La Vendee

We arrived in the Vendee Thursday afternoon. The train arrived at 1, but Avis was clsoed for lunch until 2. Tom walked into the town to get our francophone charged up, while I guarded the bgas at the station. The car rental opened, we got our car and were on our way. Jeanne was out when we arrived, having left to pick up Marie at the train station at 3 -- had we only known. So we visited with Jeanne's sisters Ann and Claire for a bit, then greeted Jeanne and Marie. We were about to leave for a walk to pick figs, when Herve and Beatrice arrived; we walked with them to their house (stopping for the figs), and enjoyed drinks in their lovely home (and a hesitant nuzzle from Penelope and Calypso the donkey mother and daughter).

Friday we visited Odile at her manor house for tea and coffee, and met Chantal, another sister of Bertrand. It was a lovely long afternoon that one reads about -- the weather was a bit heavy and warm, but cloudy. We talked for hours and enjoyed a lovely peach cake with our drinks, and finally said goodby about 4. Just as we got to the car, the clouds opened up and drenched the countryside with rain as we made our way back to the Gite.

Today we had an excellent lunch of baked chicken with a green salad and a beet salad, and a wonderful selections of cheese -- the most colorful figuratively and literally is a red cone of spiced cheese called the Devil's Suppository. We wondered what the folks at our local California cheese shop would say if we asked for it by name.

This aftrernoon we visited an old abbey, usually closed, but today is the Patromoine, when public sites are free, and many private sites are open. Tom and I could not follow the guide's talk since the crowd was so large, and her manner of speaking was not clear enough for us, but we enjoyed seeing the buildings. They also arranged a viewing of some massive paintings, possibly since they have decided to make the place a painter's haven. Now for a light dinner and another excellent night's sleep -- it is astonishing how quiet it is here....