Saturday

　

Our last proper holiday day as tomorrow it's moving on time sadly.

We have a family conflab at breakfast time and we decide to eat outside at the table by the pool again and all help by fetching and carrying crockery, cutlery and laying up the table.

Many hands do really make for light work.

I prepare eggs florentine, well my version of it and it all takes rather longer than I had anticipated as the quantities are much larger than I am used to cooking these days. Also I can only find 6 eggs when I thought I had masses of them tucked away in the fridge - and it is only later that Leila discovers the actual hoard - in the old fridge !!

We'd had to ask the housekeeper to change the fridge as it simply wasn't keeping our food cold enough for safety. The spare one was in the garage and eventually was brought it for us to use.

I simply hadn't thought of looking there as I presumed it was emptied by us and not in use any more. Still what with bread and croissants it was plenty and yummy and all very leisurely in the end - everything seems easier and less stressful in the sunshine.

All that balmy-ness envelopes us and eases our life it appears.


While decisions for the day are being made I prepare the ragu sauce for the lasagna we are to have this evening. Forward planning makes life a little easier.

Today it seems we are craving excitement and in the end decide to do either horseriding or canoeing !! The final decision is for the canoeing - yikes - as I remember the river well from our walk last week and even then it was gushing down in torrents.

 So, white water canoeing it is.

We chill by the pool for a while then start finding the right clothing for the canoeing (any old stuff), pack a picnic and then head off to the canoe centre near La Fontaine de Vaclause. We arrive and walk over the bridge to check out the river.

Phew no change there then....lots of turbulence......

I become alarmed and start to doubt whether I have the courage to go ahead with the adventure at all as the river is still gushing about and looking very wild !! I really am not very brave at times it seems and certainly don't crave excitement and adrenaline rushes, not sure I ever did really.

I just like things to be fun but not dangerous...

Anyway we have the picnic (on dad's old blanket again) as the wooden picnic table is occupied by a group of young french in fancy dress - something along the theme of Marie Antoinette I'd say as the wigs were bouffant and extremely colourful !!

We later learned that they were a 'hen' do and would also be fellow adventurers on the torrents, (they were not as lucky or skillful as we were and actually had a few rollings and soakings !!).

Something to do with all that wine that they were quaffing maybe ?

 I should have had a glass or two to give me dutch courage too...perhaps ?

By now I am getting very jittery over the whole escapade and this is mentioned to the centre and they very kindly offer to put me in the canoe with the guide !! (can't get safer than that I think to myself happily).

  I get a choice of which guide I'd like to go with, scrutinize them a little and promptly reply 'both' - to hoots of laughter !!

I figured with 2 guides I'd be even even safer....one was a chunk and the other a lean machine. I actually got the lean machine in the end and worried again that he'd not have the strength to fish me out of the water.....as I am a chunk too these days....

We pay our fees and get handed out a lifejacket each (you can tell these things are designed by men with no 'bosoms' because to be effective they have to be so tight that I can hardly breathe) and wander back to the car to put on sunnies, hats, sun cream etc and of course to take piccies.... lots....

Poseurs that we all are.....


Sadly I decided not to take my camera on the canoe (just in case we rolled) as the pictures would have been beautiful. I was sat right at the front in the lead canoe - the guide sat at the stern, doing all the macho steering bit- and it seemed as if I had the river all to myself (bar the odd fisherman or two).

Really really lovely if I hadn't been quite so scared....

We amble down to the slipway by the bridge and have an instruction talk from the guide whose english was brilliant thank goodness.. don't grab the trees, don't lean over too far, what to do if you roll, follow me, etc etc....
.

Right, it's time to get actually into the canoes. We stand alongside, all obedient, paddles in hand and suddenly there is a rush of bodies from under the bridge... two young women had obviously rolled and were drifting downstream in the strong current, canoe floating wildly down the river past them.

A manic flurry of activity all round and the girls manage with the help of the other guides to get to the trees and were lifted out of the river. All very exciting and disconcerting at the same time!

Afterwards, the guides look at us expectantly as they hold our canoes at the ready - ok? time to go....I could hardly get my breath !! what ?? after all I've just seen. Deep breath, oh no, that's too uncomfortable...

I decide there and then that I can't be 'chicken' all my life and after all the others are safely (??) in their crafts step in and off we are launched into the middle of this swirling torrent and I feel we are bouncing about on the deep.

  The river is a beautiful opaque turquoise and I couldn't think of a more beautiful place to die !!! if I had to that is...

We whizz downstream, the guide giving me instructions all the while (I think he was doing this to keep my mind and body occupied so I wasn't anxious, bless him). After a while the river calmed and I began to relax and enjoy the whole trip.

We had a few exciting moments here n there, clambering over a weir, around another weir, up a narrow tributary that normally couldn't be accessed as it was too shallow but now that the river in full spate was open to us, up to a millrace..... all sorts of things. It certainly was an interesting stretch of river.

Apparently the whole trip is 8 k, about 5 miles. It certainly seemed a lot shorter but then again we were travelling at the speed of the river current which was far faster than normal.

We even had a spot where we pulled off the river and had nibbles and more excitingly saw an otter swimming by. They are common on this river we were told, didn't see another one afterwards though I did look around.

To end the adventure we had a line up and a race to the bank and of course a lot of splashing at each other with the paddles! A good soaking for some ? The minibus and trailer is loaded, and we are driven back to the canoe centre. Happy and relaxed that now all is done and dusted and we are survivors !!!!!!

more picies.....

On the way back to the villa we stop at the poppy field outside the village of Langes and Marian and Isabel get arty with the camera while we all munch happily on the cherries we have just bought from the roadside stall again.

Another quick shop at Simply U (can't believe how much food we get through these days) - the youngsters have a wishing for pancakes for breakfast and so we need stuff....meanwhile dad disappears again - guess where ?

Back at the villa, we shower etc and light a fire as we have done every night. 
The girls get on with their drawing again. The massive lasanga is prepared and enjoyed.

Dad had also been back to the cake shop and produced another tray of the most delicious looking cakelets for us all to share...

 
 



Then it's a card game called- by our family at least - Liverpool. This a firm family favourite but needs alert wits as the trumps change with every hand - bit of a nightmare really.

  The points are counted out at the end of every hand and it seems as if Isabel is going to win but is pipped at the post with a lucky final hand by Ben.

You just never know with this game how it will turn out. Perhaps that's why we enjoy it so much - the surprise factor ?

We had said we were going to bed early as tomorrow had to be an early start - but, guess what - we didn't in the end !!

 the game sort of took over and we just felt it had to be finished...

It has been a brilliant day.