I sit in the TGV from Agen to Paris…ridding the wanderers of two months luggage and travelling light to our next destinations!!!!

Yesterday was a repacking day in readiness go for Sue’s solo trip to Paris to leave 2 (large) suitcases at our final destination! A small shop and lunch at Le Clerc (supermarket) at 1pm and resting afternoon as the rain dropped down off and on all day….the flowers above are just on the plants around our hotel, flourishing in the cooler wet climate of south west France!

In the evening we had a drink at the hotel with the owner (she only had coffee) and enjoyed the friendly street cats getting spoiled with hotel (cat) food!!

Very healthy street cats!!!

We turned in around 9pm…and of course Sue was up early…mentally preparing for her rather large side trip to Paris…

This morning was rather overcast and cool, so we took a long walk around the Fumel area to warm up!!

Passing what appeared to be some old (now unused) public baths – don’t know the back story on these…

Down to the Lot river…

Locals fishing…

The old bridge archways

The new bridge crossing…under which we walked..

With murals telling the story of the original lifeblood of Fumel – the now closed steelworks, which even supplied parts of the Eiffel Tower in Paris when it was being constructed.

Several kilometres of derelict steel works buildings lie beside the river between Fumel and the next town (Monsempron)

We walked for around 2 hours, main streets and back streets admiring the huge back (vege) gardens that hide behind the Main Street fronted villas!

We now know how the locals spend their days…many were out pottering around in their gardens.. just a note here…all weed sprays, insecticides, chemical washes are banned in France..as deemed to be bad for animals and humans! I guess that explains why much is overgrown and weeds sprout up everywhere….as they have a free range life!

We headed back to our hotel around midday to get ready for the afternoon train rides…

Stopping half way up the hill on a couple of very strategically placed chairs for legs that need a rest!

Kevin dropped us to the local train at 1pm, Trudi accompanied Sue and Bags on the first 45 minute ride, hung out at station until Sue and Bags safely ensconced in Paris bound TGV (3-4 hour journey which was an hour late leaving) , then caught the little train back … for a good nights sleep and sleep in while Sue stays the night, dumps the bags and retraces todays journey in reverse from Paris to Fumel’

Today was a mini train trip further inland to the town of Périgueux – a 1hour 45min ride on the little train from Monsempron-libos…

Being a provincial line, minimal maintenance on the train lines…but somehow it worked….

Over bridges….

Past farmlands (yes cows!)…

And village markets…arriving in Perigueux around 11.30am…however being a Monday in rural France – most shops are closed…so it was window shopping(which possibly saved our bank accounts)…

And for all you kiwis…the Otago Rugby shop…

We sourced a coffee first stop at a wine bar…

Then set off to explore the old town…

Strolling the streets and watching the cafes open at midday for the two hour lunch window…but first the Perigueux cathedral….

Yes there is one in every town…and the style seems to follow a certain theme…

Cool block inside and stained glass windows adorning every alcove…one change to the wooden pews were the old cane chairs…

Bringing back memories of dining at our grandparents in the 60s! In one door and out another to the garden (well trees on a terrace) overlooking the town…

And another angle of the cathedral…

Circumnavigating the church – while there was construction on the square, we were provided with the best view of the multiple domes…

By this time we only had an hour left of the lunch window and found a cafe in one of side alleys of the old town…seemed to be popular with the locals and all French….in hindsight I guess they saw us coming…

First the girl who told us to take a seat and she would be with us in 5 minutes, then proceeded to ignore us for half an hour. At least we had our bottle of water to sip on! Trudi then asked for the menu and we were once again ignored for another half an hour while those (French) who arrived after us had their orders taken and drinks delivered! We finally caught the attention of the only other waiter, by this time nicknamed “Basil Faulty” as he was darting around like a headless chicken!

The one other foreigner had sat and left by this stage giving up in despair…however by the time Basil took our order we had our requests down pat! Another half an hour and our salad arrived…

Still no drinks – one beer and one wine…getting a little cross we asked about the drinks and they arrived another 10 minutes later…we sat without food and drink for nearly an hour and a half! We quickly ate drank and left with half an hour before our return train…and a 20 minute walk!

