Friday

Pauline in the waves
Alana and Jeanne
Bertrand and Tom at work

Today is the market day in the nearby village of Moutier-les-maufaits (the naughty monks, we think). It is over early, so we pulled ourselves together and zipped over to get cheeses (most of which we have never heard of – when in Rome…), fruits and vegetables, and some pale Norwegian salmon, for about a third of the price one would find in California. When cooked, the salmon tastes like trout – if your eyes were closed, you would say trout for sure.

Tom and Bertrand then spent the afternoon cutting a tree, an oak that looked a bit sick. Tom said later that it was filled with insects. For once it was warm, if still grey and cloudy, but the murder of the tree as we called it, went off uneventfully.

While they finished the job, I went with Pauline, Jeanne and Alana to the beach for a very long walk. We began at the area crowded with children and families watched over by the lifeguard, and walked quite a way, through the area reserved for the nudists, until we found the area with possibly the most waves of all – eight layers ready to break. Not my favorite. The waves were a bit too much for me, and Pauline was the only one who ventured in.

We returned to find the project finished for the day, and Tom and I had a quiet dinner of the trout-like salmon, and an easy salad of beets, tomatoes and zucchini.