovely sensitive words to mothers, those who have lost their mothers or had strained relationships with them, to those who for one reason or another haven't been able to be mothers, and for those grieving for myriad reasons, and then we would visit my parents and have a meal with Karl's parents, so today was different.

Luke in his hideout in the garden!

More cards and more flowers!

 Throughout the day Luke and his friends picked me wildflowers and made beautiful cards and showered me with love!  Annika cooked for hours to produce a fabulous spread.  How very special!

Annika's "Cafe @ the Dot"

 We remarked on how wonderful it is to be in France and how we will remember this in years to come.  A lovely celebration indeed!  Well done Annika and her Red Dot Cafe!

Mothers' day spread - by Annika!

A happy mother!

Still smiling after working so hard for my special treat!

Feeling in great need for a decent walk after all the yummy-ness of the Mothers' Day spread we decided to explore the other side of the lake near to the Causeway.  It seemed that people had come from miles around as they were at least 20 cars!  There is an eatery either side of the Causeway, both of which were open today.

Lakeside ramble through long grass and buttercups.

Irises growing  on the lake's edge

Lakeside path

Not quite knowing where we were walking we followed a slightly worn grass path by the lakeside which eventually opened out into a farmer's track and finally came out near our  coypu pond!  Tim ran home from there whilst the rest of us walked back along the path and across the Causeway again to say "hello" to the horses and curious cows.  It is good for 16 year olds to exercise their independence and for Tim it is running home along country lanes in a foreign country!

Curious cows

 There was quite a crowd on the plage (beach) by the lake.  The water didn't look all that clean but quite a few people were in the water.  I suppose lake water will never look as clean as sea water. We could hear the coypus calling and making quite a racket.  I would rather like to kayak around the edge of the lake.  It was so very lovely and devoid of motorboats and any other noisy vehicles.

Sandcastle building on the plage

  Back in time to make the pizza dough and prepare for dinner with our host/neighbours outside tonight.  The long evenings here are perfect for leisurely meals and chatting.  Time is not important for us but we had to be mindful that the younger ones who need sleep, especially Luke's friends who start at school tomorrow.
 

Waiting for our dinner guests - another outdoor meal in the beautiful garden setting.

We had a most enjoyable evening with Rod and Maelisa and their children and heard more stories of their life in Zambia.  It has been very lovely staying here at their gite and the children have loved the open space and freedom to explore and enjoy the wonderful garden.    

8 May 2015 - Victory in Europe Day - rural France remembers

On our evening walk yesterday, we encountered a friendly cat, sitting in the forest on the edge of the road, as if he was waiting for a conversation with any passersby.  Being such a quiet place, he probably wasn't so hopeful of company but there we were and so he accompanied down us the road to "his" house.  There was a tapping on the window and a lady emerged and said what I think was something about not touching the cat, politely.  We engaged in a sort of conversation and I wasn't sure I heard her correctly when she said that it was going to rain tomorrow (today) as it was the most perfect clear evening, but I had heard correctly.

Our forest cat

This morning, the rain looked like it had set in for the day but Tim, Annika and I headed out on the "porcine" walk because it is a nice circuit with a few hills to stride up.

A red poppy amongst the other flowers stood out significantly.

We were back in time for breakfast and coffee before heading across the road to the Mairie, council offices, for the Victory in Europe Day, when the French were liberated from German occupation at the end of WW2.  We had seen notices saying "Invitation" and had worked out that there was some kind of gathering.  We talked to a few locals with what French we could muster and joined the parade of about 25 people, 2 flag bearers, the Mayor and the local Gendarme.  I was tempted to say "'Allo, 'allo" (BBC comedy from some years ago) but given the nature of the solemn ceremony, I was restrained.  Indeed, it is a solemn occasion to reflect on the horrors of war, the occupation, the resistance movement and the loss of lives, especially of the villagers of this little town who are listed on the war memorial -  "A Nos Enfants" (To our children).

"A Nos Enfants"

Our local Gendarme

Videix parade (10 metres or thereabouts to the memorial)

The Mayor and ?councillor

 After the Mayoral speech, we were all invited to partake in a drink and snack in the Mairie.  No cups of tea here!  Despite being before lunch there was several different wines to choose from.  Before we knew it we were sipping a blend of Kir and white wine which was indeed tasty but went to my head after half a glass and I donated the other half to Karl.  For those who know me, I drink alcohol rarely so my body wasn't quite ready for wine at 11.30 AM! Then lovely savoury breads were served with saucisson and fromage and we devoured a few of these!

Gendarme plus Maelisa, Sasha and Daniel and Karl, Luke and Annika

Gendarme taking his role seriously.

