Repas de voisins

 

Lots of catching up before sitting down to eat.

That means a neighbours lunch.

After a year in our new house we were invited to join the neighbours lunch party. Because we now live in the countryside and never see any but our immediate neighbours, Jean-Bernard and Danielle, we had never met any of the other nearby residents. We were grateful to be included  though nervous of meeting such a group.

A little something to begin

There were twenty of us all together and we were the only english speakers. That makes for a stressful experience as trying to keep up with conversations in a second language is hard when you aren’t very good at it - but we managed. Everyone was kind and welcoming and we met people from houses we didn’t even know existed near us. Even the owner of the sheep and goats in the field behind our house. We told him how we enjoyed their noisy bleating for breakfast every morning – a reminder that we are indeed in the countryside.

The long table

The repas was held in the garden of Alexander, the local stonemason, under the trees beside his pond. There was a hammock hanging from the trees on an island in the centre and his daughter made good use of this for her afternoon nap. Such a pleasant, tranquil spot.

The water level in the pond is a little low due to our lack of rain,
but still a relaxing spot.

Everyone contributed food, and wine of course. We took chicken, salad, and an apple tart. Alexander barbecued a variety of meats. One neighbour makes her own red wine, and a limoncello, and a delicious mandarincello. Another neighbour shared his collection of exotic rums. All very generous people.

The afternoon was finished off with a game of pétanque.

 

Our neighbour, Jean-Bernard, showing off his petanque skills

Lovely people and an enjoyable long afternoon.

Summer is coming to an end this week and the weather is slowly changing. Looking forward to cooler days. We are harvesting peaches, figs, apples and pears from our garden this week and made jam from the mirabelles. Still waiting for the kiwifruit and walnuts to ripen. Won't be long before the grape harvest begins and the roads will be full of tractors pulling trailer loads to the wineries. Love the change of seasons here.

Bonne semaine à tous