Phare des Balèines, l'Île de Ré

One of the highlights of our trip to the coast last week was a visit to the Phare des Balèines at the northern tip of l'Île de Ré.

The lighthouse was built in 1849 is 57 metres high and access to the top is by a spiral staircase of 257 steps..... and there was a long queue!

We decided to forgo the climb and instead take a walk on the wild side... round the Écluses de l'Île de Ré, a fishing area surrounded by stone walls, dating back to the Middle Ages.

The walls were built without any concrete and yet have survived the ravages of tide and time. We experienced a little of these 'ravages' as we walked the kilometre or so round the wall with the tide advancing...

 

 

Even the beach had it's idiosyncracies...

In one area children had used smaller pebbles to spell out their names on the shore. I wonder how many of these cairns survive the winter storms??
It was certainly a fascinating place and one to recommend.

Magic Roundabout 3

This weeks featured roundabout is located just outside Châtellerault at the crossroads of the D38 the route to Targé and the D161 the route to Chevalerie. It is part of the Châtellerault ring road.  We travel on this road on our trips to Limoges Airport. It is the "rond-point des Vignes de Targé "

It is a very rural location so I would not expect to see anything other than a plain roundabout perhaps with a few wild flowers. However this is France and as can be seen from the photographs it is a small domaine ( Domaine des Roundabout!!!). It has the old machinery, two caves and even a small vineyard growing grapes.

I wonder what they actually do with the grapes?

A Tale of Two Tigers....

A Tale of Two Tigers.... or so we thought!

When we first spotted this handsome butterfly on the lavender we thought it was a Tiger Swallowtail but on further investigation we now think it's a Scarce Swallowtail....

 

 

And let's face it, when you're as attractive as this specimen (even with a damaged wing) who really cares what you're called!

And the other tiger? Well, we're sure of that one... It's  a Jersey Tiger moth which seems to have taken up residence in the garden.

 

The colour of the hind-wings is shown at its best when the moth is in flight. Its striped legs are something else!

This shot shows just how well adapted it is to flight.  Does aircraft design owe anything to the Jersey Tiger???

The Fireworks...

We mentioned yesterday that the Fete du bois de Temple was to end with a Feu d'Artifice, or firework display. What we didn't realise at the time was that the fireworks were to be set off from the field at the front of our house!

However, these men setting up the display in the late afternoon were a bit of a give-away....

So we were able to watch the pyrotechnics from the comfort of home..

The strange thing was it was so dark we had no idea that there were dozens of people lining the road in front of the house to watch the display. It wasn't until the fireworks finished and people clapped and cheered and suddenly car headlights came on and engines revved that we realised we were not alone...

Colin has never filmed a firework display before... the video below was taken 200 yards away from our front garden and gives a sense of the atmosphere!

It was a fitting end to a lovely day and we look forward to next year's Fete du bois du Temple

Fête du bois du temple - 2ème Randomée Autos - Motos Rétro

Today we attended the Fête du bois du temple - 2ème Randomée Autos - Motos Rétro. It was held in our village in the wood adjacent to the village hall just across the field from our house.

The morning started with an extensive Vide Grenier. The stalls covered a huge area and continued throughout the day.

From lunchtime onwards the stars of the show were the old cars and motorbikes... There was a great selection of French, American and British vehicles of varying ages on display. Here are a couple of general pictures. For all you car enthusiasts, like myself, I have included a good selection of individual vehicle pictures on the Autos - Motos Rétro Page.

 

 

As always in France the event was very well attended with people coming from all around the area. The event concludes tonight with a firework display at 23:00 hours.... We will be there....

Stuffed Woodpecker

We thought we would share with you our latest recipe.

Roast woodpecker stuffed with hazelnuts and served with Grapes and Celeriac Puree.

Woodpecker is a bird that is available year-round. Young birds are best for eating. This recipe will cook the woodpeckers to rare - so ensuring maximum flavour.

• 4 woodpeckers, plucked and cleaned
• 2 lbs Hazelnuts
• Salt & pepper
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 celeriac root, peeled and cut into large pieces
• 1/2 lb small (seedless) black grapes (250 g)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• You will also need:
• Foil
• A masher

Preheat the oven to 266 degrees F (130 degrees C). Season the woodpeckers with salt & pepper and stuff with the hazelnuts. Heat half of the butter in a frying pan and brown the woodpeckers over a medium heat. Make sure that you also brown the legs (they may take longer than the breasts).
Place the woodpeckers on a baking sheet and roast for approximately 12 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. Take the woodpeckers out of the oven and allow to rest on a warm plate, loosely covered with foil. Now increase the oven temperature to 392 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Meanwhile, cook the celeriac for 15 minutes in plenty of salted water.
Snip smaller bunches of grapes from the bunch of grapes and carefully toss in the olive oil on the baking sheet. Roast the grapes in the middle of the oven for approximately 15 minutes.
Now drain the celeriac and mash to a rustic puree with the rest of the butter. Season the puree with freshly grated nutmeg, salt & pepper.
Divide the celeriac puree over four warmed plates, dish up the roast woodpeckers and place a small bunch of grapes on each plate. Drizzle with the grape 'gravy'.

 Bon Appétit...

Stop... only a joke but actually what I would like to do to the woodpeckers that have stolen ALL our hazelnuts. The only recipe change would be that they would be already stuffed!!!!!

A few days at the coast...

Yes we have been on holiday for a few days and instead of our usual destination of the UK we went to La Rochelle and the L'îlle de Rê. La Rochelle is 195kms (120 miles) from Braye and it is the easiest part of the coast for us to get to as the drive is all motorway and dual carriageway. The downside is the 9:70€ each way toll but the plus side is you are there in just over 2 hours. La Rochelle has a very pretty harbour and old town, it was quite busy being the middle of the French holidays.

 

We toured the area to the south of La Rochelle, Châtelaillon Plage as far as Fouras (about 20 miles). There were many beaches to explore, some were busier than others but none could be said to be overcrowded. The picture below is one of the quieter ones at Fouras.

 

We then paid the quite pricey sum of 16:50€ to go over the bridge to the L'îlle de Rê. We did not really know what to expect but it was spectacular... and well worth a visit.

 

We will be featuring some of the more interesting aspects of both areas in future blogs so watch this space.. We both enjoyed our short break away and will most definitely be visiting the area again.

Interesting Fact - St Martin de Re one of the main tourist towns on the L'îlle de Rê  is twined with Esperance in Western Australia. Esperance is a large town in the Goldfields-Esperance region  located on the Southern Ocean.