Signing our Life Away!

Today is Wednesday. This is significant because what we did today would have otherwise been done at 4pm Tuesday, if not for my physical state. I needed a day off yesterday, after a day spent at Emergency on Monday.
Two nights of pain-wracked sleep have not been helpful in the scheme of things.
I have resorted to Extra-strength Tylenol...two. I cant tolerate Ibuprofen, which would have been better perhaps, but prolonged previous use prior to my hip replacement, has left me with an ulcer.
I can only describe the pain as a searing heat...burn, baby, burn! Of course it doesn't help that I'm flat on my back, with pillow support behind the shoulder at night, but being a right side sleeper, this is completely foreign to my sleep pattern...sigh!
Awake at 3-something, painkillers administered...I have to wake Waz in order to get out of bed....and then again at 6.40. The alarm is going off at 7am anyway. I managed to scootch myself off the bed by myself at that hour, while Waz snored on:)
You really dont realize how much you use every muscle in your body to do all the things you take for granted each day.

Up at 7am, breakfast and out the door by 8.30. We wanted to get to the house a little early than the appointed time of 10. What we really needed to do the most, was have a coffee at the Village Restaurant and Bar, that we knew was newly opened for the Spring season.
It is hard for me to take photos, and because it was still -6C outside, I had my gloves on, and therefore not able to take photos.
Our hosts in the Bar were Celine and Benjamin. The latter spoke a little English, and we enjoyed a Franglais conversation, not mentioning rugby at all. (Some of you will get this joke). We told them that we were their new neighbors and were moving into the village, albeit a Km up the road. Celine said her Uncle lives on the same road. We have no doubt that the news will spread quickly!:)
We finished our hot Grand Crème and made our way up the road to the house. We get a buzz from seeing her standing out from the ridge above the vines, as we drive along the main road towards our turn-off. You can get a really good idea of the view from down below.

We agreed to meet our realtor at our new house for a final inspection after the current owner took her personal belongings out over the weekend, and before we signed the Compris de Vente, the agreement of sale, already signed by the seller before she departed for places in the southern hemisphere, we are told. Her Attorney has power of Attorney, so nothing will be held up in the process of completing this sale.


Matthew was slightly late arriving, but  we exited the car anyway. WOW! Freezing cold wind!!! Sheesh...-6C but with the wind chill it must have been -15. Time to get out of that wind, so we walked down the vines side of the hedge in the sunshine.

The  hedge had been trimmed prior to our first visit, and good thing too. We might take the one on this side, out, and plant a different and less obtrusive one in it's stead.
So, this is the back side of the house. You can see the terrace out there, which I predict will become our very favorite place to be. Those far reaching views will be hard to beat.

The doors onto the outside terrace are the only light into that end room. Strange! It is our plan, with permission from the Mairie, to put a large window of two in the blank wall above the lower windows that you see on the far bottom left. This being the view wall, why not? Makes good sense.

 What a pretty and clear view we had today, down the valley.

The difference in terrain as we pass from the northern Dordogne area where we are staying, into the Cognac growing Charente, is from the wide open field of crops, and gentle undulations, to more hills that are closer together, covered in vines. Currently we see vehicles everywhere amongst the vines as the vintners are out pruning their vines. Fires in the vine fields are also happening, to burn the trimmings.

Matthew duly arrived and unlocked the house which was colder than a witches tit, as the saying goes.

Today we just wanted to measure up the bathroom on the first floor and to take a look at the boiler and cooker. The Rangemaster isn't very clean, but that will have to wait until I'm more physically able, obviously.
We have been trying to find out more information on this dual fuel cooker. The oven is electric.

 Matthew was extremely cold inside the house and his complaining didn't encourage us to spend as much time there as we might have.  We did take the photos we wanted, and Waz measured the bathroom, among other things. We also needed a better idea of what was left in the house after the owner left. All we really need to do is move in and turn the boiler on to heat it and get rid of the smell.

Having accomplished that, and swiftly back in the car, we set off after Matthew to his office in Jarnac where we were to sign the Compris de Vente. This is the first signing of two that are needed to complete the purchase. I wont go into it further right now, as I'm typing left handed,

By 1pm we had signed everything, had it all translated and explained to us by Matthew, and were on our way to the restaurant across the way where we enjoyed a Roasted Camembert with garlic and home fries. We were also given a basket full off baguette, which we shared while scooping up the hot camembert...Delicious. 13.50eurs, thanks.


