The 2012 French Campaign: Thursday 23rd May Hostellerie de la fontaine

Sadly we awoke to rain again. At 9.15 berlin david called to ask if I wanted anything from the boulangerie. an order of une baguette et 3 croissant was requested and delivered promptly. Very nice service from a very nice man.
Having decided on lunch out today, we just had the croissant and coffee for breakfast. I got the blog bang up to date and suddenly it was noon. a swift change of clothes and as we left the boat for the 5minute stroll to the much heralded Hostellerie de la fontaine, the sun won its battle with the clouds and voila, it was lovely. The restaurant was not busy with just four other tables taken. we had the lunchtime menu at 13.50euros. First course was a unanimous decision, a hot baked prawns and fish and vegetables dish which was just sublime. Collette and I had steak au poivre with frites which was excellent followed by a pineapple salad with ginger and a cafe. Mum had kidneys and adored them followed by a vanilla creme which took her about 10 seconds to devour. enough said. all washed down with a nice bourgogne pinot noir. Fabulous lunch.

With mum settled back at the boat, the crew and I set off to try and get into Vermenton again. This time we turned left at the bridge following a lovely if rather wet path

and of course found a river crossing just 250m down river.

The walk along the bank was spectacular with the river in a raging flood. Crossing the bridge almost heralded disaster as I removed the camera from around my neck, I managed to drop it. It landed and bounced across the wooden planking and thank god came to a rest just a foot short of falling into the unwelcomed depths below. I was still shaking as we entered the supermarket 15 minutes later on the far side of town.
Vermenton old town is very old and is a maze of narrow old streets centered round the slightly dilapidated church. A classic sighting was en route to the supermarket when an open gate in a terrace of houses in an ordinary looking street revealed an inner courtyard of a farm complete with cat tractor and a grazing white cow directly behind it(look closely or enlarge the pics by clicking on it) it was genuinely surreal.

Loaded with vittals, we set back and passed the public park "jardin des isles". based around an old watermill it is based on a group of islands in the middle of the rushing river Cure. Words or indeed pictures cannot do justice to the spectacular natural beauty and cocophony of sound of the flooding torrent of the Cure hammering its way through this glorious park or the heavy thudding of a busy woodpecker surely flattening his beak in a spirited assault on an old oak.

We had a ball enjoying its delights for the next 45 minutes of exploration finding moss covered tree lined arbours around a dozen boules courts, one even floodlit and I learnt a new name "Boulodrome"

cracked and creaking wooden bridges across torrents which made a very nervous Collette feel quite wierd as she crossed praying that this was not the time for another plank to give way.

Beautiful centuries old stone bridges worn away by the many thousands of enthralled predecessors who had trod this lovely park including some very dodgy types apparently!