Lunch in Lalinde

Tuesday 26th June

Yesterday we went to Lalinde and got hissed at (or Tim did) as we walked past the basin to go on our walk, for a pair of swans had a nest there. We walked by the canal, mostly in the shade of beautiful trees, which was wonderful, since the average temperature was 28 degrees – and seemed hotter in full sun!

All in all it was about 3 kilometres to the bridge and back, and by the time we got back into the town, we were all flagging. It was a little early for lunch so we went and sat by La Dordogne where it was cooler. There was a lot more water flowing fast, more than we remember seeing; the river bed was completely filled with fast flowing water and we could see the river bed and the long streamers of weed. The swans that usually cluster on the opposite bank were nowhere to be seen. We ambled back to the square and chose our seat. The waiter asked if we wanted drinks or food and when I said, “Food,” he said we would have to wait ten or fifteen minutes. “That’s fine,” I said.

We sat in the shade of the large timber and stone building and it was delightful as long as you didn't look up. Strong wire netting prevents the pigeons from roosting in the eaves and thereby dropping little parcels on your table, or worse, on your plate; but the dust of ages has attached itself to the netting and the lamps that are up there for the evening sessions are covered in fluffy dirt. A housewives nightmare and I don't know what the H&SE would say!

Once the magic hour of 12 clicked by, the waiter was all action with his staccato French delivered in gun bursts; three menus for our delectation, a bowl of water for Tim, and a grande Pression for Bill. I chose Salad aux gesiers, which is duck’s liver and walnuts on a bed of lettuce with a tasty dressing. Bill chose confit du canard I think, and devoured the lot plus some of the liver from my plate. Tim got a fair chunk, too, but there was enough for all.

We debated having dessert, but there is a boulangerie/patisserie across the corner and I opted to select two cakes to take home. “Une mille feuille and a tartlette aux fraises, ce tout,” I said in my school-girl French – and was understood! 4.45 Euros I paid.

We drove back with the air con full on and had coffee and the cakes in the cool of the house. Then we fell asleep. A siesta helps get through the heat of the day in a most delightful way.

Lunch out

Friday 14^th July

An even bigger trip today. We drove to Lalinde via St Foy where there are roadworks. I mention them because the traffic lights display the time you have to wait before it is your turn to drive off (which I think is a very good idea and worth adopting in England) We arrived with a couple of minutes to wait, and the car before us in the queue had roared by us several miles back! He must have waited maybe four or five minutes..

It was a perfect day for walking Tim along the canal with its huge trees – I’m never sure if it is a river or a canal. There are lock gates, but it also seems to be an off shoot of the Dordogne which is not 500 yards away. The sun was shining, but the heat was not as excessive as it has been lately. We chatted with a lady who turned out to be one of a group called Les Temoins de Jehovah. Of course, Tim was the attraction.

Then we turned back into town and headed for the market square. Lunch service was beginning, so we chose a quiet corner by a pillar under the old market hall (called the Halle) roof and sat back to enjoy the surroundings. http://www.northofthedordogne.com/lalinde.php

We knew it was Bastille Day, and were not surprised that the shops were closed and a band struck up the Marseilais (must check the spelling!) by the town’s flag draped war memorial. The pompiers de Lalinde made some kind of impromptu parade – or maybe they were just passing through and decided to open their windows and yell something en Francais!

When we order our food and drinks, the waiter, unasked, brought a bowl of water for Tim and he very nearly drained it. Bill ordered a wild mushroom omelette and I chose Fish and Chips. Yes, I know,, but I wanted to see how it would be presented. We waited a long time for it. Pizzas came out faster for people who arrived after us, but there was no hurry. My fish was very white, tasted lovely, and had a very light batter. Frites in a cone came with it, plus a single carrot served with its stalk stub, a little green salad and thinly sliced courgette and lemon, plus a herby sauce. Delicious. I ate every scrap except for feeding Tim a few frites. It kept him quiet instead of threatening to pounce on the pigeon that wandered too close to our table.

