Kevin and Moya's 6-month ADVENTURE !!!

Thursday 22nd dawned a little overcast, but your intrepid quartet of Maurice, Sue, Moya and Kevin undeterred set off on an adventure to Cognac. It was an even greater adventure as Moya volunteered to drive, her first long journey driving in France. Despite that we arrived safe and sound. Moya parked the car in the centre ville and we proceeded to hunt down the Cognac Distilleries. Our first stop was Camus, but in good French style this was closed to the public for another month or so. “Zut alors” we thought, “Is this going to happen with all the distilleries?” After all, here we were in the home of Camus, Hennessy’s and Remy Martin to name a couple of the famous ones, as well as a few boutique ones. Next stop Otard, but closed for lunch back at 1400hrs. So Hennessey’s it was. They were also closing for lunch but we learned the next tour for us English speaking types was 1500hrs. So we guessed we had to settle for that. So we went for lunch too and had a cafe style meal and things started looking up as our waitress gave Sue a couple of tickets for Hennessy’s, a 2 for 1 deal. Before we went we discovered a boutique distillery where the cellar manager insisted we try his 15, then 35, then 75 year old cognacs telling us we could buy them for a fraction of the Hennessy price. And he was right. We staggered out of there as it was geting on to 1500hrs and lurched our way to Hennessey’s promising to return. Our 2 for 1 deal was secured and we were taken on a most informative and interesing tour of the distillery. We won’t bore you with the details but the number of vineyards, the amount of liquid produced and how it is matured into barrels etc was mind blowing. At the end of the tour we were given a taste according to how much we paid for the tour. 2 for 1’s had the basic taste, but then we had had the other lot prior for free, so we were sweet. Following our hour and fifteen minute tour we then walked around the old part of Cognac. It was another example of old and interesting buildings. There were also shops, need I say more. However it started to rain so Kevin braved the weather to get the car while the others sheltered. Then we all went home, tired but happy. Did I tell you Maurice bought some Hennessy Cognac? Well he did.

Today, a lovely sunny day, we left our Farmhouse to travel 30 minutes south to Brantome….known as “the Venice of the Perigord”. It is just beautiful – an island surrounded by the River Dronne. Lots of little winding streets, and we chose to go today being market day, so there was much activity. We wandered and bought some french delicacies, such as sauscisson (little sausages of the region), cheese, foie gras, and some local wine. The area is just lovely. In the 8th century Benedictine monks moved into caves at the bottom of the cliff before founding an Abbey. We had telephoned a couple of days prior, a restaurant recommended to us overlooking the River Dronne (Restaurant Charbonnel), so we were booked in for a 1pm lunch. Well……on entering, we were somewhat dismayed at how “flash” it was…..and when the menu was presented to us concerned at whether we could afford to eat !!! We had seen a Plat de Jour (Menu of the Day) advertised on a billboard outside, so in our faltering French requested this. We felt that we were the only ones requesting the “cheapest option”, but realised later that many of the clientelle were having the same menu as us. Well…..the meal was TRULY MEMORABLE….we paid 25 Euro each for a 3-course, incredible French meal, BEAUTIFULLY presented and just delicious!! Included with this was a glass of very nice wine and a very good coffee with complimentary chocolates and bread. WE WILL RETURN and we will return to visit Brantome again and again !!!!! We plan to go again next Friday, and take Maurice who is expected to arrive on Monday (volcanic eruptions in Iceland permitting). You can hire canoes/kayaks and go up and down the Dronne – this is in our plans for return trips.

Dimanche (Sunday) saw us tripping to Rochefoucauld and Montron. The original intention was to view some prehistoric caves but when we arrived at them we found they opened only at 2.30 and 4.00 so off we went to the above. Rochefoucauld has a chateau of the same name some centuries old and also an old carmelite cloistered convent. Pictures posted of both. We lit a ginormous candle at the 12th century church and then wandered the narrow old streets, as you do, taking photos and marvelling at the scenery. As it was Sunday very few people were about but we did find a Patisserie opened with mouth watering pastries which did us proud for lunch. We then motored to Montron another old town with the usual array of narrow streets and ancient buuildings. It boasts a derelict chateau. Anyway we then went back to the caves and Sue spent an hour or so on a guided tour while Moya and Kevin spent quality time together!!!! Then home for an aperitif, soup and a video. Another carefree day over. The weather is warming but the wind has a bite to it. The man is still to come to mow our lawns after promising to come and not showing. (He’s English not French). We are thinking of cutting hay as we get lost trying to find the clothesline. He says he will open the pool May 1 but going on the lawns it could be anytime. Until next time au revoir.

