Sunday and Monday in the hot La Giro summertime

The group left for Chinon after breakfast, but I stayed to catch up on grading.  It was HOT today, so I stayed in the front of the house for most of the day.  We had a simple lunch and a nap.  I thought about going to the pool but thought I would wait for the others.  They did not get back until about 5:00 but there was a hint of a storm, so no pool. 

I had already prepared my menu for the evening from the market--beef entrecote roast, French green beans, and potatoes baked on salt from La Guerande.  We enjoyed eating outside behind the house, but we saw no cows.  We missed seeing cows.  Funny how those critters can really get to you!

On Monday, the others left--Beth and Joe for Paris and Sally, Barbara, and Lin for an bed and breakfast south of us on their way to Bordeaux.  Reginald and I left to buy him some sandals, and we came back to pack.  It was so hot, I went to the pool to cool off.  We had a light lunch of salad, cold cuts, and cheese, and again I left for the pool.  We also did some laundry to help Mohammed catch up with the towels and sheets.

In the evening, we had drinks with Anne Marie and Gilles and said our good-byes.  I remembered the one lone truffle we brought from the Dordogne, so we had that with omelet for dinner.

We are ready to leave tomorrow for the next stage of our summer adventure--the Czech Republic.

A Lazy Saturday and a Fete

Reginald went for bread and croissants this morning, so we all had our typical French breakfast.  Afterward, Barbara and I took off for the Cholet market, composing a menu for two days while there.  We ended up buying a Challons chicken (actually two) for lunch with some of those delicious potatoes cooked under the roasting chickens.  I also bought a rolled beef entrecote roast for Sunday dinner and some French green beans.  We had to stop at Carrefour on the way back to pick up cold cuts and some drinks.  Back by noon, we were ready to taste that chicken!  Again, we ate outside.  The weather is warm but dry, and we are taking advantage of that.  After a large meal and some rose from the area, we all enjoyed a well-deserved nap. 

Meanwhile, Christophe, a local farmer, was setting up the Grange to celebrate his 40^th birthday party.  About 80 people were expected, and many began arriving in the afternoon.  Some went to the pool with their kids, so we waited until they left to take a dip.  Reginald joined us later with more rose wine.

Later, we were invited to take an aperitif with Christophe.  I took pictures of the roasting spit they used for two shoulders and two legs and will post that.  It looked delicious, but we were not invited for dinner.  Instead, we had our own light supper behind the house with caprese salad, lettuce, cold cuts, and cheese with our Dordogne strawberries for dessert.  We stayed at table until dark debating whether Sunday or Monday would mean a full moon.  We will see.

On another note—the party continued until around 4 AM with lots of music and someone who just could not put down that microphone!

Traveling back to La Giro

Friday was traveling day.  We left at 9:00 headed for Limoges and then Poitiers.  From there, it was supposedly a straight shot to Cholet.  However, we encountered some construction outside Cholet that took 30 minutes to get through.  Then we hit a detour.  Eventually, we made it back after buying some provisions for the others, who were due in around 7 or so.  Everyone arrived on time, and we had a very nice dinner outside in the back of the house.  Reginald and I decided to make merquez and regional sausages with mogettes de Vendee, a type of white bean that is very tasty.  For dessert, we had the tarte au prune, another specialty from here.

The room situation has been tricky since Mohammed rented out four rooms for Saturday night.  Reginald and I took the dorm and Barbara took Cosse D’Anjou, the room behind the dorm.  Sally and Lin took La Tourlandry, my usual room, and Beth and Joe took Bruno’s old room.  I think everyone slept fairly well the first night.

Medieval castles and garden fairies

Thursday we awoke to fog, a pea-soup fog.  It was just in the valley, though, and it cleared quickly.  Our plans for our last day included a trip to the medieval Chateau at Beynac.  Beynac-et-Cazenac is a commune in the Dordogne, but Cazenac is located up the hill from Beynac.  We went there first, thinking it was a way of reaching the castle, but instead we found a 15th century church. We returned to Beynac and found the right road that took us up to the castle.  It was worth the drive up to see the incredible views of the valley.  The castle is a huge fortress on a hill overlooking the valley.  For pictures and a little history, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Beynac.

