Day 3 with the Cyclos.

If you want Days 1 and 2 you can read them here and here.

I thought I could ring the changes and tell you about Day 3 over here at Fat Dormouse.

So, as Mr FD had had a touch too much sun on Sunday, he decided he wasn't going to ride at all on Monday, so we decided to take a trip down memory lane...In 1991 and 1992 (yikes 26 years ago!) we spent a couple of holidays in the area so we travelled back to the village where we stayed, and a couple of villages we'd visited when we were there.

 So, we set off to Fayence first of all,

and then we went to Seillans

where the fountains were watering buckets of roses.

These were places we'd visited when we were staying here as Young Things. To be honest, I didn't really remember the villages, but they were pretty to visit.

We then called in at Callas to buy olive oil related goods for Rudy and Marie Odile, who were looking after the cats. And then on to Bargemon.

Bargemon has stayed in our memories, as the place where we enjoyed a  meal one evening, in a peaceful square, shaded by plane trees. Mr FD and I only need to say "under the plane trees at Bargemon" for us to conjure up visions of the perfect restaurant, with a delicious meal... We knew we had to go back.

But we couldn't (of course!) find "that" place...The square wasn't really as we'd remembered it, and we argued (though not seriously) over whether it had been that restaurant, or this one... Well, we ended up in a very nice restaurant, where I had rabbit chasseur, and Mr FD had mushroom-and-truffle rissotto. We then both had a raspberry & white chocolate dessert.

When I got home I rooted out my old photo albums... Here is Mr FD (Good grief he looks so young!!)(Well, he was only 32 or so...)

and carefully written at the side is the menu that we had that evening:

• Feueillettes de morilles au crème (mushroom puffs)
• Magret de canard aux pruneaux duck with prunes)
• Fromage
• Dessert (Charlotte au chocolat for Mr FD, crème caramel for me)

This is the restaurant where we had lunch (back in 2017 now!) We aren't sure it's the same one as back then, but we reckoned it was probably it.

Then we drove to the village of Montferrat where we stayed for both those holidays. We knew that there was a lovely pool area, hidden away in the woods behind the village, where we'd spent time in the past, so we trekked up to find the place.

Here I am in 1992

and here are the pools of Pierrepont today (I wasn't going to be posing like that, thank you very much!) (And you won't ever see me in shoprts like that again either! I go for the knee length varoety nowadays - noone deserves to be subjected to the sight of my cellulite!)

The pools were fuller, and the landscape greener, on this visit as we were there in April, as opposed to the height of summer.

After the walk we had a quick drink in a bar (not the one we used to sit in on holiday, but another that I don't remember ever frequenting) mainly because we both needed the toilet! Then back to the holiday village to meet up with the Cycle group. 

I was quite tired so I had a snooze, while Mr FD had a stroll around the grounds of the village. After dinner, he suggested we might both stroll back to our room via the path he took. It was a warm evening, so I was happy to do so. It was lovely, with the sunset, but a tad unnerving when we saw the distinctly bulky shapes of two adult wild boar and a baby. Knowing they'd be afraid of us, and avoiding us, but also protective of the baby, Mr Fd and I started belting out songs from the shows (Mainly "I could have danced all night" and "Chim-chiminee" That would certainly get the boar to run away!!)

We got back to the room, and settled down to listen to another downloaded podcast - Friday Night Comedy, I think this one was - but I dropped off very quickly, and missed most of it!!!

Here's two more photos of me, back in the day. Here I am feeding - or stroking - the Poor Cats of the Village in Montferrat (Plus ça change, plus c'est la meme chose!!)

and here I am in my favourite outfit of the time - a top and skirt from Long Tall Sally. 

I am no longer that slim or young. Never mind. Time and tide wait for no man. Or Fat Dormouse.