Advent Day Seventeen, family fun

A family meal at Memphis, Poitiers

Advent Day Seventeen, Family Fun 

We awoke to another -3º morning and a frozen car in need of de-icing, before a careful drive through a beautiful winter landscape, as we made our way to Poitiers. The unused edges of the road were heavy with ice patches, the fields glinting as the sun sparkled on the frost and there was a white dusting visible on the terracotta roof tiles. Herons and egrets, huddled together, necks disappearing into hunched wings, feathers fluffed out, all in an attempt to keep warm. 

 

We were wrapped up well, with many layers, thermal boots, scarves and hats that covered our ears. The wind turbines that had been eerily lost in the fog and darkness of my drive home on Tuesday, revealed a stiff breeze from the east to be the cause of the chill.

 

This week has been a failure in terms of our active travel ambitions. I’ve used the car four days in a row and Adrian was behind the wheel once more, as I scribbled away in my notebook. My bike hasn’t been touched since Monday, which is probably why I’d felt out of sorts and angsty yesterday. At the time I’d put it down to fatigue at the end of a busy week and opted for a book, a blanket and the sofa. Maybe I should have hopped on my bike and reinvigorated my senses with fresh air and blue sky scenery.

My Memphis mountain burger

 

Today was a day for family, fun and celebrations. Ed and I might have spent time together on Tuesday afternoon, but Adrian and Pearl were working. Now the weekend and the holidays have arrived, and we had a voucher to use at what has become our favourite American diner – we didn’t need any more excuses to indulge in a family meal and time together. It was an easy choice from the menu for me, the mountain burger, oozing with delicious melted raclette cheese, making it so much more than a cheeseburger, followed by a café gourmand, three tiny, sweet treats served with ice cream and an espresso coffee. 

L'Hypogée des Dunes, Poitiers

 

Our after-lunch exercise was a walk to an ancient burial ground dating back to the 6^th to 8^th centuries, that would make a fabulous, if rather eerie backdrop to a Halloween evening. The low afternoon sun cast long shadows from the trees, that fell upon the stone caskets, that lay open and empty. Poitiers is certainly a town with many surprises hidden away, but now I’m the proud owner of a new guidebook Je Découvre Poitiers, 7 Balades (I discover Poitiers in seven walks), I’m finding new things with every visit.

 

Our drive home was no less dramatic with a glorious sunset that accompanied the hour-long journey, giving wide open vistas of apricot fire. At times it was only the silhouettes of trees, wind turbines and water towers that broke up the horizon. 

 

Christmas fun, Poitiers

It was a wonderful day spent with special people and I returned home with my belly and my heart full, but can you believe it, Ed and Pearl refused to pose for a family selfie in front of this fine Reindeer.