Rural France

Another big day on the LPBV tour of SW France.
An early start saw us at Curemonte, as in the image above by just gone 9am. No-one else seemed to have thought of getting up until we disturbed the local inn-keeper buying his croissant off a passing baker. Unfortunately we thought he was buying enough for his restaurant and so didn't flag the van down - it was only when we spoke with him we realised we had missed our chance - the purchase was his breakfast only. A stunning sleepy village set up on a hill looking down over the rural idyll of several river valleys that time and people seemed to have assed by. Why does anyone live in the Cotswolds?
On return to the car, one shop owner had decided it was worth throwing open his doors and we left with a bottle of nut wine and two slices of nut cake which were consumed at a picnic spot overlooking the village from where this image was taken
On then to Collanges-la-Rouge - a pretty red village but a real tourist honeypot where I almost had to pay to park the car and then to Turenne - another village clinging to a steep hillside with a castle on the top.
Sadly then with the coast beckon it was motorway time and so we did some fast kms. Brantome was a pretty enough spot en route but we managed to avoid the 7 euro beer in the hotel there recommended to us by some Belgian neghbours in the Ardeche. Cognac was safely by-passed and then we got back on the LPBV track at Talmont-sur-Gironde and for the first time for a very ling time couldn't avoid paying to park. Another place with a huge English heritage - the trademark church was built by Edward I. Stunning location and pretty village but again well on the tourist trail.
We then had one of those frustrating couple of hours looing for a camp-site and failing to find one. When we did find two but both were closed as it was gone 6pm and with automatic barriers we couldn't get in. Eventually found a site in La Tremblade, again no-one on reception but without the barriers requiring some kind of entry code.
For supper, we headed to the port which turned out to be a rather bohemian affair of a long road with shacks on either side, most of them offering to sell one oysters. There must be a lot of fools in the world.
Loads of choice but we ended up in a shack on stilts that was very reminiscent of Madagascar. Any food as long as it came from the sea was on offer and very tasty it was. A good end to the day.