Back on the road with heating blasting but not really heating us very fast, we headed on in the direction of Barbezieux St Hilaire to visit our local Lidl. We needed a few thing, and this is our closest Lidl. The prices are always amazing to us. Today a large cauliflower was just .59 eu. 4 croissants were 1.16 eu or .29 eu each. A pack of 20 double sheet toilet rolls were just 2.99eu.
The pistachios weren't on sale today, so we paid 3.39eu for a bag of 325 grams. We do like them as a snack while cooking dinner.
My favorite brand of ganache filled chocolate is only 1.65 eu each, so of course I bought 2...as you do! lol.
I had pretty much had enough of everything by this stage, but we had one more stop. The E.Leclerc supermarche espace Culturel has a great book shop where we had previously spied a topo map of the town we will inhabit. Of course we should have purchased it when we saw it, because it wasn't there today. We needed another Grand Crème by this stage, being 3pm, so we stopped in at the Bistrot in the complex that is the supermarket, and sat at the bar while we enjoyed a moment of peace on this busy and significant day.
Letting the import of what we had just done, sink in,  brought smiles to our faces. No regrets. This is what we wanted to do, and now we just had to complete the whole process that will be our immigration to France. We aren't going to become Citizens in the near future, but we do want to live here and be as 'local' as is possible with a kiwi/US twang.

In the book shop I was very amused to see this stack of books.

The Fire and the Fury, Trump at the White House...among the others. i asked if I would photograph the books, and the answer was produced along with a healthy laugh at the person who inhabits the White House. As I have said in previous posts....Im not a fan, and I dont want to hear from you if you are! Thanks!

 Homebound....It is significant at this stage to tell you that I am sitting in the back right seat of the car. This way I feel a bit safer and more cocooned than if i was sitting in the front passenger seat. I am a bad enough back seat driver without being in the front seat and reacting to every little thing. Waz doesn't deserve that. He is getting used to driving this rental car, and the weird feeling gear changes...it took me a wee time...just a wee time, mind you, so I will forgive him. What I dont like about sitting in the back is the swaying around that I do. Stressful! Body is sore enough without having that as well.

We stopped at the SuperU petrol station at Villebois Lavalette for a fill up, and made it home by 4pm. A cup of tea, put away the Lidl shopping and time to light the fire. Its cold!

It snowed all the way home, which was rather fun, but it didn't settle on the road, despite the 1C temperature.

Well, its time for more painkillers, and a shower. I need Waz 's help for everything so I have to somewhat fit into his schedule...did I say we have a schedule?? ha!

Night, night for now.

NOT a Good Trip!

I'm not talking about a vacation journey here...rather a 'flying' and very vocal face to face meeting with cold terracotta tiles.
Yesterday morning at 7am (Sunday) I rose to wash my hair over the bath tub, and with a towel loosely draped over my head I moved back into the bedroom before returning to said bathroom alongside Waz. he moved ahead of me going through the doorway, below which are two shallow steps. I negotiated the first step, then my brain departed for an unknown destination, and I did the famous 'tile sprawl'. This isn't the first tile sprawl you will gather, but to date it is the most detrimental to my wellbeing.
the white faced top step is not very high, which is a problem. It is this one that I missed.

We have had our special friends here for two nights after their Camping Car broke down...well, wheel bearings killed it temporarily, and they needed a bed for two nights. Thank goodness they were here when I damaged myself, as Jen is a nurse! She arrived with a nasty, tight, chesty cough, and we were able to 'nurse' each other, while they were here. I'm happy to report that the warm honey/lemon juice concoction worked some magic for her.

She and Paul schlepped for me and Paul helped Waz cut the firewood, which I would normally have done.
That huge beam above Wazs head caught all of them out, being tall folks...painful if you dont duck! Ask Waz how many times he has hit his head!

