Our week this week is quite different as we have more time to relax and catch up on little things we haven't seen but don't want to miss. For example today we headed off to a farm which produces Calvados, the local brew. We found this obscure farm and Claude, the owner - a rosy cheeked, good looking Frenchman - greeted us with a smile and we drank Calvados with him and chatted - him trying to understand us and we trying to understand him. All this at nine in the morning left us a bit shot for the rest of the day. We then scouted out a beautiful chateau called Pontecoulant and spent time just hanging over the fence drinking it in (unlike the Calvados!!)

From there we stopped at a restaurant near a river at a village called Clecy where we ate crepes, had a coffee and watched the ducks. The waiter wouldn't let us speak English and we had to order in French and converse in French. At two, which is the time when France kicks in again, we went and saw the second largest model railway in Europe. Now I can hear what many of you are thinking, but Emmanuel the owner showed us around and it was fascinating.

That all took us six hours so we went home and had a little sleep. Now we have to go and tend to the animals and water the garden. Lanie and Ben are due in on the ferry tomorrow so we are really looking forward to spending time with them. I know they are going to love France - how could they help it - it is a wonderful country.

Cheers for now.