Reaching our little train with 10 minutes to spare and reversing our journey from the morning!

Today (Sunday) we woke to the predicted rain and thunderstorms…meeting the family at 11.30am for lunch and adventures….for the first time in two months we dragged out the plastic ponchos!

Our first stop was Penne d’agenais for lunch on the terrace in the rain…

At which time the operator of our riverboat cruise (booked) phoned and asked if we wished to postpone…due to the rain and that we were the only ones on it…we all agreed it was a good call mainly due to the weather!

However by the time we left the restaurant the rain had gone and the sky’s were lightening…the boys took us to the medieval village with the church on the hill for a wander…

Not sure wander is the right word … more a climb….

Up through the village….

Further up….and

Nearing the top!!! First thing we saw was the church cemetery, possibly appropriate after the climb…

And the church on the top…

Entrance and inside..

Again adorned with leadlights…the views from the top were amazing once we had caught our breath!

A little further up…and looking back down on the church and dome…

And the statues….

Then it was down….as rain once again threatened…

At least getting in 4K of our 10k steps…I would say double it for the uphill climb…

Kevin then drove us through a nearby 4 star fantasy hotel (very posh for this area)…Le Stelsia…

Kind of looks like something out of Disneyland!

Merry go round and other children’s activities, pool, mini golf, and rooms to rent in the hotel up to €430.00 per night….kind of out of our budget!

We headed back home around 4pm to our respective abodes, ours the Brit Hotel in Fumel…

Very nice too and especially at our family and friends tariff!

The rain has gone (for now) and the sun is shining…in our quiet little village of Fumel!

As the hotel cat sleeps the morning away…

Breakfast done and a wander to the Fumel castle….

Early morning overcast and the gardens with a view….this will now be a photo overload….

Looking back at the castle…

The stone archways…

The big chair!!!

Flowers!

The view back to our hotel…

The lot river looking west….

And east….just so green and floral and peaceful as autumn touches the trees…

This village is the cutest and picturesque and we could get lost in this world forever!

A quick stop at our local village church – inside and drinking in the amazing stained glass windows….

Back to our hotel for a quick freshen up before meeting Kevin and Rols and heading east(not far) to The Château de Bonaguil which was the last of the fortified castles and built in the 13th century….high on the hills…

Kevin drives us to the top and we walked down….

Rols and Sue surveying the scenery…

Trudi and Sue playing “where’s Wally?” In the daisy’s outside the chapel!

The cobbled walk down the narrow village streets….to be collected by Kevin (and car) taking a scenic route (through forests) back to Fumel to collect our picnic and head further west to the town of Saint-vite where we set up camp in the park on the edge of the lot river…

Tablecloth and all!!! Baguette, cheese, pate, ham, tomato….watermelon and lemon tarts!

Trudi Kevin and Roland decided a game of cards was in order, Sue not being a card person took a wander to the river….

The sun was now shining and the temperatures rising…

The river a mirror of the trees…

The team packed up and headed back mid afternoon for some inside time and met later at the local cafe….

For a drink before heading to the local pizza restaurant for dinner….Saturday done and dusted and time for sleep ready for tomorrow’s adventures!

Day one in the village of Fumel – Lot-et-Garonne, in the south west of France, gave us some much appreciated peace after the hustle of Malta and our travel day…

We wandered up to Kev and Rols around 10am before joining an English speaking coffee group, which meets once a month at a local cafe. Here we met expats living in the area from England, Holland, USA and of course Kiwis added to the mix!

