Let Phil's photos do the talking

Just let Phil loose with a bike and a camera and look at the results, and this is only a selection! I'm sure you will be as impressed as we are

The World Record is beaten!

Yes, we braved all and faced the now-quite-cold Atlantic Ocean on Saturday, beating our long-standing (well from last year) last swim on 23rd September. So, beaten by four days - who'd have thought it? Anyone for October next year?!
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The weather has been SOOO good for Phil's stay and our terrace has proved to be the place to be, sheltered from the often quite strong breeze. We haven't done anything exciting with Phil but it's been lovely to have him home (and Matt, but he's always gallivanting). Tomorrow they're tackling the 10 hour journey to Val Thorens to take Matt's 'bits & bats' to his new apartment, then later in the week they have the long journey from the Alps to London, and then Matt continues on to Yorkshire to rediscover his roots for most of October.
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Phil has left loads of fantastic photos on my computer, some of which I will share with you next time.

Les Sables d'Olonne

Flags for the Vendée Globe are everywhere
A beautiful church at the opening to the harbour
A cannon not quite aiming at the lighthouse?
A vagabond taking the sun!

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Matt asked if I wanted to accompany him to Les Sables the other day as he had to register his new-to-him car with a Vendée numberplate, swapping 46 (Lot) for 85 (Vendée). I really enjoyed my stroll along the entrance to the harbour as it was a beautiful day (still with a chilly wind though).

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Les Sables is preparing for the Vendée Globe which sets off from the port on 9th November 2008 ( http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/ ). Apparently it is a scene not to be missed, but also extremely popular, so we will have to see if we are lucky or not to witness the start.
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The church in the photo is at the mouth of the harbour, set in beautifully kept gardens, complete with cannons (no longer used hopefully).
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Matt was quicker than expected sorting out his paperwork and I found him lounging around, taking the sun before getting his new number plates and heading back for La Tranche.
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We came back to Les Sables the following evening to celebrate Matt's birthday in a wonderful restaurant, Fleurs de Thym, along with Phil, Jean & Monique. Although quite a trek from La Tranche it was well worth it and we would happily return one day.

Birthday dip

Little and Large psyching up!
Brrrrr!
We're in...
...but not for long!

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Thankyou to everyone for their cards, emails, Facebook posts, phone calls and blog commentaries wishing me my second Happy Birthday in La Tranche.

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As you can see I went for my now traditional (after two years?) dip in the sea, this time accompanied by Phil who we fetched from the airport on Monday. Don't let appearances fool you: it might have been a beautiful day but there was a biting wind and the sea was anything but warm! Hence a very quick dip and dry off before returning to our terrace to warm through again under the sun.

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Monique & Jean came round in the evening to join us (and Matt, freshly back from Figeac) for a lovely home-grown pumpkin soup, turkey curry and home-made profiteroles. A wonderful time was had. It's great to think we'll see more of the cousins now the campsite has closed again for the winter months.

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Today the weather is miserable and we're catching up on DVDs, but the forecast isn't too bad, so who knows, we MIGHT beat last year's last swim on 23rd September....

Le Puy du Fou: Le Grand Parc

Now who shall I land on?

I'm proud of this photo: the longboat had just risen from the water!

The chariots were travelling at great speed
Finale of the gladiators
The medieval town
Trick horse-riding at speed before the battle.

The donjon (keep) moved during the spectacular. We didn't quite understand why!

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Those of you who have been to Vendée will know about Le Puy du Fou and its phenomenal success ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puy_du_Fou ). We've still to see the evening spectacular but last Saturday was our second visit to the park in the daytime - our last visit we reckon was in 1998.

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The park has a historical theme, which could sound rather boring, but each section is done with such style and colour that everyone would be smitten. We really filled our day, the last Saturday for the season, and excellent weather and good crowds helped to make it a fantastic day out.

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It's hard to say what was most memorable, but Le Bal des Oiseaux Fantômes was amazing with so many birds of prey swooping right above our heads, Les Vikings where a vessel rises out of the water with two people standing on it, Les Gladiateurs which gave you the feeling of how it must have been in Roman times, and La Bataille du Donjon with jousting, horse skills, moving castle (!) and more pyro-technology!

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We took loads more photos. If you'd like to see them click on http://picasaweb.google.com/PapamanPicasa/080920LePuyDuFou and marvel!

Daily routine

And this is how empty the beach is these days on a red-hot day!
Tine's photo on her way to work (1)
Tine's photo on her way to work (2)
Matt helps store this winter's wood delivery (1)

Matt helps store this winter's wood delivery (2)

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We've settled down to our regular routine again this last week: Tine leaving for work around 8:20 and me drifting out of bed sometime before nine. By Tine's return towards 12:15 I've sometimes done my gym and often cycled round to Super U for bread and other necessaries, preparing the table outside for our 'picnic' lunch.

