Trouble
Well, I thought I would keep boring you all with my French weekend adventures.
We left home at 01.20 hrs on Thursday, 5th September. My son Kevin drove us to Gatwick, well, to the place where we would leave the car and get taken to the airport.
It was bitterly cold; thank goodness I had taken a jacket - nearly didn't, with the temperatures we would be facing in France. I don't think I've ever had breakfast at 4.30 in the morning before, but it was jolly good and set us up for the day!
The flight to Bordeaux was really smooth and we landed at 10.40 French time, but in typical French style, it seemed to take for ever to get the hire car, but finally we set out into the French countryside.
We had been joined by Natasha's Godparents at the airport and luckily they had 'satnav' in their car, so we played catch-up for the journey, which would take about an hour or so. Through lovely little villages and beautiful countryside, we finally arrived at Le Buquet, which was the Air B&B we had booked for the six of us.
It wasn't exactly a farm, but near as could be. We pulled in off the road onto a grassy entrance, met by a grey wooden house with a wooden staircase leading up to the upper storey.
The owner greeted us from an opening in the house, I guess a window, which looked like a shop counter. He was surrounded by his dogs, about five of them. They were an English couple called John and Jenny. I can't remember how long they had been there. They were very friendly. They had goats in the field next to the house, with chicken and two beautiful horses.
It was quite difficult getting the luggage up the staircase. Luckily I'm an old lady, so no trouble for me! Once inside the flat, it was very different! There was one bed in the lounge area leading into the kitchen and dining area. The table was built on an old Singer sewing machine, actually quite clever and beautiful.
Past the kitchen, the passage led to a two-bedded room with a shower in the corner. Opposite was a bathroom, then further on was the double bedroom with a small bed at the end - mine! I felt like Kevin and Sonia's child!
The room was big, with a lovely modern shower, but it was opposite the door, which didn't fit! You could see the shower through the gaps around it. It was hilarious and the loo in the room had only a very flimsy door, with a very colourful curtain - not very private but 'Hobson's choice'.
At eleven Euros each and only one night there, we couldn't complain and we had some good laughs.
Once unpacked, we drove to Aubeterre where a lot of the wedding group were staying. A beautiful village built high into the hillside; lots of steps taking you up into the square. We bumped into my daughter and her partner, who were exploring on bikes - they were staying about two miles away - very energetic in the heat.
We managed to find a bistro which could take about 20 of us. The Camembert was delicious!
In the evening one of the local ladies, a real character, took us and my daughter and partner back into Aubeterre in her minibus, where we were meeting most of the wedding party for dinner in a lovely hotel. It was good getting to know everyone before the wedding.
The hotel looked like it had been carved out of the Rock and overlooked the village. It became quite cold when the sun went down and the hotel provided blankets - most appreciated. The minibus returned to take us back to our digs.
Next morning, after a very unsettled sleep, there were hilarious events in the flat. In the two-bedded room the shower flooded the carpet, so we all took turns in our shower with the view - no peeping!
Outside Jenny, the hostess, was riding one of the horses; she was practising for a dressage competition. She was very good.
We left Le Buquet for a little place called Biberac, where there was quite a busy market. Lots of veg and cheese, amongst other things.
We had lunch there before a leisurely trip to Le Chateau de Saint Privat-des-Pres, where we checked in for the next three nights. The chateau was huge, set in a sort of quadrangle. The wedding party staying there was about 46 people, but the previous weekend the chateau hosted about 250 French, so that will give you some idea of the size.
The actual wedding was held in front of the chateau, with the view of the grounds spread out in front of them a most gorgeous setting!
The ceremony was beautiful; there were many tears shed, even from the most unexpected people, especially after an impromptu speech from the bride's mum. Natasha, the bride, looked absolutely stunning and the bridesmaids were beautiful too.
The weather was perfect, temperatures in the mid-twenties, so I didn't die.
The wedding breakfast was set out in the courtyard, all beautifully done. Natasha had thought of everything and it was so well planned. Celebrations went on into the night, with dancing in the barn - not that it looked like a barn.
The bride didn't change out of her gown; as she put it, "With the cost of this, I'm going to wear it all night." I was flagging by 11.30 and happily found my comfortable bed, so much nicer than the one on the farm!
The grounds of the chateau were beautiful and down the hill was a natural lake with a pool house. A barbecue was had there on Sunday afternoon. The lake was occupied by Dave, an inflatable unicorn and provided fun for the swimmers.
It was very relaxing until we played rounders, with much banter over the rules. You always get someone with the killer instinct, but it was fun. Even I took my turn and got round without being out.
Someone went out for pizzas in the evening, followed by a quiz, with lots of cheating, much to the disgust of the guy who was in charge of the questions.
All in all the whole weekend was a great success.
At 11 am the next morning everyone was leaving the chateau, most folks going to Bergerac Airport and flying back to England, but not us! There were eight of us travelling on to Bordeaux. Thanks to the striking BA pilots, we had two more days to holiday.
We stopped at a little patisserie for coffee and pastries, and I opened my birthday cards. Such a lot!
Then we made our way to the Chartrons district of Bordeaux, to an apartment with a balcony overlooking the busy street. With the trams, a skateboarding rink and the river, it was quite a view. There were a couple of Fred Olsen cruise ships docked and the lights at night were quite spectacular.
We found a nice bistro for my birthday meal. We were joined by a couple of guys who work with Natasha and the evening was filled with laughter. We just got back to the apartment when the heavens opened. Just the sort of rain we could do with on our gardens right now!
I had had a super birthday!
The sun was back with us the next morning, so we did some exploring of the Chartrons district. Lots of lovely little backstreets, with food shops, antique and crafty shops and a beautiful old church with lots of history.
The Chartrons district was settled by Carthusian monks escaping the Hundred Years War in 1385. They farmed the area of Perigord. How was that for coincidence! Perigord is the address of the chateau where we stayed, built a lot later, of course, in the 1800's.
Didn't need much French; the locals were obviously used to the English!
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