Catherine says:
Today is 31 degrees celsius. The Mater and I walked up the hill to centre ville from Moulin de la Ville to have lunch. By the time we arrived we were both suffering from different levels of exhaustion. Too hot to be out in the sun today. But clearly the phrase only old dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun can be applied to us - even if we aren't English.
We ate lunch at a local restaurant - a simple dish of omelette and salad followed by a little bowl of ice cream. Rather delicious, but unfortunately Michelin-starred chef Steve (owner and resident chef of Moulin de la Ville) has ruined all future culinary experiences for us as nothing quite compares to his cooking. He cooks for us every night and it is always a wonderful experience. Afterwards we sit in the garden with Steve and Sue and converse well into the night. We have had many an interesting conversation and both The Mater and I will miss our evenings with them when we leave on Saturday (for Orléans and then on to Paris).
Yesterday was a full day of painting with Jacqui Clarke (check out her website here) - an amazingly talented artist and teacher. There were three students - The Mater, me and a wonderful lady from Scotland via Canada called Lindsey. Both The Mater and Lindsey created some spectacular works of art however I produced nothing of a calibre higher than that of a kindergarten kid. Clearly I need some intensive lessons! It was a lot of fun, so I guess that's the most important thing.
I also had a really interesting encounter with Bertrand who I had heard about from the two Sues (Sue 1.0 as in Moulin de la Ville Sue and Sue 2.0 as in Centre Ville Sue). Bertrand and his wife live in the oldest house in the village which dates back to the time of King Edward the First and the house has been in the hands of Bertrand's family ever since! That is going back to the 1200s! This mind blowing fact almost caused me to pop a gasket. Anyhow, Bertrand has spent considerable time in Chile and so I was able to converse with him in Spanish which was a real treat. He showed me his beautiful garden, let me eat cherries from his tree and then gave me a tour of the outbuildings around his house. What was of particular interest to me were the three separate rooms where 3 of King Edward's soldiers slept and the space below where they looked out for invaders and where they could attack any advancing enemy soldiers. There was also a mighty big cellar, horse stables and myriad rooms that all fascinated me. There were probably a few ghosts in there too - I have heard many a tale from local residents about the ghost(s) that inhabit their and other houses. I am sure any exorcists out there could have a roaring trade here in Beaumont-du-Périgord!
I will finish this post here as it is after 4pm, the sun is still shining (it doesn't set until close to 10pm) and I want to sit in the beautiful garden here and read a book (as I am missing out on episodes of Game of Thrones I have to keep up with the latest by actually reading it in book form - which is quite interesting in itself as the book differs greatly - and is significantly better - than the TV series!)
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