23 October 2012

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

tap1 The indrois had burst it banks at Génillé at the weekend.

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Before we set off for France on 5th October I checked the weather forecast on the Meteo France website and could not believe my luck.  For the first ten days of our two week holiday the forecast was showing bright yellow circles every day with a few grey droplets on the first Wednesday.  In other words, sunshine with very little rain – and really good temperatures – up to 25°C on our first Sunday. 

We packed our shorts and sandals.

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tap4 The Claise was very high at Abilly on Saturday morning.

We had a horrendous drive down to Folkestone on the Friday morning.  Heavy rain and very busy motorways do not make for relaxed driving.  We arrived at the tunnel, nerves frazzled, but in time to get an earlier train than we had booked.  Which was great because we could not get away from this horrible rain soon enough.

tap9b tap9c Being first on the train in the high carriages means you are also first off.

It was still raining when we got off the train at Calais but the clouds gradually disappeared and the temperature soared.  By the time we got to Le Grand-Pressigny it was 24°C and our beloved blue Loire sky and gorgeous sunshine were there to greet us.

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We spent a happy evening, enjoying apéros in the village square and dining outside on our little terrace.  Little did we know, that was pretty much the last we would see of that sunshine !!

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The Claise was extremely high in the village on Sunday evening.

tap5 A piece of tree trunk was being rolled noisily in the water that tumbled over the weir, reminding us that flood water has hidden dangers.  We could hear the thud, thud, as it crashed around from quite a distance away.

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At one point, it rained almost continuously for about 36 hours.  That’s a lot of water to fall in a short time and it’s not surprising that rivers and streams flooded.  We have never seen the place so wet.

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The rain stopped and there was a lovely sunset on Sunday evening.

Predictably, the rain eventually stopped and the sun came out – on Sunday evening, just before we came home.

tap9We took our customary last walk around the village on as the sun went down.  The village looked as beautiful as it usually does, just to tease, or is it torture us, as if the rain had been a figment of our imagination.

On Monday morning we packed up in brilliant sunshine, which I have to say is a lot better than trying to load a car in the pouring rain.  But we did feel entitled to be a bit miffed that the good weather seemed to have returned the day we were going home.

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Our new umbrella stand came in very handy this holiday !!

All the way home the sun shone, even in northern France, where it was sunny and 23°C !!  On the one hand we were pleased to have an easy journey, on the other we were a bit peeved that we seemed to be leaving the good weather behind us and going home.

When we got off the train at Folkestone, to fight our way home on the English motorways, it was dark and foggy.  My dad, bless him, had been to the house and put the central heating back on for when we got home.  Welcome to England !!

20 October 2012

A PUZZLE FOR THE WEEKEND

We have just spent the wettest two weeks ever in Le Grand Pressigny.  By which I mean it has rained to some extent every day, the first time this has ever happened to us.  Never mind, the rain was needed and we have still had a great holiday……..more later.

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However, there were plenty of sunny interludes between the showers and in one of them we found ourselves looking up into a huge tree with these fruit on.  The green thing was on the ground nearby and the leaf came with the fruit.

The question is, what are they, can you eat them and what was the tree?  And how likely are you to find the tree marching up the A1 to York…..?

Bon weekend !!  And sitting here in front of our lovely woodburning stove in South Touraine, the rain pouring down outside, although there is nowhere else I would rather be, I do hope the sun shines for you this weekend !!