Topiary, Restaurants and French politics

escapetotheshedeau

May 4

Topiary has always seemed like a good occupation, comparable in some ways to writing short fiction.

Kelly Link

Selection of photos taken at Terrasson le Villedieu

We decided to go to somewhere different last Thursday and drove about thirty-five miles to this pretty town in the Vezère valley. It has an ancient bridge and a wonderful church perched high on the hill surrounded by ramparts. These ramparts are decorated with wonderful topiary, box hedges clipped carefully into a variety of shapes. While my husband explored the market, I enjoyed the walk up to the top, the view from there was spectacular and you could imagine how difficult it would be for enemies to get a foothold on the steep slope.

We ate lunch at a small restaurant in Terrasson, which didn't look much from the outside but was busily feeding a range of diners on the inside. There were the older retired couples such as ourselves, as well as the office workers, all enjoying the 'Menu du jour'. This was a plate of charcuterie, followed by Boeuf bourginon, with some macerated strawberries and Chantilly cream to finish. With a small pichet of Rosé wine, the bill came to about twenty-eight pounds for the two of us and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We are sad to discover that our favourite pizza restaurant has been sold but the chef responsible for the dishes pictured above, has taken it over. I wonder what sort of cuisine it will feature in the future.

In Politics, stupidity is not a handicap!

Napoleon Bonaparte

There are many countries that are going to the polls at the moment, Australia is one and of course France. In France you have to vote where your main house is located, so our friends Etienne and Daphne had to travel home on Saturday, to vote in their home town of Lille. It was a close run thing between the current president Emmanuel Macron and the far-right contender Marine Le Penn, with only just over 28% of the population voting. Meanwhile we just watch on, feeling that the mood here in rural France is ambivalent, as for them, not much will change.

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