St Clement

There are things that I could do again and again. Fishing, of course. In France the list includes eating cheese after every meal (including breakfast), reading in a sun soaked garden, and paddling a boat up the Loir River. All these things happen right here. We are a stones throw from the river, and this afternoon launched Raphael’s kayak come sailing boat. The fast flowing current made for a tough paddle upstream to the island where the boys investigated a ruined stone cottage and collected bones and mushrooms. The girls jumped in for a pleasant glide home with the current. After discovering a frog in the boat, the kids soon found many more hiding on the water’s edge. Dinner for someone.

Naomi and Kael are both smitten with the resident cat. She plays a little hard to get, scratching little hands and running away. It is yet to dampen their enthusiasm. Naomi dreams of a cat which sleeps at her feet. Kael may be more suited to a dog to follow him around hunting rabbits and exploring the riverbank. Both of them may need to settle for some laying hens or maybe some oxen. I hear they are quite handy to have around.

It Saumur is the closest regional centre. Saturday morning markets in Saumur are great. Raphael likes the mix of strange people. Everyone is a little bit strange to me when I can’t understand what they are saying. He is right though, there are many interesting faces. It is a shopping trip, local produce for a week of eating. This time we bought fish, cheese, chicken, olives, brioche. We added croissant, coffee and some sweet pastries to the list. It was hard to pass the hand-made chocolates, huge blocks of nougat, wine, cider and the entire display at each of a dozen patisseries, but we showed remarkable restraint. Organic options are everywhere. Vegetables are bought from the local market some can be picked from the soil.

As I mentioned before, this house is enchanting. Everything is interesting and beautiful. Stone walls and exposed timber beams, timber shutters, terracotta tiles, a slate roof. Flowers and vegetables in a old stone walled garden. All beautiful, all very French. Simple, practical and yet lovely.

Raphael and I bottled a large quantity of local wine in his cave. I had the tough job of putting the corks in. It was my reluctant responsibility to correct the volume of the overfilled bottles by drinking the surplus. Tough work.

Kael attended a gymnastics class with his cousin Emile. He began cautiously but soon moved on to fighting the girls and forward flips.

I ventured into the kitchen to wow everybody with my cooking skills.  I think the secret is novelty. Don’t play on someone elses “home court”. If your efforts are disappointing, at least they can say “C'est tres exotique”. Fortunately we were all happy with the stuffed bread and pizza blanc.

School work plods along. We are yet to find the most effective dynamic. But as the French say: Practice makes parfait. Everybody likes dessert.