Rain, rain, go away........

---

No biking today. The rain was persistent and heavy all day, so we decided to go looking for a shopping mall as we were all short on something warm to wear! I spent the morning at a local salon as there had been no time for a haircut in the lead-up to our trip, and I was badly in need. It was not so easy describing what I wanted in French, but the hairdresser and I did pretty well in the end, although the term "Feathered" as it applies to hair was one she struggled with! I was able to use pictures and gesture to help her understand, and in return she helped me with a few French phrases.

Our trip to the mall was successful and Isabel managed to find jeans and a great jacket amongst other purchases. She finally looks warm! We drove home via Montbazon, a pretty town where Marie-Laure had told us there was a special restaurant worth trying. As we were not hiring bikes because of the rain, we had decided to have a family dinner somewhere nice. The phone booking process however, was a little too complicated for my basic French, so it was Marie-Laure to the rescue. She smoothed the way for us and we finally made our reservation.

I think they were unused to having children in the restaurant, and we discovered on arrival that it was highly decorated with Michelin stars. We ignored the slightly snooty waiters and just enjoyed the food, which was spectacular. Poor Hugo is still struggling with a terrible cough, but he did very well and really loved his meal. We had a great night and did a sun dance on the way home - hopefully it will be bike-riding tomorrow!

---