Tuesday 26th Feb : Paris to Passais La Conception

On the train to Passais
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Up and packed. We walked through light rain to the Metro and pulled our luggage down the stairs and onto the train to the regional trains. (Invalides to Montparnasse), We thought we had made it in plenty of time but by the time we bought the tickets and made our way to the other end of the station (miles – thanks for the warning Moira) we only had a few minutes to spare. We caught a regional train from Montpanasse 10.30am to Flers in Normandy (arr. 12.40pm) where we were picked up by David & Moira in our Renault Espace. This is the car they bought for us. It is 1994, red, seven seats and apart from the odd rattle and miss as you slow down, it seems great. (Fast forward to the future….it’s March 12, and we’ve determined the car is going to die, and each new km travelled is a gift. It rattles, clunks, groans, the temp gauge works intermittently, and when it does, you wish it didn’t, it runs so hot. The car gets 9km per litre, which is not much when you’re paying Euro1.40 per litre (A$2.50/lt)). They have done so much for us. Apparently it is a major issue getting the papers transferred. They also organised insurance etc so it has been a very smooth transition for us. They did all this with Moira commuting from Aberdeen and both of them managing an extension on their house and preparing for a holiday in Florida.

French countryside
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Their home is in Passais la Conception, 2.5 hrs wnw of Paris. It's a quaint little village of 900 people. We will spend 2 weeks (approx) here, then head south to Lyon/Geneve. The house has two bedrooms downstairs and two rooms under the eaves upstairs. All very cute. Very warm and cosy and after some rain - lots of mud outside. There are stacks of birds (including a tiny woodpecker) out in the 1/2 acre back yard along with a squirrel and a goat that strains to come in from next door's yard.

Dinner at the local restaurant
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Tess has her own tiny room under the eaves here - and she is tickled pink. Michael has a little bed in his own little section upstairs and Andrew and I have a choice of three beds upstairs. Kate and Isaac are sharing one of the downstairs bedrooms. Dave and Moira have a few last minute things to do and they head off. Tess and I go and explore the village. Two churches, the war memorial, newsagents and several tiny specialty shops, a bar and what looks like a mini art gallery – with a lean towards Degas dancers. We walk down to the Plan d’eau. The local council fishing lake. It is great with a stream running around it and a playground beside it. You can get a licence to fish there by the day or the year. Only on certain days though and different prices for adults and children. We eat out at the local pub – awesome pizza and less than 80 metres to walk home.