Blogs from Poitou-Charentes, France, Europe - page 5

Na een goede nachtrust ontwaken we vroeg, zetten koffie en ontbijten met restjes brood en rilette. Nog voor het water voor de koffie kookt horen we plots iemand het binnenplaatsje oplopen, en enkele seconden later verschijnt er een man in de deuropening. Na een kort moment van stilte en wederzijdse verbazing spreekt hij ons aan in het Frans. De verwachtte woede ontbreekt aan zijn stem en na de situatie in zich opgenomen te hebben ziet hij het pannetje en vertelt ons dat we eerst ons eten op mogen eten. Hij verdwijnt in het gebouw naast ons als wij onze koffie opdrinken en onze spullen inpakken, om even later terug te komen en ons water aan te bieden. We praten nog wat en komen erachter dat hij het pand vorige week gekocht heeft om het op te ... read more

Our journey took us from Beynac to the tiny village of Couhe about 48 kms from Poitiers. The road Sally Sat Nav chose was winding , simply beautiful with grass verges full of tiny flowers. The villages we drove through were pretty. Yellow sandstone with gardens full of colour. The boulangeries and charcuteries open for business. The sun shone on us as we headed for our overnight stop. We passed few cars along the way. The winding road was fairly empty. Occaisionally one came on the opposite carriageway and then one passed us. There seemed little traffic on the road and for this we were grateful. Driving as it should be. At one point we saw a red sports car settling in behind us. Was it a Ferrari we wondered? Or an Audi TT? It overtook ... read more

Last night was spent in the keep of Chateau du Saint -Loup. The Chateau is being restored but used for functions.The Comte spoke perfect Engish & made us welcome in his own home with a big roaring fire & BBC television on in the lounge.We were the only guests & were served at breakfast by the Comte himself after which he gave us a guided tour of the amazing Chateau & grounds. Back on our bikes for a pleasant ride .In contrast to the arable open land of the early part of this stage,high hedgerows now divide up lush green pastureland. The hedgerows are beautiful full of speedwell,bluebells,herb robert & buttercups. Along the way we were joined by noisy frogs(the four legged variety) .Have seen lots of wild life on the route.I had my first sighting ... read more

I spent 5 weeks in a town called Rochefort, situated along the Charente River, to try and improve my limited knowledge of French and experience everyday life in the country. Spending about 2 months in France was one of the things I had thought about doing during this trip. Mainly, because I wanted to be forced into speaking the language. Before leaving on this trip, while I was in Chile I went to the French Consulate to see if there was any chance of getting a student visa to study French for a while. But that wasn't really an option as it was way too expensive to pay for courses. So I just let the idea hang for a while and see if any opportunities opened up during my travels. And they did. While I was ... read more

Perigueux, Poitiers & Futuroscope in France 17 September 2013 After leaving Bergerac in the Dordogne Valley, we headed north towards Perigueux which was surrounded by undulating farmland with lots of mature sunflower and maize crops. Moving onto Angouleme and again this town was mixed with the old and the new. We loved these towns (see photos). We then arrived at Poitiers which has about 85,000 and therefore larger than the previous towns we had visited. Like the other towns, its character was centered on a river and its old town centre. This town had a city wall which was well preserved. We wanted to see the Futuroscope which was a massive multi building attraction for all ages. Every building was of a different shape. We found a camp site just north of Poitiers. The next morning ... read more