So....the damage?
First, we rocked up to the Hospital in Soyaux, closest to us, We were told that the specialist wouldnt be in until 3pm. Advised to head to the General Hospital in Angouleme. Took the ring road, which is marvelous! Parking is an issue at Hospitals everywhere, it appears. The wind was so cold I asked Waz to drop me at Urgences, (emergency room) which was small and extremely calm for such a named place.
I went to the welcome desk and did my best to covey that I had fallen, and my shoulder, bicep and tricep were an 8 on a scale of 1-10. En Feu..On Fire! a good way to explain it.
A large modern Hospital.

/It was then requested that we go next door to the Business Admin. office.Not much, if any English being spoken here!  We got all the info sorted, but would return to pay later.

A 1 1/2 hr wait...I was in pain and exhausted from the pain...and before going to the Hospital, we had to go to Hertz at the Station to get Waz registered as the driver.
Plenty of medical people apparently wandering aimlessly arund made us wonder about the efficacy of the whole establishment.

I was X-rayed twice, and consulted with the young physician who happily told me I had no broken bones!!!I had given my bicep and tricep at the shoulder, a 'shock'. In other words, Pulled muscles front and back.Wait there Madame Brown, we will give you an appliance to immobilize the arm. Fantastic!

/It was going on 2pm, by now. Hungry, we discussed what we might have in the fridge for immediate use...but it would be way late by then, with another 45 mins to travel.
We stopped at our new favorite Restaurant, Flunch. I ate a nice piece of breaded fish with small veg. and Waz enjoyed his favorite, a made to order burger. We shared a lemon meringue pie and a cappuccino each. Fortified, we drove,...well, Waz did! ..home.


Waz had a nap until I woke him to start the fire. We are getting freezing temps.

 As I went to draw the curtains to keep the heat in, I saw hundreds of migrating Cranes, looking for a roost for the night.

We have enjoyed some gorgeous days, and Saturday we drove Jen and Paul into Angouleme. This was a great opportunity  to show them our new closest big city. They were suitably impressed, and found the countryside most attractive.
We parked in the old city and walked a similar route to the one Waz and I had taken previously...with a few exception...today, the shops were open, being Saturday. We visited the shops in the underground center, Champs de Mars.
 With such clear air, it seemed a shame not to take more photos.
This is the Hotel de Ville. The towers are from the 13th and 15th centuries, beautifully incorporated into the late 1800's Chateau.

 So exciting to see plants beginning to flower and grow.

Gate Envy!

 We are often surprised by the details

 The view is stunning, out over the valley below, from the elderly ramparts.

Public loos in that little cabin. looking down from the ramparts.

 stunning views.

 One of the paths down from the old town

 Love this very elderly door bell.

Homeward bound, we looked for a café at our last stop in the Carrefour Supermarche. Some tasty comestables were purchased for dinner, and Jen found something to aid her recovery.
She and Paul cooked dinner and we enjoyed that followed by plenty of sweet treats, which we are all rather partial to.:)

We spent most of the day at home, Sunday...I think we all needed some down time, and my fall provided a good excuse. Waz took Jen and Paul out to the Quarry at St Just. Being Sunday it was closed, but they could see some of the sculptures at the entry. The all enjoyed the tiki-touring for a short time.

Time to finish. Typing left handed is a bit exhausting.
Night!

Midweek. Feels like Friday!

My goodness, is it Thursday? So much has happened this week so far, that it feels as if it is Friday already.
I started writing this on Wednesday, and now it's Thursday!

Not taking many photos right now. Nothing to photograph, frankly. Our time is being spent finding information for the bank, contacting those who can provide it, waiting, driving the information into Angouleme (ong goo lem) to our bank in order to expedite the process. If only our bank in the USA didn't have to courier everything to us (takes 3-5 days), instead of just e-mailing it to the French bank.
Security, they tell me. I'm not sure that our papers are more secure in a courier envelope than they are on a secure line between banks, but what do I know. Both ways seem equally 'at risk' if you ask me.
We waited for the courier to arrive with the information from the US bank that they French Bank needed to open our account. It arrive AFTER we returned from the bank, of course. We also had to drive to St Aulaye to get some signatures supporting our current whereabouts for same banks, yesterday afternoon.
Love the architectural style of this church in St Aulaye

 This is the downhill face of the Hotel de Ville, or Town Hall, in Saint Aulaye. Lovely! Can you see the dog on the top left turret, near the top?

 Maybe its a fox? Stone one at that.

