Sunday 9th August

Woke up very late to find it was raining hard, stayed in bed a bit longer chattign and reading. Eventually got up around midday and foundte i was a cleaning mood so cleaned our gite, caught up with this blog a bit then sat down for some french practise.

Me, Lisa and Holly read a few more chapters of our book to eachother then translate it writing down and new words, this takes a while but is really good for improving vocab.
I also made a big mistake this day and and ate Paul's chicken soup, which he had been out especially to buy thaqt morning - something i don't think i'll live down for a while. I felt so guilty i tried to make up for it by making some chocolate brownie, but most of it burned in the oven and he didn't get to try much as we proceeded to eat it!

When the rain stopped around 3 we decided to get out in the frsh air and go for a walk. Expecting it to be chilly we all took jumpers only to find it soon became hot again. We walked into town then attempted to make our own way down to the lake through lots of fields, over fences, by cows etc you name it! On returning starving we found no ine had started dinner so despite doing nothing all day we ended up eating a premade cottage pie! amusing to say the least! The evening was spent with an absolutely hilarious game of cards in which we learnt many more of Paul's fabulous sayings/jokes!

Monday 10th

We headed to the chalais markets again and helped Christine with the week;ly shopping after writing out a menu plan to help with it all. This took longer than anticipated so we whizzed around quickly - me returning to buy the bag i lusted after last week but forbade myself to buy cos i'd spent too much! i figured after a week of spending next to nothing i could allow myself.

We then jumped on one of the only trains to Bordeaux to head there for a mossey about. There are only 3 trains a day 6am, 1pm or 7pm which is a bit annoying as it meant that we only had 4 hours there before catching the last train back but we decided it was better than nothing. The journey takes about an hour so we ate on the way to save time and money and before we knew it we were there. We caught the tram (holly's 1st one) to the centre of town and decided to follow the petit train's route (a little tourist train which takes you on an hours tour of the main sites). We took a romantic stroll through the botanical gardens, saw the ruins of an amphitheatre, the grand theatre, cathedral, hotel de ville, notre dame, many churches and of course we tested out the shopping! Pink Shoes!!!! Deffo the highlight of Bordeaux. We managed to see most of the things highlighted on the map and fit in some shopping so we were very proud especially as the day had gone without a glitch - so far!
We caught the tram back to the gare and i purchased my ticket fine, Holly however didn't realise that the do-it-yourself machines only accept cards so after 5 mins choosing options she had to join the queue to buy it from the cashier - 5 mins before departure!

After a stressful few minutes and a mad dash to the train we made it and settled down for some more music fun with my ipod! Arriving back fairly late we ate and went to bed, preparing for the next week of early starts! un tres bon week-end!

Tuesday 11th August

Lisa got a job in Rome and informed us that she would be leaving on Thursday! A great shame for us but fantastic for her as it's what she really wanted. We knew that it would be a hot day so started early at 7 to finish after lunch. i gauzed up all the joints in between our plasterboards ready for final finishing and then joined Holly in chiselling away at the old cement between the stones . Paul hopes to use the original stone walls in his gites. Fun at first but soon blisters appeared on my hands and it was no longer what i wished to be doing on such a hot and lovely day. Time flied however and before i knew it i was sunbathing on thebeach at the lake and playing ball in the (freezing today) water. I went for my regular legnth of the lake, still managing to scare myself near the reeds, this time convincing myself i had been bitten by some unknown water beast!
Soon realised time had decieved us once more and that we'd better head back for dinner.