Good morning everyone.
Gosh, our wonderful holiday in France has come to an end and, suddenly, we are back in Montrondo. But we are leaving today for Madrid as tomorrow is dear Juliet's 2nd birthday. So much has happened since last Sunday so let me rewind.
It was our last full day in La Teillée with my cousin Zuka and she proposed we go out and visit Venise Verte in the Loire region. We drove to Damvix, a charming little town with lots of canals. There were lots of scarecrows too; something to do with an upcoming festival.
Once we had parked we walked down to the canal and sat and had a drink. We could have taken a boat on the canal but weren't that keen. Besides, it was time for lunch for which we were keen, hahahaha. So we walked back to the main square where we had booked a table at a little restaurant called La Terrase. There we had the most delicious meal. Would you believe Eladio and I had fish and chips? Zuka told me they are becoming very popular in France. She is right as they were on the menu in Île de Ré the next day too. But what I liked most were all the ice cream sundaes on offer. I had to have a photo to show you mine. It was delicious.
I inherited my father's sweet tooth. We both loved the same sweets and chocolates and he adored "knickerbocker glories" and would have chosen the same sundae a me in Damvix. When my father went to restaurants he always looked at the dessert menu first (like me) and would order what Eladio c calls "the biggest and the best" which is a standing joke in our family. So, yes, I had the biggest and the best that day while Zuka and Eladio had strawberries with raspberries; the healthier option.
While we were enjoying being tourists in France, Oli and family had arrived at our apartment in Santa Pola where they would be with Suzy who was living next door with Lucy but is now staying with a friend - she worries me so and is the only thing that keeps me awake at night. My daughter sent me this lovely photo of little Juliet who will be 2 tomorrow, 4th September. Isn't she gorgeous?
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| Little Juliet in Santa Pola |
Later we had a video call and it was great to see Suzy reunited with Elliot and Juliet. As I said she is the only thing keeping us awake at night. We have offered her the apartment when the last guests of the season leave on 10th September and I hope she accepts. Any way, back to France.
After our most delicious lunch in Damvix we headed home and all had a very long siesta. I woke up to find Zuka had a visitor. Her friend, Suzanne, from New Zealand, had come for the evening apertif. I joined them after a cup of tea to wake me up. They are planning a trip to Bilbao this month and will be coming to stay with us in El Cuetu in Asturias. That will be something to look forward to.
We went to bed earliesh on our last night in La Teillée and I woke up at about 7.30 on Tuesday, the morning we were leaving.
We had a leisurely breakfast and then packed. Before leaving we had a photo session by a special tree in Zuka's garden. It's one where I always have a photo taken with her adorable grand daughter Ruby who I missed this year as I did Katty, her mother. Zuka took photos of us, one of which I have chosen for this week's feature photo. Eladio also took photos of me with my cousin. Here is one to show you.
What a great time we had had. But it was time to leave, for the next part of our holiday in France.
We left at around 10.30 and only had a 2 hour drive to our next destination, Ars-en-Ré on the island of
Île de Ré. It is in south west France, very near La Rochelle and is very popular with Parisians and is famous for being a bit
posh. I had been there for our last cousinade in 2019 , with Suzy, when we stayed at Marie Helene's mother's house and Nastushka's house in the village of Les Portes-en-Ré. I fell in love with Île de Ré and wanted to show Eladio the island. I should have booked a hotel in Les Portes. Instead I booked one near Ars which was actually really nice. Called
Le Parasol, it's about 1km outside Ars and very near Les Portes, so we would see both villages. Here are some photos of the hotel which is a complex with two story cottages in a great big garden full of flowers. It also had a pool which we didn't use as it was not warm enough.
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| Our hotel in Ars-en-Ré |
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| Our little cottage is behind the foliage. |
We reached the hotel too early to check in. The receptionist suggested we go and visit the main attraction of the island. The main attraction is the
Phare des Baleines - whale lighthouse in English. We decided to have lunch there before visiting the lighthouse which is visible from every corner of St. Clement as the place is called.
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| Phare des Baleines. |
Lunch was at Chez Marie where I had fish and chips again and Eladio had sardines again. Neither of us could resist a crepe for dessert; so typical in France. We later walked up to the sea front but it was very blustery.
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| The sea front at Phare des Baleines |
From there we walked to the lighthouse but did not visit the museum.
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| Phare des Baleines |
I was much more interested in the shops and bought a pink jumper and long royal blue cardigan as I had nothing warm to wear. To think that at the start of our holiday in France the temperature reached 40ºc and we bathed in St. Jean de Luz. Unfortunately it would be too cold to bathe in Île de Ré.
We were back at the hotel by about 3.30 or so and checked in. We were given a lovely studio room with an outdoor terrace in a quiet part of the garden. We didn't venture out again until about 7.30. We went to get some provisions at the only supermarket in Ars where we didn't find bread. Fortunately, for my husband, who cannot eat a meal without bread, we found a boulangerie in the village which had a few baguettes left. Here he is with the precious food.
