Sunday Hike

Papa and I went on a 5+ mile hike from home on Sunday morning.  It was a clear day, with the Pyrenees visible.  We hiked past the east cemetery in Lectoure, down into the valley then up a long hill to a ridge that overlooks Lectoure, and is covered in sunflowers and grape vines.  We hiked down a farm road and into another valley, then back to Lectoure, coming up the hill by the cemetery on the west side.  It was a long invigorating hike!

Saturday morning in Lectoure

I woke up to mostly clear skies, with sun tinted pink clouds, and a view of the snow tipped Pyrenees.  By 8:00, hot air balloons were firing up next to the rugby field, and were soon in the air.  It was a beautiful morning with fog hanging over low fields.  

We have had a busy week after returning from Bordeaux and Arcachon on Monday evening.  We had lunch with friends Kay and Jay on Wednesday at La Plancha in Castet-Arrouy, where our neighbor is the chef.  Lunch was delicious and our friends Lesley and Andy came just after us, to have lunch with visiting friends.  In the evening, we had friends over with their young son, to talk about options for going to university in the States.

On Thursday morning, I had coffee with our friend Johani, who has three young children.  I love hearing about their family and trying to identify with them, living in this ancient village because the schools are excellent.  We had lunch on Thursday with our friend Ingrid, at Chez Vous in Saint Puy.  She invited a friend from Lectoure, who came via birth in Turkey, then years in the UK, and also found Lectoure because of the schools.  Lunch was generous and delicious, with interesting conversation.

I walked with our friend Deirdre on Friday morning, then went to the Friday market in Lectoure.  Papa went with me on my second pass through the market, to pick up fresh bread.  We ran into our friends Kay and Jay, with their friends visiting from Berkeley, Dean and Dick.  We invited them for lunch at our house and we feasted on bread, cheese, and fruit, with Floc.  

We had our friends Aline and Gerhard for dinner on Friday evening.  We ate and talked a few hours.  It was a very nice evening.  A good week!

Arcachon

Papa and I were up early on Monday morning and took the train to Arcachon from Bordeaux.  The ride was about 50 minutes, and we exited the Gare into the city.  We walked to the beach and along the boardwalk, had a good lunch at Alma Mia Cucina, then took a local bus to Dune du Pilat, the largest sand dune in Europe.  By 4 in the afternoon, we took the bus back to the Gare, then got on the train back to Bordeaux.  We had time for bowls of onion and fish soup at Cafe du Levant before we caught our train to Agen, and drove home.  Along the way, we ran into people we knew - a friend of a friend in Arcachon, and two friends from Lectoure in the Gare in Agen.  A good day!

Bordeaux

We were up early and drove to Agen for our 9:30 train to Bordeaux.  We arrived at 10:40, walked across the street to drop our backpacks, then set off on a walk in Bordeaux.  Unfortunately the first hour was rainy, but we bought an umbrella.  We had lunch reservations at 12:15 at a recommended restaurant (excellent!), and we finished by 2.  The rain had stopped and the sky was clearing, so we walked along the Garonne River, into various churches, went to an antique car show, and enjoyed our day in Bordeaux!

Our hotel

Chateau de Mons for Dinner

We pass Chateau de Mons often, and always talk about going for dinner, so last evening we went! Our friend Judy joined us. The castle was built in 1285 by Edward I of England. The property sits on 33 hectares and grows grapes for wine and Armagnac. We ate dinner on the terrace of the restaurant Vinea Nova. Dinner was delicious and the outdoor ambiance was perfect.