After about 15 hours since our epic lunch event, I was finally ready to eat something again and had a nice breakfast of baguette with ham and cheese, coffee, and a croissant with honey. We set out for the farmers markets to pick up some items for a picnic lunch and came back with bags full of soft cheese, salami, cherries, strawberries and baguettes.
We were travelling to our next destination by car, so we flung all our bags in the back and set off out of town. The heat of a few days ago was long gone and the rain was streaming down, making the roads slick and shiny. The mist hung low over the hills and it was hard to see too far ahead of us until we rounded a corner and found ourselves at our destination - the chateau of St Sabiine.
Oh. My. Goodness. This place is just sublime! Nestled neatly off the side of the road, the 8 hectare block boasts several beautiful creamy white buildings leading down to a little lake. My room has 15 foot ceilings, its own fireplace, and a separate toilet and bathroom that has the most luscious shower EVER.
We had planned a picnic in the grounds of the chateau, but there was too much rain so everyone came back to my room and we spread out out goodies on the table and enjoyed our picnic. The strawberries and cherries we'd bought at the market that morning were probably among the best I've ever tasted and while everything was very simple, we had an excellent meal.
The rain was still misting and hazing its way down an hour later when we set off on a walk to another village about and hour and a half away. The temperature had dropped quite a bit, but the humidity was still high and I could feel it choking up my chest. I was fine to walk for the first hour but when we got to the bottom of the big hill up to the village, I decided not to make the climb and went for a walk on my own.
The rain was starting to clear and I walked down to the river and up to a lock to look at the scenery and as soon as the rain stopped, I pulled out my camera and started snapping. It was absolutely beautiful walking along country roads with wheat fields on one side and sodden green trees and bushes on the other. Swallows swooped and sang overhead and other than the occasional car passing me by, there wasn't a soul around.
I had a little chat to some cows in a field, but obviously my French wasn't up to scratch as they didn't seem to be too interested in what I was saying.
Once I returned to the village, I walked around the church and through the streets and then did a big walk around the grounds of the Chateau, looking up from the lake to the house. I ended the afternoon with a glass of champagne in the bar, looking out onto the garden.
We had an official group dinner in the restaurant (which also had a Michelin star) so we got as dressed up as our limited wardrobe allowed and met up for pre dinner drinks in the bar. Everyone had a wonderful night and even though we had an early start, we went into the salon after dinner for more drinks and chatter until exhaustion finally sent us off to bed.
Tomorrow we head further south to Avignon.
The memory card I took my photos of the chateau won't read on my ipad, so Ths is all I can show. This is of the village we walked to.
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