Grimaud

As usual, our day began with breakfast on the terrace. A beautiful view out to the countryside.

Unfortunately I have developed a cold so have started on the codrals and will soldier on.

Jim had a lazy morning at the hotel whilst Libby, Angela and I headed off to Port Grimaud on the Petite Train to check out the markets.

We stumbled across the markets in our own village so had a quick look before heading off to Port. I bought a very un-Michele jacket. Should have stayed at the village- not much of interest at the big markets.

The train ride there and back is a very unusual experience- looks like you are in a fair ground until you enter the highway with all the other traffic. A bit hairy at times. Not sure what the plastic chain on the open doorway would have done to protect me should the need have arisen.

Port Grimaud is a man made gated community. It has many canals that can accommodate three thousand boats. A fairly ritzy place to live, I think. They have done quite a good job of making it blend in to the older feel in the vicinity. Certainly it is not as quaint an old as Grimaud, but neither is it an eye sore. I'd love to see inside the little houses.

Jim and I headed into a village called  Cogolin on the recommendation of others in the group. What we didn't hear them say was to look for the old part of town which is very hard to find. We were oblivious, so wandered around for a while, quite perplexed as to why the others enjoyed it. We did, however, visit the much talked about supermarket. We are used to seeing alcohol in supermarkets now, but not on the scale of this place. The champagne cave was fantastic.

You could also buy white goods, electrical, clothes, gold and diamonds. Walls and walls of products.

Tonight we gathered for Mark's official birthday dinner. Before heading off to the restaurant at the end of our street, we had drinks and nibbles on the terrace ( special permission was granted from Monsieur Minaud who joined us for a short time). We watched the sun set behind the hills as we geared up for another evening together.

Off to the restaurant- the first time we sat inside and did we feel it! The opening of a window helped some, but it was still quite warm.

 It was a magnificent meal : chilled yellow tomato soup ( in a tiny cup), celery soup, chicken with tiny individual bowls for each of the three veges, cheese platters then dessert of crepes with glacé and brandy snap.

Another wonderful night.

The next morning Jim and I headed off to Le Thoronet Abbey set in a forested vally to the north. Everyone else had been and had highly recommended a visit. We arrived after a 50 minute drive on the windy road. It was beautiful. Not ornate like all the other churches but simply beautiful. It gave a real sense of what the Cistercian monastery must have resembled in the Middle Ages.

Next stop was the village of Ramatouelle. It is a fairly short drive south of Grimaud. We ran into lots of the other couples here at different times. We walked through the small arched entrance beside the church to enter the medieval centre of the town. It was a maze of tiny residential buildings, spotlessly kept. Again, I would have loved to peek inside.

 

Our day ended with drinks in one of the village squares followed by dinner back at l'Olivier- our fave.

As this was our last night together, everyone was in good form, ready for a great night. Shaun serenaded us in the square with a beautiful song ( the name escapes me as it was a new one). He also sang a beautiful Irish blessing at our dinner table. Apart from that, it was a pretty animated night. I thought I would be brave and order the drinks in French. I was obviously quite successful as our waitress kept popping up to me all night speaking French assuming I could understand her. I was horrifed at first ( how does everyone want their meat cooked?) With a lot of help from Jim we managed to sort all things out. A fantastic dinner with great company. 

And so another chapter comes to an end. We leave Grimaud in the morning for our final stint.