Well, it is early morning here in Villebois Lavalette (or should I say Garde, as we are actually 4km from the village of Villebois Lavalette, in a hamlet called Garde le Pontaroux, complete with its own Eglise). We are now 10 hours behind NZ Time, after the change to daylight saving. The sun is shining and Moya has been out for her walk/run, mentioning that it was freezing cold, but she sighted yet another deer on the roadside (on a previous walk she sighted 3 deer crossing the road ahead). We also seem to have a resident in our ceiling, and are told it is probably a squirrel or a dormouse. The grounds around our property are very uneven and look as though they have been rotary hoed and not levelled out. We are told by neighbours that this unevenness has been created by moles !!!!! It is another world over here….and seems months since we left NZ.
Well, what have we been doing since our last “post” one week ago….weeellll……..
We made a trip to Angouleme, which is the city of the Charente area in which we are residing. The main purpose in going this time was to check out the Gare (Railway Station), as Sue has a friend Maurice arriving from NZ to stay for a couple of weeks, and we needed to check location and how to get there and back without getting lost again !!! which we are very good at doing, but we are getting better and not getting lost now !! We feel we didn’t see the best of Angouleme this visit, due to approaching it from the Railway Station side of town, so we intend to spend a bit more tiime there when we return to collect Maurice, so haven’t taken any photos of Angouleme yet.
We are pretty good at walking to the Village now and it takes approximately one hour, tend to go to our local restaurant for coffee and do a supermarket visit while we are in there, usually with one of us doing the pickup by car for the return trip. Saturday mornings are Market day in the Village Square, so this is becoming part of our Samedi (Saturday) routine. Further French lessons have been checked out and we ponder as to whether we will enrol in them. We had our first restaurant meal at our local Restaurant “La Lavalette” last Friday – a lovely restaurant, very friendly staff and we will return again and again. We are having a little difficulty in observing the opening hours of French life. Most places open from 10-12, close till 3.30 and then stay open until 7pm or through to 10pm, are closed a good part of Sundays and all day Monday.

We picked up our Peugeot Eurolease in Paris on Wednesday and intended to travel to Villebois-Lavelette. There was a slight problem in that we got lost in Paris on the way out. Instead of turning left we went staright ahead at an intersection. We eventually found our way on the right road with the assistance of a BP attendant and off we went to Sancerre where we were to stay the night. On the way we stopped in Briare a beautiful little canal town with links to the Loire. Sancerre is also a beautiful town perched on a hilltop with vineyards all around. The next morning we set off for Villebois-Lavalette, you would think a simple journey. But then nothing we do is simple. We got lost going through Chateauroux, as you do. After trying to find our own way out Kevin had to do the unmanly thing and ask for directions which soon saw us on our way again. After no more hiccups we arrived at our farmhouse. It is a lovely place although cold and wet at the moment. We have had to purchase wood from the neighbour next door and have had fires each night. Since being here we have sort of toured the local area checking out the supermarche. We went to Mass today, Easter, in our 12th century church, it took an hour and a half!! We then decided to travel to Aubeterre another hilltop village. Very picturesque and old. It has a church which is dug into the hillside, a monolith. The streets were very narrow but were negotiated with aplomb. And guess what, on the way back we got lost again!! Again Kevin had to do that unmanly thing and ask directions (in French to boot). We were soon put on the right track and arrived back home where we have had our Easter meal of Basque chicken followed by corneulle (a traditional French Easter biscuit) and an Easter Bunny washed down by a Cahors Red. So we are replete and happy and ready for byes.

We had 5 very lovely days in Paris. The weather was cold, showery, most of the time, but we enjoyed the ambience and culture anyway. Our stay in the Latin Quarter was wonderful, so central to everything. We wandered the quaint little streets, stopped for an expresso here and there, bought up supplies for our apartment at a central market (lovely cheeses, bread, etc) and generally just had a cruisy day. Kevin and Moya went for a wander in the evening, heard the church bells ringing, so attended the last part of a Mass, and lit our first candle for family and friends. We have since lit many candles for family and friends in the many churches we have visited. The next day we caught the Metro to Montmartre, walked up to the Sacre Coeur Cathedral and then wandered through the lovely little streets, stopping for a coffee and a bite to eat, ending up outside the Moulin Rouge. That evening we had seen advertised a Gospel Choir at Saint Julien Le Pauvre Church in the centre of Paris – this was an amazing experience, but as we were a little jet-lagged we did have trouble keeping our eyes open. Kevin and Moya climbed the Eiffel Tower to the 2nd level, and found it was easier than climbing Mount Maunganui. Sue caught the lift to the very top, as she had climbed on a previous trip. We visited Notre Dame Cathedral and found on entering that a funeral mass was in process – we assumed from the proceedings that it was the funeral for a priest – an interesting experience.

Well here we are in Paris (Sue, Moya and Kevin) , having arrived yesterday from Seoul, Korea. We estimated we were awake 24hrs so we arrived here tired but happy. Although we were in Seoul just the one night it was a different experience. Korean Air put us up in the Ramada Inn, the rooms were great, the dinner and lunch less than poor, the breakfast buffet great and made up for it. The bus ride was an hour from the airport and gave us a great opprtunity to see a bit of the city. Some great bridges and lots of high rise apartments. Incheon Airport is amazing and we look forward to tasting more on our 5 hour stopover on the way home. Korean Air food is great but their alcohol is conspicuous by its paucity. It was also a pity that they made us close the blinds as we were travelling over Mongolia, Russia etc. Their excuse being that people wanted to sleep. This during the daytime. We arrived in Paris at 6.00pm and finally got to our apartment at 8.00ish. We then went out to taste the little bar around the corner. We are very central here. Notre Dame is down the end of our road. So Sue, Moya and myself (Kevin), wandered around the area today going down the backstreets, having an espresso and buying a baguette for lunch. You lucky people there is yet more to come!!

We have now left Tauranga and have arrived in Wellington, where we are spending a few days with Tami and Danny, Shelley and John, before we depart for overseas. Moya has finished work at Corrections for 6 months and Kevin is having a holiday from Restorative Justice work. We are having a lovely time with our “girls” and their partners until we depart on Thursday 25 March.

Hello to you all…..we are two weeks away from departing NZ on our 6 month adventure to France, Ireland and the UK. We depart NZ on 25 March 2010 flying Korean Air, stopover 1 night in Seoul and then arrive in Paris 6pm 26 March (France time). France time is 10 hours behind NZ time (though depending on daylight saving this can vary 1 hour). Au revoir for now…..