I just re-read my 1st May entries on here for the last 3 years. It reminded me how bloomin’ hard we worked to get ready for the B&B opening in May ’22 and what a relaxing winter we have had this year compared to the last 3. I also realised that we are getting into a routine as we move into the busy season here for the 4th time. I think that’s a good thing? Before I quit full time employment and moved out here, I changed jobs every few years (I was lucky to be able to do that within the same large company for many years) so I wonder how I will feel if my new-found routine starts to become ‘too familiar’? Having said that, being ‘un étranger’ continues to bring plenty of surprises, and learning the language is a never-ending challenge to keep me on my toes.
We’ve had some beautiful weather in April. The sun lotion and straw hat got plenty of use while I was working outside, although we were still lighting the log burner most evenings. An exciting development in the house is the installation of a heat-exchange pump serving our living room, dining room and the two west-facing guest bedrooms. This will give us more flexibility with our heating in the winter, and the aircon will be a huge benefit to our guests in those two bedrooms which can otherwise get very warm during the summer months.
Along with asparagus and peonies, the famous local strawberries arrived in the markets so Tom has made a new batch of jam for our guest breakfasts which should see us through for a while. The pool is open and looking lovely…fingers crossed for a hot May to warm it up! We have the 2025 tourist information booklets from the brilliant Bureau d’Information Touristique in Eymet, and it looks like it is going to be a great summer season.
A quick update on a couple of new (to us) places that we’ve enjoyed during April.
– Le Croquant in Fonroque – I don’t know why it took us nearly 4 years to eventually go as we love this sort of place. 17€ for what was effectively a 5-course lunch with wine and coffee included. No frills, excellent value, very French, a great way to spend a couple of hours.
– Café À L’Endroit in Eymet – This cute oyster bar opened during April, and we popped in for a drink in the courtyard with some friends and again this morning for some fresh oysters, it has a lovely vibe and the seafood planches looked great.
Today being the May 1st is a bank holiday here in France for La Fête du Travail, so apart from stalls selling oysters and lily of valley (muguet de mai) and the boulangeries for a few hours in the morning, the shops are closed. Our Eymet Thursday morning market went ahead as usual as it has done since 1270 and it was bustling. This afternoon was another local tradition of coming together in the village centre where volunteers are cooking huge aillet (young garlic shoots) omelettes served with salad, cheese, bread, wine and some strawberries to finish it off, all from local producers. After being rained-off last year, it was great to enjoy a couple of hours in the sunshine soaking up the atmosphere and of course, enjoying food!
