This is two postings in one:
SUNDAY OF REST
In France (at least in the countryside), Sunday is a day of rest. Monday is too, pretty much, and of course, from noon to 2:00 pm every day. Shops close. Even gas stations. It's a way of life that someone recently explained to us.
"Be lazy, so you don't have to be tired."
Our day's activity was a scenic drive that our hosts recommended. We did take in a small market in the small town of Issigeac, where we contemplated buying a few snacks, but were not sure if we could lift them. Then we stopped
at Montpazier, another small town with another gate leading into it, and nearly empty of people. I had an ice cream cone, and Bob had what was billed as an espresso (not like those in Italy). We are both going hungry at lunchtime to be better prepared for the evening's dinner.
This part of France, especially in spring with its lilacs and a vine that looks like wisteria, is beautiful.
Vistas include well kept fields (though who and when they work them, I haven't a clue) and chateaux. Apparently, there are around a thousand chateaux in this section of the country. Almost all are spectacular, though we did once spy a fixer-upper.
After this exhausting excursion, we returned to our room to train some more for the evening's dinner by taking long naps. As the motto on a box of pastries explains:
"La gourmandise n'est pas un vilain defaut..."
MONDAY...
Later yesterday Bob came down with something--a bug, food poisoning, who knows? All I know for sure is that he's felt miserable and has taken every chance he could to sleep. Symptoms included severe chills, headache, nausea, sore intestines, fever, bloat, acid reflux and diarrhea. Somehow today he held it together enough to drive to Bergerac, drop off our rented car and take a bus and taxi to our B and B in Bordeaux. There, he promptly fell asleep for three hours while I caught up on my email and news and finished reading a novel.
SUNDAY OF REST
In France (at least in the countryside), Sunday is a day of rest. Monday is too, pretty much, and of course, from noon to 2:00 pm every day. Shops close. Even gas stations. It's a way of life that someone recently explained to us.
"Be lazy, so you don't have to be tired."
at Montpazier, another small town with another gate leading into it, and nearly empty of people. I had an ice cream cone, and Bob had what was billed as an espresso (not like those in Italy). We are both going hungry at lunchtime to be better prepared for the evening's dinner.
This part of France, especially in spring with its lilacs and a vine that looks like wisteria, is beautiful.
After this exhausting excursion, we returned to our room to train some more for the evening's dinner by taking long naps. As the motto on a box of pastries explains:
"La gourmandise n'est pas un vilain defaut..."
MONDAY...
Later yesterday Bob came down with something--a bug, food poisoning, who knows? All I know for sure is that he's felt miserable and has taken every chance he could to sleep. Symptoms included severe chills, headache, nausea, sore intestines, fever, bloat, acid reflux and diarrhea. Somehow today he held it together enough to drive to Bergerac, drop off our rented car and take a bus and taxi to our B and B in Bordeaux. There, he promptly fell asleep for three hours while I caught up on my email and news and finished reading a novel.
