Last days of Autumn

 A couple of views from last weeks exercise, the above, taken on a 25 kilometre bike ride from the road that runs behind Le Roque St Christophe looking up the Vezere Valley toward Montignac before you descend into Sergeac then Thonac, all but the fir trees have now turned to beautiful golden brown leaves which look amazing in the sun.
Below, another more familiar view of Les Granges after a walk 'around the block', always a pleasure at this time of year!

Follow the leader time!

What now appears to be an annual post from me is the usual sign that it is time to put away the shorts and t-shirts and get out the winter wear, the Cranes are now on the way southwards to a warmer part of the world!

We've been busy preparing for winter, everything has been put away that can be, but the gites are all ready for guests who are booked in with us in a couple of weeks. 

One thing we do get at this time of year as well as the frosty mornings, are stunning sunsets, the above taken a couple of evenings ago.

The Foie Gras effect!

5 months after Le Tour shot through the streets of Montignac and eventually past us, there are still many signs of the event on display in the shops of the town. The above I spotted a few weeks ago which made me laugh, I never knew that one of the main delicacies produced in this area of France had other medicinal uses!

Return to the Algarve!

You may have noticed a lack of posts recently, that's because at the end of the first week of October we had booked a couple of weeks away, returning to the same destination as last year in Carvoeiro in the Algarve, Portugal. This year rather than driving down we took the speedier option of flying from Toulouse to Faro, a 1.5 hour flight rather than a 15 hour drive made an obvious massive difference. 

2 weeks of fantastic weather, coastal walks, great food, drink and visiting different places helped us unwind and relax.
We have now returned to Les Granges, in fact an hour after we'd got home a couple arrived for one of the gites so it was straight back into work again! 

Birds eye view!

Ever wondered what Le Manoir des Granges looks like to one of the buzzards or black kites that circle over head, well this is exactly the view as captured by a neighbour whilst being given a tour of the area in a gyrocopter last month. Clearly visible is the complete area of our grounds as well as the track to the rear of the property that leads to the fantastic view point of the Cote de Jor plus the track opposite our drive that takes you to the lovely riverside walks down river toward Tursac or up to the Le Paradis campsite.

My passion for old tins!

In the spring of 2013 a couple came to stay, Jim & Maureen, originating from Scotland, who now live in Canada. During their stay at that time we talked about my collection of and interest in old tins to which Jim said when they returned one day he would bring me some that he'd got in his workshop.
We have kept in touch with them since and to our delight they returned this year for 3 weeks in July especially to see the Tour de France pass by. Sure enough on the day they arrived they produced a plastic bag with the tins (above). Amongst them, a very appropriate Ogdens Walnut Sliced tobacco tin and to my surprise a Boots Blackcurrant Pastilles tin, the last time I'd seen one of these was as a child whenever I had a sore throat and cough my Mum always bought these for me!

 Another little surprise (and here's the Scottish link) inside one of the small tins was an old match box, as you can see, it is what it says on the packet, a box with the smallest bottle of scotch whisky I have ever seen.

Many many thanks Jim & Maureen for bringing them all the way from your home in Canada, all will be displayed very soon in my display cabinet which many of our guests have already seen and admired in the main house!

Small renovation job!

Earlier in the week, we decided to have a morning out before temperatures once again headed towards the mid 30's. Another place on our list of 'to do's' was Chateau de Cammarque, only a 20 minute or so drive from us situated between Les Eyzies and Sarlat,
Built on top of a pre-historic cave and settlement in the 12th century and with sections of the area added to over the centuries, it's an interesting place to visit and see how renovations have been on-going since the early 1990's when the site was hidden by vegetation due to many years of neglect.
As well as the well planned walks around the estate you can also see up close some of the paintings that are visible in the cave.

By the time we'd got home, the temperature had indeed got up to 34 degrees (93 F) so was time to get in the pool to cool down!