Holiday Day 15 – Just doing nothing

Some may expect a holiday blog to be full of adventures, descriptions of unique sites, or of the people that we have met. Sometimes the essence of a holiday is just having an ordinary relaxing day. The sort of days that are luxuries at home where there always seems something to do.

The weather here in Provence has been very sunny but there has been an annoying fresh northerly wind, this is not conducive to sun bathing and to only brief dips in the pool where one risks frostbite in the extremities. It is actually excellent weather for site seeing. Well yesterday we had long trip sightseeing, though it was slightly marred by Marion’s attitude to the small village high up in the hills that was our objective. Why do you want to go there she asked, and when I said that it has been the site of a bombing raid in 1944, she raised her eyebrows somewhat? Anyway that is not the point it was a long day of very scenic lovely driving with the top down all the time.

So today was one of rest. In the morning after the regular drive to buy bread we pottered around tidying the cottage which after a week was showing signs of wear as well as catching up with the washing. Then it was down to the pool for some exercise and a quick swim for the aforementioned reasons. All this seemed to make me very hungry so we walked up to the local café for a small salad and a couple of drinks relaxing under the trees. In fairness Marion was only drinking Diablo menthe while I had a hard-core beer. The afternoon was spent reading, I finished my trashy thriller.

This evening we ate a simple meal in, Camembert dip, followed by a lovely omelette/tortilla, completed with a strawberry tart purchased from the boulangerie in the morning.

Then to the real purpose of the day, a final game of Scrabble before Iain and Barbara leave for Lyon. As a four we had never played before and we learnt a fundamental thing, agree the rules before you start. The definition of foreign words for a start, and the fact that it would have been easier had we had access to a dictionary. We have thoroughly enjoyed the six games that were always been played in a fiercely competitive but always friendly spirit. At the end of it all Marion came out on top by a considerable distance, the rest of us flailing in her slipstream.

So tomorrow it is goodbye to Iain and Barbara with whom we have spent a most enjoyable week, and not only for their Scrabble play. We have shared many good meals and were never short of things to discuss. Our holiday has passed the halfway mark.