Nigel & Liz come to stay (2)

We were very lucky when we visited La Rochelle, enjoying a beautifully sunny few hours which allowed us to eat our savoury pancakes on the port side.

What an impressive first view you get of the port as you arrive from 'our' car park up by the hospital.

Two old buddies and a new friend anticipating their savoury pancakes (and waiting for the tables to be cleared)!

Of course we did the obligatory walk through the ancient entrance to the town for a bit of window shopping, also enjoying the street entertainers.

It's thirsty work all this sightseeing so back to La Paillote for cheeky beers!

Once again, thanks to N&L for their photos. Hopefully see you soon!

Nigel & Liz come to stay (1)

Nigel is an old campsite friend who came out to see us last September and recently returned, introducing us to Liz. The four of us got on like a house on fire (amusez-vous bien, mes lecteurs français)!

Most of these photos are Nigel's or Liz's, so a big thank you to them. Firstly Tine on the terrace ready to collect a few more French beans.

Just to prove we actually use our new kitchen!

N&L weren't so lucky with the weather but we managed a good long walk along the beach from Les Conches to Le Rocher

And in the evening a lovely meal at Nico's (L'Étage) where we were spoiled as usual.

Mixed bag

Backtracking a little to cover for my recent silence I present you with a mixed bag of photos to bring you up to date a little.

Firstly the new breakwater by the jetty is now in position, presumably to keep sand away from the causeway - mustn't upset the sailors! Still no news on a replacement for the jetty, wrecked in last year's storm, but hopefully we'll have it in 2012.

We counted 4 storks standing on the nest by the main road to La Roche a couple of weeks ago but when we visited 'our' nest they'd already left. (No snakes this time, Nad!)

Our sunflowers looking like a Delia cover. I bet the birds are all awaiting September when their sunflower feed fest begins - they went mad for them last year!

Don't be afraid, it's only Tine trying her American football skills at La Paillote. She's a pussy cat really!

Bastille Day

Yes, it's been a long time since I wrote here, and already nine days since la Fête Nationale and the ever-popular fireworks on the main beach.

Leaving my Jack Duckworth drying of glasses post at La Paillote, I whisked Mousse's girlfriend Christine off to witness the display, as impressive as ever and lasting a good twenty minutes. I'm sure MN&P will be pleased to know it started with Chariots of Fire but soon became Gaga-tastic!

First time doing firework photos with my new camera. Hope you're as impressed as I am!

Our new kitchen

Let me present to you, courtesy of Stephen and Brian, our brand new kitchen in all its glory. It's been a long time coming but the lads worked like Trojans and we are extremely happy with the results. We're very much looking forward to showing it off to future visitors, so get yourselves booked in!

These photos were all taken this morning, but for 'the making of' please use the following link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/PapamanPicasa/110701KitchenTransformations?authkey=Gv1sRgCIXZ6Y3siZbQogE

A big BIG thank you to Stephen and Brian who we are looking forward to seeing again soon.

Beautiful hot days

It's very grey out there today but boy, did we have high temperatures recently (followed by epic thunder storms as you can see from our weather station)!

Rain + high temperatures = good garden growth. We could feed courgettes to all of La Tranche!

Still awaiting our first red tomato but there will be plenty very soon.

'Sweet peas are made of this' - sorry, I couldn't resist.

Is it a cricket, is it a locust? Either way we removed it from the tomato jungle.

The hot weather brought with it a veritable swarm of ladybirds, making life very unpleasant for everybody, but particularly for midges and greenfly. Thankfully they've just about disappeared now, almost as quickly as they arrived.