A country day: Au Coindumont, St-Didier-en-Velay

 

The daily boulangerie rendezvous....

I am sitting at the fire that Fred has got going, on a chair with it's faded quilt, it's drizzling and I am content. 

Gite au coindumont details

I am reflecting on our first day at our gite. 

It started with an hour of uncontrollable giggling at 4am, pitch black room, another new bed, strange noises from the water pipes and quite frankly wondering what we were doing in this remote spot rattling around in a 3 storey gite built for family times - we are missing family as Doreen was not able to resolve the frustrating visa process. 

I am getting used to pivoting, so rethinking our days was part of today too.

After a social meeting with Catherine our host we went into the village -an ordinary village- to visit the weekly 'Marche'.

Our first port of call was a  boulangerie and meeting with the villagers who were bemused with our foreignness.

Coffee at the local bar and I popped back to the boulangerie as the bar is happy that you bring food in with you. 

The market was unpretentious, good honest fresh produce and we treated ourselves to fresh filleted fish which Fred expertly fried for lunch. We did find the mattress salesman a rather odd addition to the market.

We made plans after lunch for the coming weekend, where to watch the RWC semi-finals; fitting in my must-do visit to Le Puy to both eat a green lentil dish and to buy some of those lentils with their own appellation; getting to another iconic Tour de France climb, the Puy de Dome; that all took some thinking!

Our afternoon passeggiata was a pleasure, we stepped out of the gite, no car needed, and walked the paths around the fields, the forrest, along the river and past the tiny hamlets and farm houses.

I have made dinner, we have perfect little apple and pear tarts for dessert and this has been my day in the country.