Paperbacks and a “pique-nique a la plage”

On Saturday we ventured into the Deux-Sèvres departement to a charity book sale as our reserves of physical books were running low (yes, we could top up the kindle but I prefer actual books, but that’s a whole other discussion)!

As you can see from the first photo, the Village Hall or Salle des Fêtes was packed to bursting with a very organised second-hand book display featuring mainly English books but also DVDs and some French books. We spent a lovely hour scouring the boxes for something to read and came away with a decent haul.

Outside we wandered the various stalls and decided to have lunch in the sunshine. We saw our trusty fish and chip van but they were doing such a roaring trade that we decided to go with a different food van peddling falafel wraps and chilli bowls. Of course I had to have a glass of rosé with mine – yum.

Later in the week we met up with friends for a picnic on the beach at the Côte Sauvage or Wild Coast. We headed into the local town first to stock up on tasty morsels at the market and the boulangerie-patisserie. I loved all the ivy-clad buildings and the quirky campsite next to the Charente river.

We then drove about an hour to the coast and found a path through the pine trees to the sandy beach. There were a few surfers braving the water and a fisherman or two but otherwise, we had the place to ourselves.

We enjoyed our picnic then decided to head back via a walled town called Brouage on the edge of the Marais-Poitevin salt marshes. For those of you who know Sussex, it reminded me of the area around Rye.

We walked a little way along the battlements and then stopped for a cup of tea in a teashop in the town.

Back home we enjoyed a sunny evening with a stroll along one of the nearby lanes.

Last night we stayed up to watch the Orionid meteor shower but after a couple of hours of watching and glimpsing three or four meteors, we called it a night. We contented ourselves with this spectacular sunrise instead:

À bientôt, bisous.