 Our neighbors daffies are enjoying the sun.

We took some pastries for our friend's Birthday 'tea' at 3pm. Their home-in-progress is gorgeous...the views from the deck facing the view is stunning, and we could have stood out there for hours...except that it was cold. These folks are doing most of the building and finishing themselves, but it is entirely habitable as it is, with progress happening all the time. It made us tempted to build, but ....we got a home already finished and ready to move into instead. Benefits to that for us right now.

Anyhoo....With gorgeous weather yesterday (and today), it was such a pleasure to drive anywhere. We get on the road, few other vehicles to distract us, and we just love the huge vistas around us.
I took these photos before leaving home.

 A quick walk to  dispose of our kitchen trash enabled me to take these photos.

 Such a serene scene, isn't it?
Very hazy out there, yesterday and today.

On Tuesday afternoon I gave Waz and myself a haircut. We were getting a bit shaggy and it tends to add 10 yrs to our lives and looks, lol.  No, I'm not going to make the photos any larger:)
I intended to do the job outside in the sunshine, but it was just too cold and the windchill didn't help at all. Neither of the vacuum cleaners work that well, so it was a bit of a mission to clean up the hair afterwards, but we feel and look 100% better for the effort.

 We had just returned from our afternoon walk. I guess we had to show the evidence? At least you know we are alive and kicking.

We could have had more clothes on this morning. I know a frost was expected, but it was pretty cold out there when we took off in the car to deliver papers to the bank in Angouleme first thing.
 It seems to take the car sooo long to heat up. I need a good old fashioned car rug over my knees.

This time we were passed off to a young woman who spoke very little English (to finish, or at least progress the banking ) but we managed to communicate sufficiently to ascertain that MORE information was required, and we wondered why this particular form wasn't given to us at the beginning...by the Bank Manager, at that. Anyway, it was e-mailed to the USA, and hopefully our Banker there will realize the import of his signature on that piece...everything hinges on that one signature! Verifitication is paramount in this bank account opening process. They want to know exactly where the money is coming from, where it is going...not just into which account, but what you intend to do with those Euros. Hmm...Well, they are trying to stamp out Terrorist organizations and the only way to do that is to catch those who are money laundering in order to purchase those activities, and arms etc.
Take a good look at us! Do we look like arms dealers?? Well, you would never know, would you!
I tend to be taken aside at airports and thoroughly checked out. Waz must look a whole lot less harmful, because he always goes through security without a hitch.

So, another half hour with our banker, I ended up writing the letter to the US banker because the translation she had from French to English was horrific and would have confused the heck out of my banker. She was happy with my letter, and so it was e-mailed.
I havent heard if it was successful, yet! As I said, everything hinges on this one signature of verification that we are the people we purport to be. Phew!

I havent opened a bank account in a foreign country for many years, so this is both a 'process' and aggravating at the same time. We are mere pawns in this game.
We do have the bank account number, but cant pay anyone yet. We can pay INTO it, of course, lol, but not withdraw.
NEXT UP! Insurance.

We cannot drive our new vehicle until we have car insurance. The car is being fitted with a tow bar right now...and no, we havent paid a dime...still....Not sure how this system works...like I said...Trust!

Also, the owner of the house we are purchasing is busy cleaning her personal belongings out and writing us a list of contractors, who does what and where and how etc, and we still havent paid a dime towards THAT purchase either. Shite!

Not that we are sitting and twiddling our thumbs. We are currently waiting for birth certificates etc to be sent to us from NZ...we didn't anticipate that we would need those to purchase a property, but we do! We actually have them sitting in a storage unit in Florida, but of course we aren't able to access that, so we had to return to the source, as it were.
Sigh.

Having delivered the papers to the bank, AND requested the insurance, had our driver's licences photocopied et al for that event, we needed a coffee, as you do. McDonalds (I know!!) was just half a Km back towards home and on our way, so after a quick squizz in a Discount electrical goods store, during which time we had to walk into the bone chilling Arctic wind, we descended upon the McD's.

French McD's is interesting, but as with all of them, they are very much a reflection of their location. With our Double shot Latte we got a typical cookie. 2.40 euros.

