LES RACINETS

We had a lazy day today wandering about the countryside and visiting old friends.
We walked about the town in the morning noting all the changes in our little village. Everything is spruced up. The main plaza has been nicely finished with a low wall that separates it from the street and the café has new umbrellas. The other plaza has also had a makeover with pea gravel and a new exit. Now you can go straight through without having to turn the car around in the narrow parking area.
Later we drove into Chinon for a walkabout. The buzz there is the new Carrefour store that has replaced the pokey and pricey Shoppi. We did some business at the bank then started looking for a place to have lunch. We walked down towards the Place Jean d’Arc and found a restaurant connected with one of the small hotels close to the place. The prix fixe menu at Le Treive was superb – boudin, crudités, bavette, fried steak, peach melba, gateau au chocolat – we had it all between the two of us.
After lunch we took a ride out to see the boys in Lerné. Tim and Steve have been working on their house for the past two years. They are pretty much finished with the main house but they are struggling to finish the old barn that will eventually be their income-bearing gite. We picked a ton of cherries from their trees and talked clofouti.
In the afternoon we drove to Fontevraud. We wandered about in town for a little then decided to visit Les Racinets in their new house. We spent the evening there – they showed us all the work the have been doing for the past 2 years since they bought the house. Just this week they have been able to move in. They produced a splendid feast of beouf-bourgignon and lashings of red wine. After dinner we got down to brass tacks regarding their garage in Montsoreau that they are thinking of selling. The garage is not attached to their house so they are selling it separately from the main building. The man from Paris who lives across the street is also interested in buying it since he doesn’t have a garage either. M. Racinet is staying non-committal until he gets a bidding war going. We will all be meeting together next week to walk through the property. We may have to visit the bank first.