We returned home for a luncheon of what leftovers we could find in the kitchen, and it turned out to be a healthy and delicious meal of salads and cheese.  We decided to go the the marchee gourmand in the evening, a type of night market, at St. Cyprien, and then take in the gardens at Marqueyssac.

A storm arose in the afternoon and refreshed everything.  Unfortunately, it also cut the electricity at St. Cyprien, so when we arrived there, we found that the market had been "annule." Tant pis!  We were not hungry anyway, so we made our way to the gardens.



The Château de Marqueyssac is a 17th-century château and gardens located in the Dordogne.  Every Thursday night in the summer, the place hosts a candlelight visit, complete with music and "fairies" on stilts.  We absolutely loved it!  It was magical and fun--a perfect last evening to our stay here.

Friday we leave to return to La Giraudiere.  We rest a few days, and then the adventure continues....

Cro-Magnum went missing

We woke up early Wednesday to stand in line for tickets to the Font de Gaume, one of the highly recommended prehistoric caves with drawings.  Up at 6:00 and on the road by 7:15.  We arrived at the ticket office at 7:45, plenty of time since it did not open until 9:30.  In line for almost two hours, and number 35 in line for tickets that are limited to 80, and yet...we were not able to get tickets!  What a weird system (not to mention crummy).  We ended up going to the Abri de Cap blanc, which contained sculptures, and they were fascinating.  We were happy with that.  Afterward, we lunched at Les Eyzies, where an incredible museum of prehistoric artifacts are displayed.  We were happy with our day, but a lovely evening was in store.  After taking a well-earned nap, we prepared for Dmitri, our chef for the evening.  He arrived with his bags of ingredients, his chef's hat and apron, and his skilled hand.  He whipped up in an hour and a half one of the best meals I had ever had.  We started with a type of "amuse bouche," actually a melon soup made with fresh melon.  Then we moved to our first course (entree), which was scallops served with fresh seared foie gras and a side of fresh fig. It had to be one of the most delicious things I have ever had.

Next, he served us a veal tenderloin with vegetables and mushrooms.

Finally, a homemade dessert of strawberries and chocolate in different forms

He made all of this in our little kitchen.  It was a real gourmet meal, and we matched each course with a special wine.  What a day!
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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. 

Getting Lost in Paradise

After our breakfast Monday, we decided to make a picnic for after the boat ride, which we wanted to take at 11:00.  The boat was full, though, so we made reservations for the next day.  Then we left for the Jardins of Eyrignac, known as some of the most beautiful in this area.  However, upon entering Sarlat we thought we saw a direction for the town close to the gardens, so off we went.  After traveling around for about an hour, we realized we were going in circles.  At that point, we did not mind because we were seeing some of the most beautiful scenery we had seen, only the kind you can see from very small, narrow roads (which, of course, made the drive scary also!).  Finally, we arrived.  There was a very nice shaded area for picnicking, so we took out our eggs, tomatoes, cheese, fruit, and (most important), the wine.  After being refreshed with food and drink, we visited the gardens.  These gardens require 6 full-time gardeners, and they show it.  There were several types of gardens within the grounds, including a French garden, an English garden, a Chinese garden, and several others,  such as the vegetable garden and the cut flower garden.  By the end of the hour and half walk, we were hot and tired, so we had drinks at the on-site café.  After leaving the gardens, we decided to drive by the Chateau Montfort.  Again, we lost our way even with a GPS and a map.  Nevertheless, we eventually found it only to realize that the place that sits imposingly on the hill is not open for visitors.  We took lots of pictures though.  So back home we went anticipating gins tonics and a rest before having dinner at “La Terrace.”  I ordered the menu and had salad avec gisiers (gizzards), which is a specialty here, and confit de canard. All in all, a very nice day.