It was lovely sitting and relaxing in the sun, around 11am.
We needed to get home to lunch...and first we had to go to Villebois to fill up with petrol/gas.
We have friends coming to stay so we needed some meat also. Funny how the food shopping ends up being more than you went for! lol

While in Angouleme we went to Grand Frais, the most fantastic Fresh Food Market. WOW! Look at the size of these Moroccan Blueberries! and they are delicious.

Got home, ate an al fresca lunch with our baguette cereal (brown grain baguette...divine!) some cheese, tomatoes and a cup of soup and a cuppa to follow. Plenty to keep us occupied this afternoon trying to find shipping companies...which leads me to a new dilemma...or potential spanner in the works.
Just got off the phone with one of the companies I had made enquiries on, in the USA, to ship our US goods to our new home. It appears that we may have VISA issues, and if we ship our goods this year without being able to prove domicile (you need those all important electricity bills for 3 months) in France continuously, we may have to pay VAT and import duties. Yes, tax on top of tax. We would have to also prove that we have owned everything for more than 12 months, have receipts for everything, serial numbers documented for all appliances (to prove they are purchased in the country of origin, all our things minutely documented, listed, translated, valued and...gag! I think we will have to get more advice on this issue before we make any hasty decisions.

We are used to jumping through hoops, so this doesn't phase us, its just another thing to get more info on, and work our way through. Slowly and surely we will get there.

Time for bed again! wow! Friday for real, tomorrow:)

Night night.

The Things You Do For Love...

...of a country!

We have finished dinner and are now sitting in front of a roaring fire. Dessert is a cup of coffee and I have eaten my apres Diner chocolate. Its a French thing.  Well, that's my excuse:) Waz doesn't buy it...the excuse that is...well, AND the chocolate! I buy the chocolate, mostly at Lidl because I like one of their brands.
Where was I??
Oh yes, what you do for love of country.

Today our brains got blown. Seriously blown!
A morning visit to the Accountant we had been referred to was enough for one day, but there was more to come.
Forgive the lack of photos, but you cant really ask the accountant to smile for a photo, can you?

The accountant put us straight on what the French Govt. expects from us, and will from now on. The young man was well versed in international treaties, being in a small town where there is a preponderance of English and American folks. We like that he knows the US part.

We stopped at a Boulangerie on the outskirts of Riberac to get a baguette and well, a dessert. Our brains needed the food, right! lol. Waz chose a tarte citron Meringue...guess what that is...yep! Lemon meringue pie!..I chose an Éclair Chantilly. Yes, an éclair filled with Chantilly cream...only this one had toffee on top...like a toffee apple! It was a bit challenging to eat, but I didn't squish the cream all over myself.
I heated the last of the pumpkin soup that I have frozen, and we ate half of the baguette with is, finishing with the dessert, of course. We knew our afternoon was going to be a long one.

We left here about 1.30pm towards Angouleme. We needed to stop off at Leroy Merlin, the large hardware store, and find new shaft for the front door handle. It has a smaller one installed temporarily, and we are afraid we will be locked out again, and Waz will have to put another Houdini and break in. This man can do ANYTHING! lol.

Satisfied with that purchase, we went in search of a coffee. It was taking so long at the mall where the Carrefour supermarche is, that we walked out without our coffees. What next? The Bank.

Our appointment with the Bank Manager was for 3pm. We thought this was a little late in the scheme of things, but we could not have anticipated the time it took to do everything needed to open our new account.

Seriously! Opening a Bank Account in France is fraught.
First there is the problem of all my names. Yes, All my names. In France, the one you are born with is the most important. Nom de Naissance...Birth Name. This would be my Maiden Name as we call it.
I also usually go by the last name of my former husband and the one my children are also known by. There is a good reason for this, but I wont detail that here. THEN, there is my married name to the Wazster.
Just to be sure he had ALL bases covered he printed out three forms with the three different names on them, and I signed all of them ....just in case!
Filling in the blanks on the screen was another issue altogether. We wished like heck that whoever wrote the program had highlighted the items in red that were incorrect, rather than always kicking up a window that said 'Error'.
Frustrating! Our manager kept saying the word 'ZEN", and some other words which I think he thought we didn't know the meaning of, lol.

So much paperwork! We were seriously hot in the office, had stripped off our outdoor clothes upon entry, but our faces were flush, 2 hrs into this ordeal, and water was not offered. We were all in this for the looooong haul.