 It was excellent to meet some of the locals including the girl who we'd waved at from the pig and poultry farm down the road.  I was probably right that she was in the middle of pate making when I saw her in a long white apron yesterday.  We found out that she has a farm shop there which is open on the weekends so we'll venture there!  We also spoke to Astrid, a Dutch lady, who has lived here for three years in the hospitality industry and has really blended into the local community having joined the council and seemed to have other community roles.  I guess that would be the best thing to do in a small community like this.

Kir and white wine!!

Morning wine!

 On the door of the Mairie are the words: Egalite, Liberte, Fraternite and we think they should add "Securite" as well because we were reminded to do up our shoe laces and told "securite" - safety - several times.  Just like older people at home, the French like to make sure us "young ones" are safe!

Don't forget securite....we were reminded a few times about undone or loose shoe laces!

As the clouds came over again, we decided to have another stroll before dinner before more rain.  Even though Luke protested mightily, he actually said that he enjoyed the walk in the end which was quite a confession!

I had spotted “Out of Africa” on the shelf here and was keen to watch it again as my sister had told me there was a reference to Karin’s (the main character played by Meryl Streep) “Limoges”.  As we are near Limoges here, it seemed fitting to hear the quote!  Limoges refers to the classy porcelain which is made in this area.  For those interested, the first reference to the porcelain is in the scene when she first meets the Robert Redford character, Dennis Finch-Hatton, loading elephant tusks on the train along with her “crystal and Limoges”.

It seems like ages since we have sat down in front of a TV sized screen (rather than a laptop) to watch a movie.  Karl, Annika and I watched it and the boys retreated elsewhere to watch something more to their taste.  I loved the movie and had forgotten much of the story and also how the young Meryl Streep looked.  It was good to mark the beginning of the weekend with something other than school work in the evening, too!

Amazing cheese!

Karl and I have taken to enjoying a cheese platter in the evenings as we churn through the vast range of cheeses available.  My favourite to this point is a blue cheese, Saint Agur on which is written:

“Saint Agur est un fromage d’une personnalite unique.  L’extreme fondant de sa pate sublime so caractere persille:  Saint Agar, force et fondant a la fois.”   

So I guess that says it all!

7 May 2015 - By le Graine

Our porcine friend grunted his greetings as we walked past his farm this morning.  Not only that, we stopped to talk the Englishman, Dave, who'd greeted us yesterday, and who has only just moved to this area.  It is always nice to hear others' stories!

Our porcine friend

Bon jour daisies!

Back at les Trois Chenes, a dump truck had dumped 3 huge piles of gravel on the driveway and our hosts, their kids and Luke in his pyjamas were in full swing spreading out the load.  Tim soon joined in  enjoying the physical challenge and gradually over the course of the day, the piles were sorted out to give the driveway a whole new look! 

Who needs a beach when there's sunshine, stones and a friend?!

Needless to say, with such excitement going on, Luke was pretty difficult to motivate to do schoolwork.  Chipping away at the curriculum, which is quite a comprehensive and engaging one, is my full time job!  The bean plants continue to grow and Luke wants to keep measuring them as they grow so that's at least a bit of interest generated from him!

Enjoying the challenge!

Shopping and food needs don't go away and so we thought, once the driveway was cleared enough, we would drive to Rochechouart for shopping and then explore a bit more around the castle and meteorite valley/craters.  Tomorrow everything is closed for another public holiday, this time for Victory in Europe Day which marks the end of German occupation in France during WW2.  As we recently visited Oradour-sur-Glane, the martyr village nearby, it makes such a day all the more significant.

Let's follow the sign!

The meteorite, which plummeted down in this area some 200 million years ago,  was estimated to be 1.5 kms in diameter, with a tail which scattered debris 20-25 kms away and caused a seismic event to the magnitude of 11 on the Richter Scale! Let's hope meteorites don't strike twice in the same place!  

Gothic bridge over the river Glaine

We walked down the steep hill to the Gothic Bridge over le Graine River which was so tranquil.  The old bridge looks as solid as the day it was built!  I could imagine horses and carts trotting over the river and taking the narrow winding roads around here. The sky was cloudless and the river slow flowing with a muddy bottom and many shade trees on its banks.  

I think it was some kind of classy restaurant by the river...and Karl on the old bridge..

Me by the River Glaine

Le Glaine from the Gothic Bridge

Close by was the ancient archway, portal to the road to Rochechouart Castle, which towers above. 

14th Century Arch

The exterior walls of the castle

Karl and I had already seen inside the castle (gallery) but the kids hadn't seen the courtyard and we hadn't seen the exterior and gardens.  The view over the fields and meteorite valley was so lovely, especially being such a fine day.

Our mountain goat!

Thanks to the meteorite, the castle had a hill to be built on!

Springtime - a new foal!

There were some local youth hanging around the town square outside the castle skidding their trail bikes on the gravel and hooning around a bit.  We would probably refer to them as "Bogans" in Australia and it was amusing to hear them speaking French!  For those familiar with the ABC's series "Upper Middle Bogan", you would understand!