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Afternoon? Well, recently in the good weather we've been down to the beach most days, enjoying the sun and dips in the sea, knowing that there won't be too many days left when it's possible. Otherwise we've been in the garden, trying to getting rid of the ever-present mares' tail weed.

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Our main meal is usually in the evening, followed by catch up on UK/US TV. I know I shouldn't say this but French television is pretty poor. If I'm going to watch dubbed programmes I may as well watch the original...

Last night at La Paillote

Just before the end-of-season celebrations
Stef & Matt (in a shirt!) supplying the drinks
Mascot bunny. The bell is rung when a tip is given
"They look as though butter wouldn't melt..." "On leurs aurait donné le bon Dieu sans confession"

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Yes, last Sunday was the final day at La Paillote but Matt & Stef valiantly worked on into the small hours to mark the occasion (they normally close at midnight). There was a lovely atmosphere with many cocktails expertly made by M&S who didn't have much time to relax.
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The first photo was taken at the end-of-season do the previous week when the staff were treated to a night out at Nico's (after clubbing the night before and go-karting in the afternoon). The other three were all taken on the closing night. Matt's mate Martin from B-Town presented the bar with the bunny earlier in the summer.
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As the weather has dropped cooler, particularly overnight, Matt has now moved into the East Wing but departs today for a weekend in Figeac where he is going to leave his van for Loulou's car. Is he finally growing up buying a REAL car?

The days fly by

Small but perfectly formed!
'Aha my hearties' - where's Johnny Depp?
Sculpture stall by the port at La Rochelle
Thanks to 'Ouest-France' website for this photo

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Ok, I'm in trouble again for not writing more regularly. I will try harder, Miss! (These bossy teachers, huh?)

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Thought you might like to see our VERY OWN melon grown in the garden - yes, just one! To make it go further we ate it with port and very proud we were. We've also been making good use of our onions, tomatoes, potatoes and courgettes - wonderful!

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I mentioned last time that we were in La Rochelle last weekend when there was some kind of boat festival. The second photo shows a magnifent masted vessel, complete with samba band, their music resounding across the port. I was also impressed by this market stall with sculptures - reminded me of Charlie back in B-Town.

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Whilst we were in La Rochelle Matt phoned us to say a whale had been washed up at La Terrière, just up the coast from here. He went to have a look but they were already removing it from the beach. I got this photo from a local press website. The whale was already dead when washed up and in a bad state of deterioration, all 18 m of it! Matt said the whole area stank - yuck!

Old friends and new places

Dee & Doug at their apartment

A floral double-bass at St Gilles
The château at Apremont - what a lovely village!
The château at Apremont
Natural archway at La Parée near Brétignolles
Dave breathes in at La Parée near Brétignolles

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Some of you will remember we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in 2005 with a Nile cruise, still a fantastic memory for us. We made a few friends on the cruise and have particularly kept in touch with Dee and Doug. What a lovely surprise when Dee phoned to say they'd like to come to visit the area.

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They booked an apartment near St Gilles Croix-de-Ville so we only saw them at the beginning and the end of the week as it is over an hour away from La Tranche. However it gave us the opportunity to discover some 'new' places, and above is the evidence. It made us feel good to realise there is so much more for us to visit in the area!

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Just got back from the La Rochelle airport run after spending a few hours in La Rochelle itself. As always it was bustling but we found a lovely place to eat which wasn't too busy and saw some of the decorated boats (one with a samba band on deck!) for the Boat Show this weekend.

High tide, low tide & a visitor

Very high tide at the jetty
'Now where did the sea go?'
Matt's arty shot taken from the jetty
Not a day for swimming, methinks
Meet Terrence the Toad (are you reading this, Nicole?)

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Yes we've had the very high and low tides again (and no I won't mention co-efficients after last time, except it was 101)! If you look at the first two photos it's hard to imagine the volume of water that fills the bay twice a day.

As I hinted last time the weather has been very changeable. I'm typing this with a miserable grey cloud cover outside - hard to imagine we were sunbathing and swimming in the sea yesterday. Last week we had pretty big waves and I've 'borrowed' two of Matt's photos to show you. The sky is amazing in both I'm sure you'll agree.

And finally hope you like the new member of the family who made an appearance the other morning when Tine opened the kitchen shutters (and I thought toads LIKED the rain)! We haven't seen him since. He'd better not be devouring our lizards.