September got off to a flying start. It was immediately noticeable that the roads, shops and everything else were quieter.
3rd. Was the evening of the annual “Music on the beach£ at Meschers “Plage des Nonnes”. This year a pianist and a drummer playing rather discordant and inaccessible “jazz”, composed mostly by the musicians themselves and improvisations. Although the musicians were very accomplished I have to confess to have not stayed till the end of the performance.
4th. A bit like from the sublime to the cor blimey, the party in the park at St Georges de Didonne was very different. A group of friends and neighbors shared a table, drinks and snacks and plates of food sold from the food trucks ranging from traditional French, to Middle Eastern to Indian.
There were side shows of jugling, hiphop dancing etc and two groups. The first played Middle Eastern music. They were excellent, especially the singer. Good listening music to eat to.
They were followed by a great rock ‘n’ Roll band playing all the old standards from my youth. Elvis, Big Bopper, Little Richard etc. Well I couldn’t stay in my chair and jived the rest of the evening away either solo or with Giselle and sand along as well for good measure. What fun!
6th Harvested all the basil in the garden and made more pesto and harvested a good crop of apples and quince from the fields. I will bottle some spiced apple and quince compote and save some apples for the next blackberry harvest.
10th, Finished building the fountain for the front garden to replace the old one that was looking rather tired. I cannibalised it to re-use the solar panel and pump and repainted the little birds to look like blue tits. I am quite pleased with the finished item.
16th. Completely by accident a number of neighbors left the development with their dogs for the afternoon walk!
Taken with Chantel’s mobile phone so unfortunately out of focus but for the record from left to right Martine with her new French Bulldog; Domenique with her three Whippets; Giselle with her miniature Poodle; Monique with her old gentleman Labradore; Catherine with her miniature Doberman and Cassidy and I.
19th.Today the Mayor’s Office has organised free boat trips on the Estuary for residents of Meschers. I organised a group and Anna, Silvie, Martine, Chantel and I set off together for the Port where we boarded “La Bohemme” and left the harbour.
We turned right and headed past some carolettes, there were to me many more.
Soon the height of the cliffs increased and the carolettes started to give way to Trolodite dwellings. I had not realsed how many of these there were. Hardly any of these are visible from above. I have visited the Regulus caves that are effectively a museum but had been inhabited till the 1950’s. I am also aware of the Matata Caves that house a restaurant but these are on a whole different scale.
Then we were level with the Forest of Suzac and the cave exploitation took on a more sinister look in the form of WW2 blockhouses.
We wre very lucky with the weather following on from the recent rain. It was dry if not very sunny but the light on the water and the heavy cloud cover lent themselves to dramatic photos.
We turned round and headed north past the port entrance and across the bay to the fortified church at Talmond. Even more impressive from the sea than from the land.
Then we turned back to the Port. We all agreed it was a great boat ride and headed back to my place for Tortillas.
21st. As the weather looks set fair, in as much as no rain is forecast, I decided to squeeze z visit to Patti in, this time taking a route via St Emillion. The Medieval city is a little to the North-West of Bordeaux in the centre of a wine district set among hills and valleys. We left after lunch and got there in the late afternoon/early evening. There was campingcar parking very close to the centre, the only drawback being a very noisy road.
One of the reasons for wanting to visit St Emillion is the subterranean church which I will visit tomorrow so this evening Cassidy and I did an extensive explore of the small city.
Right across the road from the car park was the enormous Chapter Gate in the great wall, or what is left of it, it gives directly onto a vineyard.
The first shot on the way into town and the second when it was floodlit on the way back. Then on to the Collegiate Church………
……..and its cloisters
Into the square of the high town which houses the clock tower of the monolith church which is below it in the lower town
Past St Martins Gate and on to the King’s Keep, basically a DonJon.
Then some nice night views of Trinity Chapel and the rooftops.
22nd. Awoke to a heavy and damp fog and was struck again how the vineyards come right up to the city wall. I say city, but it is truly minute, the circumference of the walls cannot be much more than 1.5K and there are only 300 full time residents.
I found a couple of pretty Lavoirs and Cassidy had a refreshing drink.
We visited the old Market Hall and then went back to the van for lunch having booked a guided tour of the under ground church and catacombs for 13.30.
The most disappointing thing about the visit was that no photography is allowed inside the monuments, which are privately owned. So I have to make do with photos of the entrance and a photo of the story board.
It seems that the greater part of the limestone below St Emillion has been excavated and quarried. These quarries have supplied the stone for the city and for large parts of Bordeaux. The quarries extend all the way to Libourne and it is said that one can walk there from St Emillion without coming above ground!
The city has been very successful at marketing itself from very early on in its history. The Church was the main driver of this growth in the early days as it wove and embellished the story of the hermit/saint. Where the truth lies is anyone’s guess. The Catholic church has a long history of promoting questionable relics to bolster the faith and it’s coffers and this is probably no exception. Whatever the historical facts the reality of this gem like little city in its vineyard setting and the unquestionable quality of the local wines is indisputable.
We drove the 7K to Lussac where there is an attractive and quiet Aire with electricity connections enabling me it charge up and up-date.
capetocarpe 