Of Boats and Barbecue

Tuesday was busy and fun.  Our day started, as it always had, with goodies from the bakery.  Joe gets up early and brings in croissants or raisin bread.  After that, we made a trip to the market at Cenac St. Julien, a town about 10 minutes from us where Sally’s bag inspired our story, Why my suitcase lives at the P.O.”  There we bought lots of things in preparation for our barbecue that evening.  We decided on some saucisson, salad, radishes, strawberries, peppers, zucchini,  small potatoes, cheeses, heirloom tomatoes, and one truffle!  Oh yes, we also bought lamb for the grill.   After returning, we left for our boat ride.  That one-hour ride turned out to be very pleasant as we made our way around the area an saw various castles.  After that, we returned to the house to gather some things, eat some snacks, and prepare again for a visit to Chateau Castelnaud, a castle we can see from La Rocque.  The castle houses many items from the Middle Ages, mostly items used for war.  It also hosts lots of steps.  Up and down in the heat left us tired but also gave us some spectacular views.  Eventually, we returned home (after our usual afternoon ice cream or icy snack) and prepared for our dinner.  We were entertained with views of hot air balloons making their way over La Rocque and very close to our house, within waving distance even!  Although Reginald and Lin were not happy with the way the grill and charcoal worked, we had some delicious grilled lamb, and Joe and Beth had a grilled entrecote.  The dessert of strawberries and kiwis was just the right ending.