The village streets were quiet, and a few shoppers were out to gather weekend supplies…

After this sojourn we met the Boys and went off in the car to the other side of the Lot river where the modern shopping centres have overtaken the village retail trade…

The world of supermarket shopping is very exciting, especially for those who have a sweet tooth! Resisting the temptation as we were booked into the adjoining cafe for a three course lunch (entree, main, dessert, wine and coffee) all for the grand price of €13.50 ($25 NZ)

Trying a new car on for size…before climbing back in the Citroen and exploring the surroundings a bit more…and back to our respective abodes for some cooling down time…by 4pm in the afternoon temperatures had climbed to 32 degrees…

Trudi and Sue had the luxury of cooling off in their hotel pool, which triggered a chain reaction and we were joined by three other guests…

Roland was working and we wandered up to have an evening drink and snacks with Kevin…

Morning coffee done, we will see what Saturday brings!

When one is wandering there is going to be days of planes, buses and trains (plural)….especially when one wanders to the less travelled places in the world…

So it was yesterday…up at 5.30am, last minute pack up, tidy up and lock up in Malta, and in a cab to airport…which is where I left yesterdays story!

The Ryanair plane was on time, which was a pleasant surprise as from Malta this is often not the case… bags emerged in the first 10…which is never the case…and bus to the train station was just about to leave from Toulouse airport as we emerged! Day going well so far…

Arrived at Toulouse train station with two hours to spare…so after a loo stop (1€ each) purchasing a baguette and coffee and a bit of investigation…we were able to catch the first leg of our train journey an hour earlier than booked…

So here we were Toulouse to Agen, happily ensconced eating our lunch!

Arriving at Agen at 4pm…we got off this train and sat on the platform to ponder our next journey….

There was a train to our next destination due to leave in 30 minutes…and waiting for the platform number….

Monsempron Libos….as luck would have it we were in the right place…and boarded our last leg of the journey an hour and a half before pre booked time!

Arriving at our destination an hour and a half before expected…a quick message to Kevin, and he was there to meet us!

We checked into the hotel then went to Kevin and Rols house for a drink and snacks…for Trudi’s friends, Kevin is Sue’s brother…

Trudi and Kevin devouring their strawberry tart! Before the Gals wandered back to hotel to finally lie flat!

This morning we woke to the clouds burning off as we tucked into our smorgasbord breakfast…

The pool on the terrace…

Overlooking the Lot river in Fumel, Lot Valley, France…

The Brit Hotel…our abode for the next 10 days…now it’s time to sort our hastily packed bags and find the essentials…just saying not a drop of sweat since arriving in France!

As we sit at the airport in Malta…having had a whirlwind of social, domestic and cleaning activities for the last couple of days….we catch our breath!

Tuesday saw us starting on a bit of cleaning (terrace again) and sorting before meeting a bunch of family at Senglea for dinner and drinks in the evening…Bolt has been our friend as their taxis (door to door) are less than 10€…

We arrived around 7.30pm and caught up with cousins….

Neville and Michelle and young energetic Mason!!!

And the Attard Family….on a Tuesday night the kiosk was full by 9pm…Home in bed by 11pm, a great night of lots of laughs and hugs!

Wednesday was cleaning day…made slightly challenging with the bigger digger action…

And the first rain of the trip….

On our walk to the bank and a (quick) coffee catch up with Charles in Paola – the heavens opened….for two hours!! We got stuck huddling under an umbrella drinking …coffee….then wine and beer to pass the time.

We finally got back into it (the jobs) around 1pm ….which after the weather event meant a third terrace clean in two days!!’

Across the road is now ground zero after three weeks of activity!! Next….the 6 storey apartment construction begins!!

An afternoon of jamming stuff into our (small) check in bags and a (bolt food delivery) dominos pizza, we hit the sack for an early start this morning!

However sleep was interrupted by an electrical storm which started at 9pm

Lighting up the sky with fork lightning strikes every few seconds!! Spectacular from our back terrace…

Up this morning and in our Bolt (taxi) by 7.30am and as we board our flight to Toulouse we say goodbye to … the heat, great friends & neighbours and Sue’s wonderful Maltese family….x

The church in the centre of Valletta is famous for its Caravaggio paintings from the 17th century….

