Days Drifting By

Dear Friends and Family, I have sort of gotten out of the regular blog routine. I am not sure when I last wrote, but I have a feeling that a day got away from me. Sorry! It certainly has not been that we have been very busy. We have enjoyed the still mainly sunny weather except for that one day of rain. Wednesday night we went down to the winebar: Astrolabe

We had been once before and had a nice conversation with the young couple who recently purchased the place. We had promised to return for a meal and thus we did. We had also, in the meantime, learned that the woman (young, rather “punkish” young woman), Charlotte, had worked at our favorite restaurant in the area, “La Recreation,” where Ann’s daughter, Jane, is currently working as the entrée chef. Charlotte had worked there as the pastry chef. Astrolabe was their new venture and from the looks of the cliental, it should be a success. As I may have mentioned before, it is a lovely setting, right on the river at the foot of the village. It may be the best location in the town.

It sits slightly above and gives you a great view of the river and is a great place to be for sunset

We looked the menu over. They have a fascinating way of displaying it, as they have cut grooves into a stool and then suspend the day’s offerings.

We ordered a half litre of wine and just relaxed and watched the river float by.

We then ordered their Mediterranean Salad. They display It looked to be amazing. It had greens, tomato, cucumber, chorizo, tuna, corn, rice and anchovies. It was huge, though Charlotte was convinced that it would not be enough for two. It was more than enough. However, it was one of those salads that sounds better than it is. It just didn’t seem to harmonize. It was a though there were all these interesting ingredients, but nothing to bring them together. Polley was convinced that the problem was with the dressing. A dressing’s function, my wife tells me, is to harmonize the ingredients. This one did not fulfill its function! However, the problems with the salad could not spoil a beautiful night. We did, in fact, enjoy the suset

And, as dusk turned to darkness, the lights along the river came on and as if on cue the a tiny silver slipper of a moon popped up

This is what traveling and vacation should be! Thursday morning I got up early for my walk. It was actually still dark when I set out. And when I say dark in this very rural setting, I mean dark! Like Crete, there are not lights where we are and the sky is amazing, perhaps even more intense than Crete where you did get a bit of village light. Here there is nothing! I got the early start because Ann was taking us with her to the marché (outdoor market) in the village of Libos. The thing I find fascinating is that despite the number of marches, each one is distinctive. Libos has quite an immigrant population, so there are booths of hardware, rolls of fabrics, industrial underwear. They even have live animals for breeding. There was this adorable little bunny

And some varieties of chickens that I have never seen

And, of course, there were endless food stands and places to buy clothes.

Polley, pictured here with Ann, is seen in her new sort of black knitted poncho

It was quite chilly Thursday morning, so when Polley bought the sweater, she just kept it on. She also got a kind of knitted dress as well and Ann found a great deal on a pair of jeans. We rounded it off with some coffee at a local café, before taking the long way back to Poujoulou, enjoying a variety of wonderful country homes, churches and monument. It was a most enjoyable morning.