Candes Saint-Martin, my favourite spot in La Touraine.

Wednesday 19 June 2013

Settling in and a late lunch

We arrived at our destination – B. and J.L.’s holiday home – around 2.45 p.m. The house looked as good as it had done on the photos I had seen. In fact, it looked even better. No photos here though, as I want to respect my friends privacy. Moreover, my semi-local blogger friends have seen the real thing by now and know just how inviting and perfect the house is. B. opened the shutters while J.L. and I started to unload the car. Our ‘cargo’ contained a few low wooden crates supporting some twenty tomato plants, which J.L. had grown from seeds to knee-high shoots ready to be planted in the vegetable plot at the back of the garden.

Not a tomato plant,
 but a delicate pink flower from the poppy family
 (not the 70-ties French boy's choir!),
seen in the square at Amboise  the next day.


The house had been closed for several days and the cold and damp weather that has been so typical for this year’s spring, had seeped through the walls (no damp, don’t worry). In fact, it was warmer outside than it was inside. B. showed me around, ending with ‘my’ very comfortable room, with a private toilet and bathroom with a shower just across the hall. It almost felt like a B&B, with all the modern commodities close at hand.

While I unpacked, J.L. took their luggage up to their bedroom and put the tomato plants in the cool garage … on hold until they went into the ground, and B. cooked the spaghetti and warmed up the bolognaise sauce. We opened a very nice bottle of Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil and sat down for a late, simple, yet very delicious lunch. We also discussed our plans for the evening. As there was no food in house, except the spaghetti which we finished because it was soooooo good, we decided to ‘hit’ the town of Saint Aignan to get a taste of the local night-life and a meal of garlic sautéed frog legs at the famous ‘Mange Grenouille’ restaurant.

Proudly I took out my newly acquired smart-phone in an attempt to show off its ‘smart’ features: click your location and find the address and telephone number of a nearby restaurant. It had worked beautifullyat home. However, here in the country, the phone searched, and searched and searched … in vain. So we had to come up with another solution if we wanted to book a table for 8 p.m.

When all attempts failed, we decided to give up and drive into town to find the required information and do some shopping for next Monday’s blogger BBQ. While B. and I did the washing up, J.L. started mowing the front lawn … five minutes later it started to rain (the last rain we would see that week) and he had to stop after ten minutes. The time it took to change … and we were off on our (first, there were many more to come) shopping spree …

13 comments:

Amanda said...

I always love the first day on a vacation. It is like you are able to really breathe and enjoy life again, looking forward to having a great time.

VirginiaC said...

Frogs legs, no thank you, but spaghetti and bolognaise sauce, yes to that.
Shopping sprees in any country is a good thing.

GaynorB said...

Anticipation. I know some of what is to followut I can't wait to read the rest!

GaynorB said...

Oops, that should read
'follow, but'!

Craig said...

The poppy is gorgeous Martine. Glad to hear that the house lived up to expectations.

The Broad said...

Sounds like a perfect start for your holiday, Martine... Bonnes Vacances!

chm said...

On that same Saturday, as we left Bracieux after our lunch at the Relais d’Artémis, we experienced downpours on our way to St-Aignan.

Louise said...

I am enjoying reading about your journey and look forward to the "blogger" lunch...

Carolyn said...

Now the fun begins!

Bob said...

So far, Martine's Tavel Guide" has been exceptional!!! I wonder if there will be any suspense this year?

ladybird said...

Nadege, After the long, yet interesting drive, it was nice to stretch our legs and to start planning the rest of the week.

Virginia, I'm not a shopaholic in daily life, but when I'm vacation I have to set myself a fixed budget in order to keep things under control.;)

Gaynor, Of course you know! :))You still haven't told me why got a fine on your way to Boulogne!?

Craig, I think poppies are the most delicate flowers ever. And there is of course the memory of 'In Flanders' Fields'

Kathie, It was a great holiday ... different from what I did in past, but unique and unforgettable.

Chm, We didn't get any real downpours, but it got too wet to mow the lawn. But the rest of the week was gorgeous, wasn't it? :)

Louise, The lunch was fantastic. I didn't take many photos - too busy - but there is a lot to tell.

Carolyn, The fun started when I was planning this trip. The reality of it was even better ... as you know!

Bob, LOL! I'll try to limit the suspense. Although, you must admit that it's part of the fun.

Leon Sims said...

Sue and I ate at Mange-Grenouille restaurant and really enjoyed it.

ladybird said...

L&S, I'm not surprised you enjoyed it! It really is a very fine restaurant. Looooove it myself.