The weekend, a time for rest and relaxation, but not around here. Saturday morning saw us up with the 8 o'clock church bells and there followed a military style operation to get ready and out for the day. Tasks ticked off included, breakfast (boiled duck eggs), a visit to the boulangerie to buy a baguette for our picnic lunch, all animals fed and watered, cherries (also for picnic) picked ripe and juicy from the tree, courgette plants watered, washing machine on and washing hung out, dishwasher on and most importantly morning coffee served.
With the picnic, Ed, Ed's electric guitar and amp, cameras and reading books all packed into the car we were off. First stop was Domaine de Péré, just south of Niort for their annual garden show. This is, in our opinion, the best plant and garden event in the area. Set in the grounds of a shabby chateau with a resident peacock, there are plenty of exhibitors, good value plants and lots of ideas. We hadn't been there long when the rain started and as we huddled together under our umbrella listening to the thunder we wisely sought out the covered eating area and bought some coffees. Thankfully the weather improved and a good few hours were spent wandering, planning and buying.
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| Domaine de Péré |
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| Sheltering from the rain |
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| Loved this |
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| The resident peacock just before he hopped back up a tree |
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| Happy shoppers |
We, like many families, picnic'd at the car, but we didn't have a table, chairs, tablecloth etc like most of them. Then it was off on a cross country drive, skirting Niort to get Ed to a music rehearsal in
Celles sur Belle. We spent some time wandering in this pretty town with it's Abbaye Royale, beautiful gardens and very imposing Notre Dame church before settling down with our books while the next generation of rock stars jammed away in a damp smelling hall - you've got to start somewhere I guess.
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| L'Abbaye Royale at Celles-sur-Belle |
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| The impressive entrance of the Notre Dame church |
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| The interior of the Notre Dame church at Celles-sur-Belle |
What fun. I'm so jealous of your day trips. Even taking your kid to band rehearsal is an adventure.
ReplyDeleteThanks Paulita, we are lucky to live here!
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