The bank normally closes at 5pm. We walked out of there WITH ACCOUNT IN HAND>>>YYAYAYYAAYAY! at 5 after 6pm. The other staff could obviously not leave the manager in the branch on his own with us, so they both had to wait for us to finish. I think we owe them a box of chocolates.
Our Manager declared that he was going home to have a glass of Cognac with Shwepps and put his feet up.

We were pretty fried...well no, actually we were REALLY fried afterwards, and we needed to get home. Thank goodness it was still light at 6.30pm. We drove the 45mins home and I immediately set about making dinner. I had been planning nachos with meat sauce, avocado and good British Cheddar cheese grated on top, for a few days now. We opened a container of Crème Fraiche and enjoyed that alongside.

We will sleep well tonight, methinx.

Oh, before I go...and sorry, no photos again...we enjoyed a lovely dinner with the Lord of the Manor opposite...well, you know, across the stream and through the woods, but we can see the lights in his window at night...that close.
Chris opened the door to his work in progress, which is delightful...or will be! and we stood around in the kitchen nibbling while Daughter made dinner. He current beau was helping out (he speaks excellent English, having been to the USA a couple of years in a row) and we enjoyed his perspective, during the evening.
The dinner was almost secondary to the companionship and the laughter. We havent larfed that hard for a very long time. Great company, good food and wine and that was before the cheese and chocolates. All excellent, and much appreciated.

So, the Wazster is already snoring on the sofa...if his brain is as whacked as mine it, Im not long out of bed either.

Night night!

Finally! Aubeterre-sur-Dronne

By 11am we had taken to looking outside every few minutes, trying to decide, as the sky is bright, whether the rain was here for good, or those small touches of blue sky were going to materialize into something dryer.

Rain or shine, it doesn't make much difference to us, other than the quality of the photos I take. Rain is rain, and though we have had more than enough this past month, it doesn't stop us going anywhere and though in need of a day off, we decided to make a concerted effort to find Aubeterre-sur-Drone. Yes, that means Aubeterre is ON the Dronne River. AND...said river is flooded again.

Our first mission was to get to Verteillac to Le Calice, the UK owned pub/restaurant where we knew we could get a HOT Café Crème, or Grand Crème (double shot espresso). Polly behind the counter has no voice today, so we didn't chat much with her. Instead, we asked to sit near the Pellet Burner stove, around which a group of people were sitting and conversing. I didn't hear the language to begin with, but we did what is usually done in these parts, and greeted everyone in the place with a cheery 'Bonjour!'. They all answered in kind, as folks do here, and my query of them was "Anglais?". Yes! They all replied. We laughed! English Pub, English patrons, right? Well , not a given as one other patron was French (eating his lunch, post church, across the road) and two other women were Dutch (I asked Polly, who confirmed my suspicions, and said one of them was permanent resident in these parts). The three men further along the bar enjoying a Sunday Beer, were all Anglais too.  So much for mixing with the 'locals'...because so many of the 'locals' are Anglais!

Our coffees in hand, we seated ourselves, did introductions, and one of the crowd happens to be one of our English neighbors here in the Hamlet. I didn't recognize her first up...how embarrassing!

For the most part our company has lived here for a long time. We had much to ask them, and they in turn had much to ask us. It was good to be sharing information between us, and gaining new knowledge in the process. We will keep in touch with some.

Noon quickly turned into 1pm, and Waz happened to make the discovery that Fish and Chips with Mushy Peas was on the menu today! Facing the prospect of al fresca dining at home, we decided to try out the F&C with Mushy Peas. First time ever for both of us, eating mushy peas. It appears to be a staple in the UK. Cant say I will ask for them again. I prefer my peas whole, and the petit pois kind...baby peas. These ones had a slight green/grey hue and were the large variety pea which often tastes a bit floury, if you ask me. Now overcook them, add salt and pepper and smoosh them all up. Voila! Mushy peas.

Mayonnaise and Tartare sauce on the plate instead of ketchup for the delicious chunk fries, although they did present ketchup or more to the point Tomato Sauce, which we kiwis are more familiar with. Ketchup is spicier, generally.