An Italian artist while in exile from Rome was afforded the opportunity by the knights of St John to live and paint in Malta rising among the ranks to be actually knighted himself until once again falling from grace and being deported … before which time he was commissioned to produce many paintings which hang in this Church.

We visited this cathedral with cousin Evelyn on Monday…

The ceilings…

The floors…

The walls…

The monuments…

The altar…

And the endless archways…

We got in early at 9am when it opened to beat the crowds of cruise ship tourists…and explored the inside and the museum…

We then took in the movie outlining Caravaggios life and time in Malta!

Trudi and Evelyn discussing the art! We also ventured down into the catacombs where the knights of St. John lie..

It was then out into the 21st century heat and busyness of Valletta streets…taking a coffee break and saying our farewells to Evelyn.

Busing home and getting a load of washing on the back terrace as the front one was reeling in the demolition works once again!

We had a job to do with Vivienne, who needed some fuel injector cleaning medicine and some fuel – then carried on to Rouge cafe to have a late afternoon 2 for one cocktail…maybe our last!

We soaked in the view for an hour or so…

Before returning home to start sorting some packing….

This morning…Sue up and at the terraces by 6.30am…

Getting some of the jobs done…two hours later….

The bigger digger was hard at it raising a dust storm!!

The harsh reality at the end of a journey is somewhat sobering as we plan our last days…filled with family, domestic duties and packing two months of life into a carryon suitcase!

Having spent time with the ladies in the neighbourhood on Friday..as Sue tried to suppress the tail end cough from her cold…a trip to Lidl to replace the household supplies we have consumed and drunk…Saturdays plan was to spend the afternoon with Sue’s cousin Marcella in Bugibba and her family for dinner in Naxxar.

Marcella recovering from a nasty bike accident three weeks ago, strolled with us to the piazza for a coffee…the hot afternoon made pleasant with the (warm) breeze rolling in off the sea

The very touristy area of Bugibba is filled with tourists and tourist traps…

Beach clubs, cafes, souvenir shops, high rise hotels and people from many foreign countries…

It was then off to Naxxar to spend the evening with her sister…Ginger the Chihuahua in tow!!

We enjoyed a lovely dinner and chat before hitting the road home to Paola just after 9.00pm, in the dark, navigating the racing car drivers (or they think they are) a cop stop, speeding motorbikes and people randomly crossing roads…very pleased to settle Vivienne in the garage for the night!

Sunday morning broke around 6.30 and found Sue once again in the garage and giving Vivienne her spring clean inside and out and washing out the garage and the footpaths in front from the last few weeks accumulation of dust! Job well done! Followed by a bit of back deck washing and a quick walk to the supermarket to get Bread for lunch…

It was then off to the final family Sunday lunch at Sam and Anna’s…we will miss our Sunday gatherings!!

We were provided with a special treat today- fresh sea bass!

It was delicious…as all Anna’s home cooked meals have been! We have certainly eaten well this weekend!

As we watch the sun set to another glorious red and orange sky, the fireworks banging away in the background…we look ahead to our last three days on the Island of Malta! Where has two months gone?

As Sue (the weed) decided it was time to have some home days she contracted a sore throat head cold thing! So this week the wanderers have not ventured far from our town of Paola!

Trudi has spent time taking artistic photos of our banana plant with the Paola church in the distance!

We have ventured out to the town for the odd coffee when Sue’s drugs kicked in and caught up on our reading and the odd house job along the way!

The temperatures have dropped this week (to 30ish) with a breeze on the terrace and clouds have given us some respite from the August heatwaves!

Evening strolls in search of refreshment top ups! And…

Locals enjoying the cooler evenings…a Maltese habit of sitting outside once the sun sets!

Trudi went missing this evening for over half an hour and Sue was anxiously scanning the streets for her return ….

Peeping over from the penthouse terrace!

In a week we will be in France and hope the health issues have gone tomorrow so we can get on with our last week of socialising and sightseeing before we leave our island in the sun! Where has 2 months gone?

As the sun sets we plan our week ahead… from our haven in the middle of the med!