France part 2

Monday 8th June
Harry drove Tina to the airport early for her to catch her 10am flight home while I stayed at the villa with Lily and mum and dad to pack everything up to check out at 10am. Once the car was packed up we said bye to mum and dad to go our separate ways for the rest of the trip. We had had a really nice time with Grandma, Gramps and Granny Hen so we were sad to be saying goodbye!
We got on the road for our 3.5 hour journey to our next place. We decided to stop halfway for some lunch to break the journey up for Lily. Harry found a lovely little tea rooms called Thé Amo for a hot drink and lunch in a village called Castillonnes.

After this we got back on the road for the rest of the journey, just stopping at the supermarket on the way to pick up some food for our next house.
This place was also in the middle of nowhere, in a very rural area surrounded by fields and farm land. Sara the owner was waiting for us to arrive to greet us and show us around. It was a beautiful place!

We settled in and unpacked and before long it was time to put Lily to bed. It was a tricky night getting Lily to sleep unfortunately, with it being so light and teething problems. Eventually we managed to get her down and eat some dinner before going to bed too.

Tuesday 9th June
After a tricky night and not much sleep, we had a bit of a laze in bed with a cuppa and playing with Lily. Once we got up we had some breakfast and explored the gardens of the house.

After Lily’s morning nap we decided to visit a place recommended by Sara, called Brantome, about 40 minutes drive away. We were so glad we went as it was such a lovely picturesque place. It’s almost like a little island, as the place is surrounded by a river…

We had a little look round and then found somewhere for an ice cream! Lily tried my sorbet and definitely seemed to like it! It may have made her a little hyper, just in time for her afternoon nap. Oops, daddy wasn’t too pleased!

She eventually fell asleep as we walked round the gardens with her in the pram.

After a good walk and nap for Lily, we went to a cafe/bar on the river for a cold drink before driving back to the house.
At home we made some dinner and put Lily to bed and then played a bit of monopoly go before a much needed early night ourselves.

Wednesday 10th June
Lily had a much better night and even lay in a bit later this morning. We got up and had breakfast out on the terrace.

We got ready and headed out in the car for our plans for the day to go to Aubeterre, about a 20 minutes drive away and recommended by Sara. When we got there it started raining really heavily – we thought the rain had been forecast for the afternoon but it seemed to have come in earlier. We had planned to walk around Aubeterre to nap Lily in the pram, but that wasn’t going to be pleasant in this weather. So we decided to get back on the road and continue driving to a place further away called Lac Jamaye and let Lily nap in the car.
We arrived to a lovely big lake, parked up and got Lily in the pram. We walked along the front of the lake where there was a lovely looking cafe, and we were getting hungry so we decided to have some lunch. The manager spoke really good English and was really nice. He sat us at a table right on the front of the terrace area with a good view of the lake. We had a yummy lunch, Harry had a beef, duck and mushroom lasagna and I had some very good frites!

After lunch we went for a walk around the lake.

We then drove back to the house, had some dinner, put Lily to bed and then played a couple of games of sequence before bed ourselves.

Thursday 11th June
We got up and Beth went for an early morning swim while Lily and Harry went for a walk around the garden.

We had a bit of a lazy morning, having a bath and a cuppa and some breakfast and then put Lily down for her morning nap. While Lily slept, Harry and I continued our games tournament from last night.
When Lily work up we got ready and drove to Aubeterre-sur-Dronne.

We had done some research online for a cafe that does some good vegetarian and vegan food. It was such a lovely cafe with a terrace with a view over the town. It was full of British people and they were all swooning over Lily! I had a delicious chai latte and Harry had a beer – Lily wanted to try some!!

For lunch we each had one of their flatbread pizzas which were delicious!
After lunch we had a look at their cake counter and took a couple of things away as a treat for later.

We then drove back to the house and did some playing. After Lily (and Harry) had napped, we went swimming. The pool was pretty chilly so we layered lily up and she loved it!

We had dinner on the terrace in the sun, then put Lily to bed and played our usual games on the terrace before bed ourselves.

Friday 12th June
We got up and Beth had a quick morning dip in the pool.

Then we got ready, had breakfast and drove to Riberac, about 20 mins drive away, for the Friday morning market recommended by Sara. It was lovely, really hustle and bustle feel – much busier than everywhere else we had been on the trip. We wandered around sussing out what there was and then made a few purchases to take back to the house for lunch – olives for Harry of course, falafel and babaganoush for Beth, as well as some amazing massive blackberries.

We then sat outside at one of the cafes on the street to have a drink while a man played some live jazz music singing and playing the piano, reminding us of Harry’s Grandad Eric.

We then drove back to the house and had a lovely lunch in the sun on the terrace.

After lunch we took Lily in the swimming pool as it was so sunny and warm. After a good swim and splash around. It was time for her nap. During this we soaked up the sun ourselves to make the most of it before starting our journey home tomorrow.
After Lily’s nap, we went in the pool one more time!

We then did some packing up, made some dinner, put Lily to bed and played some games before bed.

Saturday 13th June
Last night was an interesting one sleep wise, in that not much was had by Lily, and therefore by us as well! We dragged ourselves out of bed and Beth had a very quick last dip in the pool to wake herself up a bit.

We had some brekkie, packed up the car and got on the road for our 6ish hour drive to Venon where we are staying for the night.
Oh and happy 7 months Lily!

We broke the drive up as usual and eventually made it to our half way accomodation in Venon for the night.

Sunday 14th June
Our alarm went off and we got ready and packed up. We had a three and a half hour drive left to do to get to the Eurotunnel. We managed to get there in good time and after grabbing a cup of tea we got on an earlier train. Before we knew it we were back in England and home sweet home!