Interesting Places to Visit

Whilst we were down at the house this weekend, we went for a drive around lunchtime.  We had heard that there was a Christmas fair in a village Soussac, not far from Pellegrue.  We decided we would try going to Sauveterre de Guyenne for lunch, and then on to Soussac afterwards, going there cross country.  As it turned out, the fair at Soussac did not come to much - it might have been better later, but it looked as if we would have been the only visitors there, so we ducked that one!

Sauveterre has a charming square which is now a car park, but I imagine hosts a bustling market on Tuesdays.  Around the square are a number of shops, and we found a nice little restaurant for lunch - Les Arcades.  It was a bit basic, but the fixed price three course lunch with wine for €11.50 was not bad at all.

We then headed out on the road to Monségur, which we have been to before, and also has a charming square and nice cafés for lunch.  The map we were using had told us about a "village de charme" - Castelmoron d'Albret.  We parked up, and wandered around the village.  It had a feel just like villages in Provence - buildings and houses perched on the top of a hill, winding roads between the houses butting directly onto the roadway.  The buildings themselves were generally a bit run down, and a large number of them were for sale.  These would make ideal renovation projects if you wanted a village property.  There was a restaurant there - Chez Pierre, I think - which looked like a nice spot for lunch.  Next trip, I think!

The three locations - Sauveterre, Monségur with Castelmoron in between - make a nice little trip - perhaps on a Tuesday for the Sauveterre market or Friday for the Monségur one.

Visit in November

Just come back from a weekend - it is good to be over there.  We did have a few problems, though.  Going over in November, you really need to have the heating working ok.  However, when we got there, we had difficulty getting the boiler to work.  We finally worked out that the boiler had been on since the 22 of September, when the last people were there, and the shower upstairs had not been fully turned off.  As a result, it had been using up hot water continuously until the tank ran out of oil!

We had bought about 500 litres earlier this year - the previous 500 litres had lasted 2 years.  All gone!  Also no way of getting the tanker over to fill up.  There was a solution - we had a couple of 25 litre jerry cans which we took to the petrol station in Pellegrue.  We filled them up, and, not easily, transferred the contents into the tank.  A couple of attempts and the boiler started up.  After a while, we realised the heating wasn't working.......  A couple of blows to the pump with an Irish screwdriver, and we had hot radiators!

Ok - that was ok Saturday afternoon, but, Friday afternoon and evening, we were freeeeeezing!  The small electric radiators just aren't up to heating a big space - they're fine for the bedrooms we bought them for, but not the master bedroom or the downstairs living area.

On the way to the house from Bordeaux, we stopped at Leroy Merlin to decide on bathroom stuff, and we bought a grate for the fireplace.  That did make a difference, and both nights we were able to have a roaring fire, which made up for it a bit.

Bathroom planning is now well advanced - we are assured it will be ready by the time I go out at the end of March.  I have a list of improvements for when I'm out there - shutters for the bunk bedroom, skirting board and general tidying up around the landing, decorating in the bathroom...