Here’s the story of our friends Andrew & Tony’s visit to Mazeroux. In preparation for their arrival, Matt mowed the lawn on Friday while I gave the house a thorough clean. Our floor tiles are terra cotta, and very nice, but also a bit of a pain to look after. There are 2 products that are supposed to be applied to them, one every 6 months and the other annually, to maintain and protect them. In the 2.5 years we’ve been here, both have only been applied once, so I thought it was about time to do coat #2. This involves moving sofas/tables etc, applying the first product, waiting for that to dry, and then applying the second, so is as tedious as it is unkind on the knees. The end result however is much shinier, happier tiles, so it was worth it.
As a reward for our labours, we opted for pizzas for dinner that evening, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We had a calm night in and got up the next day to finish the last bits of cleaning in readiness for our guests. That evening, we were invited down to Bryan & Carol’s for aperitifs. Bryan is currently in the UK playing a tedious game of silly buggers with the healthcare system, but is due back next week. Carol meanwhile is currently entertaining 2 friends of theirs, Gill & Tony, who are over for a visit, so we got to meet them and they seem really nice. We sat outside to enjoy what sun there was, but it was a very cool evening and kept drizzling so it wasnt too pleasant. Poor Tony & Gill had an awful week weather-wise, so I hope the rest of their trip made up for it.
After aperitifs, we had dinner over at Francoise and Phillipe’s. There was supposed to be an event on in Milhac – La Fete des Voisins, where everyone brings a dish and eats together in the town centre – but it was cancelled due to rain, so this was plan B. We had a lovely time with them, as we always do, though trying to keep pace with Phillipe on the vodka is unwise, and I for one had a bit of a sore head the next day. Despite this, I managed a workout and Matt went off to the shops to get dinner supplies.
Andrew & Tony had set off around 8am from their home in Ontinyent, which is just over a 10 hour drive from here. With a few stops added in, the ride ended up taking them around 12 hours. They’ve been having temps of around 30 degrees for weeks now, so were both dressed in t-shirts and shorts and are nicely bronzed. That evening it was 16 degrees and overcast, so they quickly pulled on fleeces and jeans before they had a tour of the garden. Needless to say, aperitifs and dinner were served inside. Matt made a lovely meal of pureed celeriac and roast porc served with a tangy orange sauce that went down a treat. None of us were long for bed afterwards. The boys are both doing really well out in Spain, where they’ve been for 6 years now. They both teach English courses to a mix of children and teachers and this more or less keeps them afloat.
The next day was not much of an improvement weather-wise unfortunately but we started it off with croissants from the bread lady and a long walk in the woods to warm us up. In the afternoon (after lunch of Port 80 sandwiches), we did a little sight-seeing with a trip to Brantome. The boys had seen the place before the last time they came, but that was in January so at least this time it was somewhat warmer. We stopped off for a beer in the main square and then came home via a supermarket. Dinner that night was fried chicken, potatoes and salsa, with a round of margaritas for aperitifs. Afterwards, we embarked on a mammoth game of poker, interrupted briefly by the cheese course, but by 2.30 we were all done for so abandoned it for bed.
Tuesday saw a very welcome improvement in the weather. It was still fairly cloudy, but reached 20 degrees. We set off in the morning for Périgueux, where we had an ok lunch in the old town, followed by a stroll around and a browse in some of the shops. We hit a supermarket on the way home, picking up more dinner supplies, including a fresh bottle of tequila. The sky cleared up over the course of the day and by the time we got back home, it was nice enough to sit outside. We enjoyed another batch of margaritas and had a lightish meal of barbecued fish (toulouse sausage in my case) served with potato salad. We didnt go as crazy that night as the boys planned to leave us first thing in the morning. They’d decided to break up their return journey with a night in Andorra, which I understand went very well. They’ve since returned home to a 28 degree evening and a dip in their pool. I am seriously considering brushing up on my Spanish and relocating!
Having said that, with the exception of today and tomorrow (16 degrees and rain all day for both) the weather looks to be FINALLY coming good out here. The long term shows sun all the way, with a peak of 29 degrees promised for the end of the week. We shall see… The timing for the current blip is really unfortunate though: Nat & Jill were due to be throwing a big party tomorrow, as they both turn 50 this year. The date has been in the calendar for ages but they were unlucky enough to pick a nasty weekend. The party has since been officially cancelled: 25 people stuck out in the rain eating soggy hog roast didnt seem too feasible. Instead, the evening has morphed into a dinner (inside) for around 10 of their close friends, so we’re looking forward to that all the same.
It was actually a narrow escape for us: Jill contacted us a few days ago to ask if we would be up for repeating our recent concert at the party. After double checking with her that she’d seen the clip of our show and knew what she was getting herself in for, we tentatively agreed and duly resumed our rehearsals. Now that the evening is just a dinner, our ‘skills’ are no longer required. We had picked out a couple new songs to add to our setlist to make it a bit longer, but with so little time to prepare, it’s probably a good thing that our second gig isnt going ahead after all.
In other news, our friends Ridgit are currently over so we caught up with them last night for dinner round their place. We ate outside and were entertained by their very sweet but very hyper new puppy, Vinnie. Rich made a delicious meal of moussaka, followed by chocolate cake and strawberries. We ended up staying until around midnight, by which time it was definitely too cold to be out. They’re here for a wee while, so we may catch them again before they head back. Right, that’s all from me for this time. Au revoir.