Hunting for a Place to Eat (Sally) - Aug 28th

Today is my nephew Eddie’s Birthday. Bonne anniversaire, Eddie.

As usual, croissant and bread from the local boulangerie.

Down to work - I gave the shutters a second coat of paint. They look good. Then stuck some random bits of wallpaper back in place. Painted a wall where a radiator is going. A huge, heavy cast iron beast. These things cost a fortune and we have quite a few. If we run out of money we will have to sell them and replace with modern radiators. Large modern radiators are heavy too, but are a darn sight easier to sand, clean and paint!

In the afternoon we both went a bike ride to try to find another view of the house. We have two old ‘photos and we are trying to see if our house is on them. I am not very confident riding a bike. However, credit where credit is due, French motorists seem to give you a wider berth than in England. The other day, whilst riding through the fugly (Andy calls it the funnel - f'ing ugly tunnel) a lorry patiently followed me through. I like to think he was being patient, he was probably thinking “sacre bleu, une velo avec un femme”. Once again, the view was obliterated by trees. We need to look during the winter months.

In the evening we decided to go out for a meal. Being a Wednesday, we didn’t book. Took a leisurely stroll along the river and called in Jean Le Teyssier. No staff seemed to be there. When a member of staff appeared she asked if we wanted to sit outside, we did. Menus were given out and we decided on sharing a dozen escargot and both wanted steak. A long wait ensued and we thought they had forgotten us. No snails and only one steak, so we decided to leave it and go elsewhere. Just around the corner is he Hotel Ambroise which has a restaurant, Chichi pompon. No tables free. Where next? I remembered seeing a cafe the other side of the tunnel (it is the fugliest thing ever - the tunnel that is). The cafe is not the fanciest and they do burgers and other fast food. We ordered falafel sandwiches (wraps), frites and beer. It seemed to be taking a long time, but they had just received a large take out order. Since they don’t have a licence to sell alcohol the beer was alcohol free. The entire meal, including beer, was fantastic and at €15 for both of us, a bargain. Highly recommended. The staff were friendly and the food good.

Home to bed. Very full. Felt like I was having a food baby!

I seem to go on about what I have done. Whilst I have done cleaning, sanding, stripping and painting, Andy has been fixing light fittings in place, painting, fighting that ruddy great radiator and a myriad of other jobs. He paints the fancy fittings on the shutters black, because I am a messy painter. He has also been doing the electrics. He shouldn’t be kneeling down too much because he has housemaids’ knee.