A delicious breakfast of toast with home
made preserves and country honey, cherry clafoutis, fresh cherries, orange
juice and good coffee
Buds on the vine
in a Charentes vineyard on the outskirts of Cherac
The Charente river runs through Saintes
We had a little time before our appointment, so we parked our car outside one of the riverside houses, built of local stone
and walked a little way along the bank
After our visit to Guilhem Grosperrin,(the subject of another blogg)
we drove west to Ile d’Oléron, over the causeway
passing the defunct old causeway and the guard tower
to Dolus d’Oléron, the central town on the island,
where we had booked our accommodation
We unloaded the car and drove along the island’s east coast to the village of Boyardville
and went for a walk
looking at some of the very touristy restaurants
and curio outlets
the boats on the canal
and in the bay
and watched the people fishing from the harbour wall
had a look at the very strange Fort Boyard across the water, which took about 300 years to build. When they finished it in the mid nineteenth century, it was obsolete!
A customs motor launch keeps an eye out for bootleggers
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
We walked a little on the beach
and stopped at a little bar for a beer on the way back
having practised our bad French on the amiable owner
Baby mackerel swimming in the yacht basin
and home to supper of bread, cheeses, patés with a beer and some Muscadet sur lie