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| Buying bread in Ars-en-Reé |
We parked by the harbour which I remembered well from my visit in 2019. You see that summer, I met up with Xavier Des Horts, my ex Nokia colleague. We had a wonderful reunion which I shall never forget as not long after that he died; suddenly for me. I was very shocked and will always associate Ars-en-Ré with him. RIP Xavier. I'm so glad we met when we did.
I remember the harbour too as there was a wonderful market there last time. Here is a picture for you to see.
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| The harbour in Ars-en-Ré |
From there we walked to the main square, just as I had when I went to meet Xavier. That's where we found the bread! There is a marvelous church there where we took some more photos. You can spot the village of Ars from afar because of the tall spire of the church
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| The church in Ars |
The whole of the island is flat and you see people on bicycles everywhere. It's also very pretty and well kept. I love all the white houses with different coloured shutters and of course the flowers everywhere. I later read it's about 30km long and 5km wide; so quite big and there is lots to see. Everywhere you look something beautiful meets your eyes, like this narrow street with flowers and of course bicycles. I had to have a photo of my handsome husband. For once he posed and looks quite dashing.
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| Eladio posing in a pretty little street in Ars-en-Ré |
At that time of day it was very quiet. I suppose most people were having their dinner. We had brought provisions for ours but were actually not hungry. All we had in the end was one of the many Charentais melons we got at the supermarket in Ars and oh, it was delicious. We brought lots home and the car smelled of the lovely melons throughout the rest of our journey. I still have two left to take home and hope they have lasted the journey.
On Tuesday I was keen to show Eladio the island, mostly Portes-en-Ré where I had stayed with Suzy in 2019. It's the last village on the island and as beautiful as they all are. So, after breakfast made on our terrace with the provisions we had, off we went. We were in luck as it was market day which I had expected. I remembered just what a marvelous market it was.
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| The market in Les Portes-en-Ré |
I also remembered a wonder boutique called Bazar where I had bought my famous red linen dress. That day I purchased some lovely blue pants and a white linen dress.
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| Clothes shopping in Les Portes-en-Ré |
We ambled along the streets full of stalls until we came to the house we had stayed at in 2019, the one belonging to "Nastushka". She was my mother's first cousin and sister of Masha (yes, another Masha) and Olga (also called Gusinka). They were the daughters of my mother's Uncle Sasha, brother to her mother and my great uncle. My mother adored her French cousins. Unfortunately we could only see the outside of the house which is much bigger inside than it looks from the outside.
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| Nastushka's house where I stayed in 2019 |
It is on Rue de Paradis which is very fitting. The other house the rest of my cousins stayed, at belonged to Aunt Olga and was massive. Sadly, after her death, it was sold. We couldn't seen much as the wall is very high but I think it has been restored.
From my Aunts' houses we made our way back to the main square, probably called either Liberté, Republique or Charles de Gaulle, hahahahha: I don't remember. But I did remember the cafe Suzy and I went to with cousins Katty and Ruby and so I took Eladio there and that's where we had our mid morning coffee that day. Not a bad place at all. I love Île-de-Ré, was happy to be back and happy to share it with Eladio.
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| Coffee in Les Portes-en-Ré |
Across the road from our table at the cafe was a trinkets and toy shop so that's where we went next We wanted to buy our grandchildren presents for their upcoming birthdays. At the same time I indulged in a pair of blue and white striped espadrilles for both of us. Of course, I had to take a picture. I will love wearing them. These are now our second pair of identical footwear as we also both have a pair of white Birkenstock sandals, hahaha.
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| The copycat espadrilles I bought for us both in Les Portes-en-Ré |
We later went "home" to our hotel to make a picnic type lunch on our private little terrace. This is it by the way; very much in keeping with the local architectural style and colours - mostly whitewashed houses with light green shutters.
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| Our little terrace at the hotel in Île de Ré |
We had a short siesta after which we ventured out again, this time to another village called Saint-Martin de Ré. It is a medieval walled village fortified by Richelieu by the way, and is the unofficial capital of the island. I'm so glad we went as we both loved it. I especially loved the main street, the old houses with timber adornments and of course the port. Ah, and I found another branch of the boutique called Bazar and, yes, bought another pair of pants, this time in shocking pink and a matching t-shirt that says "J'adore". Here are some pics for you to get the idea of what a lovely place it is and what a pleasant time we had.
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| Buying more pants in Saint Martin de Ré |
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In the port in Saint Martin de Ré
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| One of the busy shopping streets in Saint Martin de Ré |
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| Eladio posing for me in the harbour at Saint Martin de Ré |
Our time there ended with a drink at the port. I went for a strawberry mojito and my rather staid husband had an orange juice.
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A strawberry mojito for me in Saint Martin de Ré - by the port
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On our way back to the car we stopped at a small but well stocked Carrefour where we bought some food for our dinner and wine and cheese to take back to Spain.
Dinner was on our terrace and once again we had one of the delicious French melons we had bought to take back to Spain which were already getting a little too ripe. Oh how I wish they tasted the same in Spain but they are tasteless back home for some unknown reason.
