Chateau Rigaud and our first outdoor lunch of this unusual year

 

Now that restaurants and bars are permitted to open their outdoor areas, we were desperate to enjoy a lunch in the sunshine with friends. Lots of places have extended their outdoor eating areas or even installed new ones where they had none to make the most of the restrictions in place for covid.

Chateau Rigaud is usually only open as a wedding venue and what a beautiful place for a wedding this is. But, not being able to operate as usual with all that has happened in the past year, they have decided to open a “pop up” restaurant on their terrace. We were very lucky to be their first guests.

With a limited menu and excellent local wines, we enjoyed finally being out with friends enjoying a gorgeous sunny day in the garden.

After lunch, our hostess offered us a guided tour of the grounds, including the potager where they grow everything for their kitchen. A full time gardener certainly can create and maintain a beautiful setting.

The start of another wonderful summer for us.

Bon dégustation mes amis 

We celebrate spring

 

It's been a while since the last blog post. It's been very quiet here with nowhere to go and nothing new as everything has been cancelled. Not sure if we are celebrating the arrival of spring, or that we are emerging from confinement here. We have been in lockdown three times in the past sixteen months. We have had little opportunity to see friends or even share a coffee at the market. We have been very careful to avoid groups especially in enclosed spaces and are still wearing our masks. Our outings have consisted of food shopping or visits to the garden centre. The garden has had a lot of attention over the last month since the weather started to improve.

But that all gets a little easier this month. So far, the ten kilometre limit has been lifted and we can now travel anywhere in the country. Next week, bars and restaurants with outside areas will re-open and the curfew will be 9pm, instead of the 7pm we have been living with. Next month we expect  even more loosening of restrictions as the summer weather arrives – and probably with it the tourists.

We are looking forward to overnight stays with friends further afield and catching up with others over lunch on a restaurant terrace.

And Lily is enjoying playing in the garden again

Vive le printemps