The fish was Cod, and the batter was light and crisp. The chips were perfect. Ask Waz, he is the chips man! He approved whole-heartedly.:)

Our new Anglais friends had now departed for their own lunches at home, and we were left to eat in peace...relatively. Paying our bill (2 grand crème and 2 F&C's came to 29 euros, just to give you an idea. No wonder we eat at home most of the time...but, we were on our way somewhere.

THIS time we were going to make it all the way to Aubeterre-sur-Dronne.  Our GPS lady fired up, we headed out of town down a now familiar route towards Lusignac. We had come this way once before to view a house for sale...which we didn't find, but we did find the pretty town on the top of a ridgeline, with fantastic views down a fairly steep valley. Driving on through Lusignac, and not far down the road we find another village...this time further down into a valley. Our destination was on the Dronne River, of course, and this meant (to us) making our way out of the hills into that valley. We didn't expect what we found, however.
Here are some website photos of the town in summer...mostly. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=aubeterre+sur+dronne+france&FORM=IARRTH&ufn=aubeterre-sur-dronne+poitou+charentes&stid=fd24aa72-3708-179f-17d1-1ff77599162d&cbn=EntityAnswer&cbi=0&FORM=IARRTH

and this is what we found today...

Another small town, pretty and hilly still, on the way....

 Just on the other side of the town is the walled 'Dead Center' as Waz calls it...The Cemetary. They have expanded this one, as we could see by the new wall on the far side.

 I had instant Gate Envy! Arent they grand!

 Driving along the valley floor under rocky overhangs, the fields alongside the Dronne River were flooded.

 And finally, the town we have sought so many times before, lol.

 And up the hill we went, away from the Dronne and the amazing number of summertime activities available down by the bridge, including a man-made beach! these are popular places in many riverside towns. Kayaking etc are also popular summertime adventures for tourists from all over.

 There are ruins up on the hill to the right. Cant quite see what they are yet....and the rain doesn't let up for one moment for me to take photos outside of the car.

 WOW! This appears to be on private property, but somehow I think they two stairways leading upwards are taking people up to the ruins.

 Im driving, Waz is taking the photos trying not to get rain on the lens. Not possible today.

Here is another website you can take a look at...http://www.aubeterresurdronne.com/en/


Ever upwards on the cobblestone road, past old houses (aren't they all old? lol) ..all the while we are saying to each other..."I bet this place is a zoo in summer" and "Who would want to live here in Summer with the hoards of tourist on your doorstep?". I guess we will find out.

 The entry to the subterranean Church. Most of the buildings backed into the cliff.

 This fountain no doubt operates in Summer only.

 Around that corner...a bit tight, but normal in these parts.

 ...and look what we found! The town square. See that flag??behind the back row of trees...you got it...that's the Mairie!

 I couldn't help thinking that the top floor of this restaurant would have a fantastic view. Up to the left of that, and there is a large parking lot behind this place.

 We stopped, took a look around from the dryness of the car, and then decided that we weren't likely to get out, so just go home. Some pretty sights on the way though.

 Just before we crossed the Dronne River at the bottom of the valley. There is a warning on the right hand side about the trees being inclined...turning outwards.

 The river is flooded.

 Up and over the bridge....just love these rows of tall plane trees.!

 Not far away was a HUGE Maison Bourgeoise, which I didn't manage to photograph...you know how it is when you want to stop and there is a car on your tail? That one!...BUT...after pulling to the side to let the car go past us, I managed to take a photo of the private chapel alongside the road, and behind the wall. As we passed this property, we said simultaneously, "That place needs LOTS of work", lol.

 New slate roof though!

Needing to concentrate on the road for the rest of the way home, and taking the route towards Riberac after some small angst about the possibility of seeing lots more new places on the round about way home, off we went.
Nothing new to show for this road home, but there is just no way you could feel anything but happy, even on a wet day, as you go up and down the hills from Riberac towards our current home. It really is lovely, with gorgeous vistas on either side of the ridgeline road.

A coffee on our return, lighting the fire and Waz taking a nap. He's now creating yet another digital clock. We already have three of them on the dresser opposite me. We will get them to the new house, which will probably have multiple digital flashing clocks...as we did in the apartment, lol.

Bye for now. Dinner will be very ordinary. Soup, anyone?