I decided to abridge my time in Brittany and take advantage of my last few days in France to explore the area around my new home. We tidied up our little gite, locked it, and drove north to Normandy. Tori and I found a lovely B&B about 8 miles from St. Denis de Gastine. We drove through the warm sunshine past farms and villages and arrived at le Houx where we met two lovely British ex-pats who would be hosting us in their lovely and formidable home. This nice couple explained they had just 17 months ago taken on this business and they were anxious to tour us around and show off their work. The stone home was large and dated back to the 1800s. It had been completely redone and had beautiful stone walls mixed with modern amenities. It was completely charming. Our room was the largest in the building with 16-foot ceilings, painted wood floors and a king-size canopy bed. It was decorated in beautiful shades of blue with exposed beams and lovely antiques. Connected to our room was. a beautiful dressing room and large bathroom, that looked luxurious in comparison to our prior French abodes.

I slid on my running shoes and tried to beat a thunderstorm that we could see approaching on the horizon. The couple had told me that if I took a right on the road from their driveway I would run a mile and come to a trail that led through the woods between pastures connecting miles and miles. It was hot and humid when I started out but I was spurred on by the dark looming clouds and my wish to explore this countryside. I found the track marked by a small yellow marker and ducked under the rope across it into a shady tunnel of green that wove through pastures. It was at least 5 degrees cooler in the woods and I welcomed the damp air. It occurred to me that I had heard of wild boar being in France and for a moment I wondered how I might react if I encountered one such beast. I decided I would stab one with a stick sort of like Wesley did in the Princess Bride with the Rodents of Unusual Size. I kept running forward and would occasionally emerge on a road, make a quick turn, and reenter the cool green trail. After a couple of miles the thunder was murmuring and I knew I should turn around. Just when I turned back, large wonky raindrops began to fall inconsistently and I became more aware of the bugs which were hitting me and sticking to my arms, face and neck. They were tiny gnats and appeared to die on impact with my body much like they did with the windshield of my tiny pink car. I aimed to keep them out of my mouth, nose and eyes but frequently found them there in spite of my efforts. In my last mile, the rain turned up. I had just enough time to run and get my car keys before going to find Tori who was out on a walk and rescue her from the storm.

We went to Ernee for dinner and there was only one open restaurant. Sundays in France are about slowing down and being with family. Everything was closed everywhere we went. We were early for dinner at 6:30 (the restaurant opened at 7) so we walked around this town that neighbors my new town of St. Denis de Gastine and explored. We saw a cinema, several cute shops, several hairstylists, a few bars, a boulangerie, a cafe, a patisserie, many restaurants, and what appeared to be a marijuana dispensary. We wandered until we found an open bar/tabac and entered to be met with the welcoming faces of a group of townspeople. We ordered some wine and were ushered to a table like celebrities. I guess we don’t look French yet. There were 3 dogs and a cat in this bar and I immediately gravitated to a small terrier who reminded me of Sophie. A man in the bar gestured asking if I might want to pet her, and he brought her to me and placed her in my lap. She was soft and lovely but I could tell he was nervous so I returned her to her seat at the bar and thanked the man. We had a couple of glasses of wine (totaling 3.00 euros) and made our way to the pizza restaurant where we had a delicious meal of salad and pizza. Tori had a pizza with white sauce, ham, mushrooms and cheese, and I had pizza Indienne with curry and chicken. They were both divine and we left stuffed to drive back home.

I felt compelled to stop in St. Denis as it was on the way and we did several drive-bys to look at my house, drove the streets of the town and stopped to take some pictures. It was a quiet night in St. Denis but I still like the feel of the winding streets, central church and surrounding countryside. Now I sip some rose and prepare to sleep in this gorgeous massive bed.