Back on track

Into the local village of Les Mages this morning, walking under the tiny underpass, past the plopping frogs. A friendly little market there, where we bought vegetables and fruit, some sliced cured ham (which proved to be delicious). The lady we bought ham from was correcting my French in a friendly way, and when I paid her she told me words to the effect that she was charging me a few euros, but the heart of France is free. 

Meanwhile, the butcher’s stand was fun, and he was a real performer. One of the locals was buying lots, and he routinely dropped in the odd extra sausage. We bought some sausages, and were given a really good extra slab of pate for nothing. Then we went into the Tabac, where Lorraine got us coffee, and the lady there remembered us. I really like being in this Tabac as it feels like you are glimpsing a completely everyday bit of French life. Men ordering their demis, and Pastis which changes colour with water, and coffees. There is a lot of gambling there and there is some nasty machine at the end of the bar you can stick your credit card in and play. A pretty relaxed attitude to smoking there too. 

We dropped the stuff off at home, and then went for a wander about nearby. Following the little lane up the hill, we found it led to an abandoned railway line.  Railways the theme of our holiday, we decided to go for a stroll along it. There were bits where trees had begun to grow through the sleepers. Lizards darting along the hot rails. We did this for a bit and then turned back to follow it back into the village.

The rest of the day spent eating the food we'd bought, and lounging by the pool and feeding mosquitos.  Later we played scrabble where Lorraine got a seven letter word on a triple early in the game, and then we ate lots of food and drank lots of wine.

Below a large ornamental fly on the wall of a house in Les Mages (a new project for Mum?). Sun through the leaves of the poolside fig tree, frogs, the line to nowhere, and various closeups of ants and the sleeper wood.