Chilled Friday
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….so much so the French closed France!? So we’d done all the activities on our to-do list and decided to head (quite literally ) in the other direction for a potter in some pretty towns. The first seemed eerily shut so we came closer to home to find yet more shut shops….some sort of french holiday….any old excuse!! Richelieu did have a lovely antique market on today and Daddy bought himself a herb grinder which is in fact a coffee grinder but serves the purpose! We stopped off in the square for refreshments and lovely sunshine!

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Our plans to casually collect bread (to accompany soup this evening), milk to cover breakfast and pudding were somewhat scuppered but the shut-ness of France! Thankfully Mike & Glynis were more than obliging and gave (would not accept money!) us bread, milk and wine! Just had our dinner and could SO easily spend another week here in this gorgeous place! How we’re going to convince Bea to leave her beloved “holiday house”, “holiday friends” (Mike and Glynis), “holiday bed”, “holiday bath”, “holiday car”….I could go on! Just about to start our evening card games and polish off the last bottle of vino!

Thursday Chateaux and dinner!
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We began the day with a spot of croquet on the lawn….

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We then visited Chateaux du Rivau. Again the second visit for us but just the most beautiful “Fairytale Castle” a 2yr old could dream of and she LOVED it!! Despite the weather perpetually being against us this week we managed to get it craftily right and only saw the rain on the way home in the car having spent the whole afternoon in lovely sunshine!

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Loving the hammocks!!

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At the top of the Castle helping Charlie through the maze….

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Navigating the maze for herself….aka bossing Daddy about!!

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Watching the Stable story intently!

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Dinner out tonight! We asked Mike and Glynis for a restaurant recommendation, our criteria: good French food, child (2.5yr old) friendly and relatively local. SO we were pointed in the direction of Le Ricordeau in Loudun.

We arrived and were the only people there. It was big and VERY French (as assured by Mike) and the staff spoke less English than we did French, we were a little out of our comfort zone…!? It was late for Bea but she’d had a “power nap” late afternoon and was very excited about her “big girls dinner out”. None of us could decide (understand?) what we wanted let alone what we order for Bea? There was not a “frites” in sight on this menu!! It took us some time using our combined French “skills”, bare minimum from the staff (although lovely) and iphone apps to choose our meal BUT we chose, we ate the AMAZING food and Bea after her first course (of Parma ham salad…not a win!) lapped it all up! She scoffed chicken and mushrooms and Chocolate Gateaux avec “pink ice cream” for pud. The place filled up very quickly which meant we could “dissolve” our very English selves and enjoy the evening. Bea was a trooper and easily made it to 10:30! Brilliant end to a fab day!!

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