Last Day in Southwest of France, farewell fur family 

It has been a wonderful time spent exploring the nooks around here but it is our last day minding the beautiful fur family.

This morning we tested Byron’s resolve and training by having a batch of André’s Canadian pancakes with local strawberries at his nose level. We are not quite sure whether it is the flour here, the French butter or the frypans but they came out particularly special.

Byron passed with flying colours and we really only tested him on the very last pancake in case some of you puppy lovers feel it was a cruel test to do.

Tomorrow our family returns including their 3 year old son who refers to André as ” the big man”. Initially André was not quite sure how to take this, after all we are in France indulging in all sorts of patisseries, but then, he puffed his chest out and thought better of it, I think he likes the concept of being The Big Man:)

We have also been doing a little bit of garden care,  mainly making sure the spring plantings and veggie seedlings are doing well and have adequate water. This has been a lot of fun as they seem to be growing and changing a lot from day to day.

We are very lucky that the lawns get looked after professionally and we just get to enjoy the outlook with the dogs.

We found the UNESCO Heritage listed town of St Emilion particularly beautiful, perched on a hill with impossibly steep , narrow streets that can only be navigated by foot. The surrounding area is very famous for its wines and each little cm2 of “terroir” is very precious.

Our local castle is also very impressive and has gone through many twists and turns in fate over the centuries. It was greatly expanded in the 17th century and then eventually fell to the hand of its own people during the French Revolution. Luckily there was a strong desire to preserve it and in the end thanks to the local town people’s efforts and funding supplements from the government it was bought by the people for 49,000€ in 1969 and has been lovingly restored.

The vantage from the top of one of the towers , shows how strategic this Chateaux was for the area.

Well it is our last afternoon and the “B Team” lines up for the final afternoon walk. Well Byron and Bijou line up, Bramble is not quite so willing to be herded into the group shot:) and needs a bit of coaxing.

Farewell beautiful family!