And all too soon it was Wednesday, our last full day in France. To break the journey to Montrondo which would have been over 1000km, I had booked an Airbnb, using my 100 dollar Super Host voucher, outside the town of Hossegor in the Landes region about 60km from the Spanish border. Hossegor is France's equivalent to Tarifa in Spain or Nazaré in Portugal - the surf capital. It was a home share like ours in Madrid with the owners living on site. We loved it as soon as we saw it. This is the house with our little Mini parked outside.
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| Our Airbnb near Hossegor (Landes) |
It also had a pool but was raining when we arrived; not great weather for exploring the area.
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The pool at our Airbnb which we did not use
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We were greeted by the hostess, Christine who spoke Spanish. Her husband, Thierry, had popped over to Spain to get his airplane mended! Would you believe this couple offer their guests flights over the area for 100 euros! Not our thing really hahahaha.
The place had a semi private kitchen in a porch where we sat down and ate some of our Spanish ham with the day before bread and some left over wine - not the greatest of meals but we were hungry.
Instead of exploring the beautiful area in the rain, we opted for a long siesta and only went out again to buy more food at the local Carrefour. We had to get something to eat for dinner and breakfast in Montrondo until our next shop.
We slept quite well in our attic bedroom which you have to reach via a garage - that is not advertised in the listing but it should be. But it was nice and comfortable and we slept quite well.
I was awake at 6.40 on Thursday morning, the day of our return to Spain. We had had a great time in France but were looking forward to going home to Montrondo and of course to our main house outside Madrid where we are heading today.
The listing advertised breakfast which the hostess served to us on the terrace but it was very frugal and didn't even include milk! Thankfully we had lots of breakfast provisions ourselves to make up for any lacking. I had hoped for croissants but all we got was sliced bread to make our own toast. But no worries I had my last French croissant at a roadside cafe when we stopped to get some petrol at 2.4 euros a litre - unbelievable. The café was Paul which is a great bakery chain so I also indulged in two small French gateaux which as Zuka remarked, I hadn't had while at her place.
It's only 60km to the border of Spain and these days you hardly notice you are changing countries when driving on motorways in the EU. But I saw the Spain sign and asked Eladio to slow down so that I could get a pic. This is it.
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| Thursday morning crossing from France into Spain |
It was good to be back in Spain, my adopted country. But I commented to Eladio that I only really feel I am in Spain when we get to Burgos (Castilla y León) and not the Spanish Basque Country for all the political and territorial reasons which are such a problem in Spain.
It was market day but also lunch time so we headed to the restaurant with the best Google and Trip Advisor reviews called La Corte. We had a lovely lunch but I didn't like the noise. Of course I had been eating out in France for two weeks where restaurants are much quieter.
We arrived in our village at around 4.30 and the weather was lovely - 26ºc so we were able to sit outside on the sunbeds and read. But first we had to unload all our luggage and inspect the house after Oli and Miguel's recent stay. They had left it relatively clean but many things were not in their place - I suppose out of the way of the children.
I only saw my neighbour Salo and her older daughter Romina. They told me the village was empty; so different when it is full in the middle of August.
3 coffees and 4 frixuelos cost just 3.90 euros, a far cry from what the equivalent would have cost in France, I can assure you.
Of course that meant we wouldn't be hungry for lunch which was to be a barbecue. Thus we had an hour later than normal. Here is Eladio grilling the sausages and lamb chops (always lamb chops - my favourite).
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| Barbecue in Montrondo on Friday |
The weather was nice enough to eat outside which we did; our last meal outside this season, I suppose.
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| Lunch outside on Friday |
Sadly, later, Eladio put away all the outdoor furniture and everything looked forlorn. It was still warm enough to lie down outside on the sunbeds but with my dressing gown on! A huge storm was forecast for Saturday and Sunday, not just in Montrondo, but all over Spain. At last some rain I suppose but it did rather spoil the end of our holiday. Later that night Olivia sent us a warning she had got from someone in the weather department at work (TVE). It shocked us to read that Madrid would have torrential rain today, half of what Madrid would normally get in just one year. We immediately rang
Tana to tell her to put all outdoor furniture away. There was also advice not to travel today but we have no choice. This is another symptom of climate change and it is frightening.
For obvious reasons we were not hungry for dinner so watched the "telly" instead. I have a new router - a radio router I brought from Asturias - which gives a better internet connection. We began a good Spanish series called "Sequia" (drought) - fitting; I suppose.
Saturday came and I was awake at 8.30 am - a sort of record. The rain came too so we spent most of the day indoors. We did some odd jobs, read, had an easy to make lunch - grilled steak - had a siesta and read or watched YouTube (Eladio) but inside because of the rain. The temperature plummeted to 14ºc so different to when we set off from Madrid on 20th August. That seems such a long ago now. For now the heatwave is over but it has been the hottest summer on record and we all know why. Now we are in for torrential rain. Oh dear.
I didn't sleep too well that night and got up at 6 am today, Sunday. We shall leave as early as possible as the worst of the rain in Madrid is due this afternoon. I'll let you know how we got on in next week's blog post
For now, all the best, until next Sunday,
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