Saturday night is date night, even here in France. So dinner out with Darlene and Shaun was an ideal way to spend the evening. They selected a tapas restaurant just down the road from our house and they agreed to drive which was our first and second choice Although rain looked likely we decided to sit outside (what is the French word for alfresco?). After a few sprinkles we stayed dry for the entire meal.
Before heading to the restaurant they joined us on our terrace for a traditional glass of bubbly. Since we did not have a champagne stopper we used the usual French method by just drinking until the bottle was empty.
When we sat down we noticed several hot air balloons inflating in the adjacent field. Although we have seen many airborne balloons flying over the valley we have never seen a launch. There are many launching sites along the river this was a first. Notice the castle in the distance which is up the hill from our place.
Wonderful dinner! We are already planning our next outing, probably dinner at our place for a home cooked meal.
We planned a ride for Sunday since it was forecasted for overcast with sun to follow and tolerable temperatures. Today we headed across the river east toward La Roque, on to Cenac, up the D46 to the C10, which is the lowest road classification which is narrow, no painted lines, and minimal traffic especially on a Sunday.
Although our planned route was shortened on my computer it took us through familiar roads through Bouzic, on to Daglan, then back to Castelnaud. Since the coffee stop is closed in Bousiz for the season we knew we find some place in Daglan. Since it was market day Kim stopped for some tomatoes where we saw Shaun partaking in some early in the day wine.
As we are enjoying our coffee and baguette two red Trek bikes approached. Alison and Rob were out for their daily ride- small world. After a quick beverage and small talk they continued on their ride. We strolled over to Darlene's art gallery for a quick hello. We
Back in Castelnaud Kim decided that a half of a baguette would not get us through lunch and dinner so for safety sake we splurged on one more.
This statue is in the car park outside the boulangerie. We had noticed from afar but decided to read the inscription. The woman gorging on grapes signifies the blight that wiped out all the vines in this area and most of France. With the industry on death's door the French indulged in some humble pie and re-imported the root stock from California which was resistant to the pathogen. Voila - let the wine keep flowing.