We walked down to the river, which is running faster than we’ve ever seen it in many years of visits. Usually there are sandbanks and lots of weed clumps, but right now the water is flowing very fast bank to bank. Lots and lots of swans on the opposite bank where the trees swoop down to the water – a whole flock of swans - maybe fifty or seventy, just cruising the shallows. 

Shopping en France

According to the thermometer in Lalinde, it was 39 degrees today (22nd June) at 11am. Still no rain, no wind, no clouds. It was joy to drive to Bergerac and then on to Lalinde because we could enjoy the air conditioning in the car! So cool, so wonderful. 

I wanted to buy fly repellent, skin lotion and anti-moustiques cream, plus a bottle of wine to replace the one we drank the first night we were here. The wine was the easiest thing to find in the Bergerac wine section because the bottle was on display, but I failed absolutely to find a Marie Rose mosquito repellent, though I did find what I think were lotions against head lice. Not quite what I wanted.

Then the fly spray; there was one here last year, so I know they exist but in the whole of Monsieur LeClerc’s fine supermarket I could not find a similar household spray. I came out with something called Stop Insects that promised to kill mosquitos, flying ants, cockroaches and the like. Then I went to look for the apres sun lotion. Again zilch. Sun tanning lotion everywhere, but no apres soleil in sight. I gave up and bought a tube of good old Nivea to stop my skin wrinkling up in all this heat.

At home with the dictionary I discovered the Stop Insect was not quite what I thought. It kills the creepy crawlers, but by spraying the curtains, window uprights, doors, tables, pool surrounds etc etc. Not sure what to do with it now.

On the wildlife front I found the desiccated corpse of a five inch lizard languishing in the bottom of an empty blue glazed planter. I wonder if I could fill these somehow, so that they are not death traps? Poor thing must have starved to death. At least I could turn them upside down.

Another problem is that the men who come and remove the dustbin bags have not appeared so far. We remember they came on Wednesday around 10.30, but something must have happened to the schedule, or else they’re not doing it in this heat. It really is extraordinary.

Lalinde and wildlife

Mauzac Barrage

Saturday we packed the bicycles into the car and drove down to Lalinde on the Dordogne.  It was market day, throngs of people everywhere and cars in every nook and cranny. We were late, so couldn’t find anywhere to park. We drove on, found a spot outside of town with the canal on one side and the towpath along La Dordogne on the other, which was great. Off we tootled on our bikes along the towpath. When travelling along the Loire in the summer, you see lots of sandy islands and a couple of deep channels at this time of year, but La Dordogne is one stretch of water. Not very deep, admittedly, but wonderfully clear.

old ferry boat above the barrage

We biked along, admiring the expensive houses with gardens running down to the water and wondering why there were so many notices declaring Danger! And finally reached  the barrage at Mauzac les Baudies. The barrage is ugly from one side, but pretty on the other, and it is holding back an awful lot of water. A big board told when it was built etc etc, and explained that sudden releases of water, even in summer, can create vicious surges downstream. Hence all the notices to stay away from the river bank. We spent time in the little village, admiring the new sailing boats and the old wooden ferry boat that has weathered to a silver grey. Only the oars were new! We wandered among the old buildings, and then cycled back along the same route.

Sunday morning we decided to attack the invading brambles and nettles beside the pound, which is wht they call the atreams that direct water into what was once the mill pond. When we’d got the patch clear enough to walk to the top of the bank and look down at the stream we cleared out last year, we saw it was full of weed again. I attacked it with a garden rake, and dragged out weeds until dh said ‘There’s a snake!’ Sure enough, a yellow and black head emerged out of the water and weeds. I shot up the bank away from it, rake held at the ready. Then we saw it wasn’t a snake, but a lizard of some kind and felt guilty for disturbing it. When we looked it up on the internet, it’s a fire salamander. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Salamander