Jotown and Wally on the road 2011: Watching the Grapes Grow…

A weekend of ‘strenous activity’ lay ahead…

firstly I left Western Briittany early Saturday morning, and continued travelling South along the west coast of France,into the Charente Maritime along the Gironde River,passing La Rochelle as I went , and by mid afternoon had arrived at my weekend hosts – Kevin and Susan, at ‘Chez Gradwell’ a lovely house and cottage in the village of Lorignac http://www.frenchconnections.co.uk/en/guide/city/142665-lorignac-charente-maritime a welcoming treat of a cup of tea, and strawberry jam smeared on fresh bread..delightful ! and shower,clean bedding and towels..sheer luxury.

Saturday evening we went to a really delightful mass at St Gregoire d’Ardennes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Gr%C3%A9goire-d'Ardennes a beautiful small village church, with a small welcoming community, and delightful singing – all in French of course, but I’m sure they understood me !

Then it was back to Chez Gradwell for a pleasant supper,washed down with lashings of Bordeaux superiur wine – Red of course ! and a good nights sleep.

We were all up early Sunday morning, and after a swift Breakfast, and read (!) of the Sunday papers, we went off to a ‘Brocante’ at Epargne’ – almost like a car boot sale in England, with all sorts of ‘antiques’ and bric a brac on sale…and lots of eager French sorting through items, even though black clouds were hovering overhead, and it was a fair bit chilly !

Not discovering any bargains…we then went to the coast to a really delightful beach area St Palais http://www.saint-palais-sur-mer.com/, where the laid back and smart chic area, was complemented by wide sandy beaches, with rocks behind – I could just imagine the Devon ‘Riviera’ being similar ! The sun was shining, but a stiff breeze continued to blow !After a walk around we called to a pleasant restaurant for lunch http://www.creperielaterrasse.com/ of Moules frites…mussels and chips ! followed by a nice sweet crepe…

Then it was off to Royan , a great port further along the coast, with lots of yachts in the harbour, and tours along the coast, and up the Gironde.

From there we carried on to Talmont http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmont-sur-Gironde a great little village on the top of cliffs ,and as you looked along the coast could be seen the fishing huts ,Le Carrelets ,which are used for ‘easy fishing’-dropping the nets into the water as the tide turns, and catching the fish that swim into the nets.. Lots of arts and crafts shops abounded in the village, however we only stopped for a quick coffee, and then on to Mortagne, to view the sea views and memorial to a Welsh fighter… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owain_Lawgoch …killed by a Scotsman, paid by the English !!