Extreme guests

What are extreme guests? Well that is the term Agnès coined when she found out that there would be 6 adults and 5 kids at St. André for the best part of a week. The extra people were Jules's friends from boarding school and their families. The Penstone's currently residing in Thailand and the Cotton/Bast's currently residing in Canada. They all arrived in Geneva on the evening of Mon 18th July and we decided to stay in Peron the first night before moving on to St. André the following morning. We left at around 10h and had to do a detour to the motorway was Bellegarde has effectively been cut off from the pays de gex until next April as they are doing major roadworks in town. In fact the detour wasn't too bad and only added on another 10mins or so. The weather was very hot and sunny and we stopped at the Ponte Loco for lunch which was a great success.

We then arrived at the house mid afternoon and got settled in and sorted out all the sleeping arrangements. There were 11 of us in total but we all managed to fit in. The kids played with water shoots in the afternoon and a splinter group of adults went to SuperU to get some provisions in. It was still really hot at 20h but the adults sat out and drank wine and caught up on life.

The next morning was Weds which unfortunately is the only day that the baker does not work but we managed to cope with cereals and bread and ate outside which was cool but sunny. We then went off to Taizé and walker round the village. There were quite a few people there for the summer camps and the weather was very very hot. We popped into the pottery and our guests very kindly treated us to two lovely bowls and we got two more coffee mugs so that we had enough for each adult.

We then stopped off on the way home at the butchers in Salornay amd got some sausages which we had for lunch. In the afternoon we went to Cluny pool and the idea had been that we all went and then the men were going off to Lyon to a Pixies concert. However, we had left the velux open and there was a storm forecast so in the end the men went back to shut it and then carried straight on to Lyon and the ladies and kids went to the pool. Which was heaving - I have never seen it that busy. We stayed a couple of hours and the sky was looking a bit threatening but actually the storm never came. After showering we went to the night market in Cluny which was really nice. There were mostly food stalls all along the place de l'abbaye and down the side street towards the office de tourisme. There were loads of benches and tables so you could sit and eat and relax. We bought some food and the highlight was a sorbet seller who was selling a boule for 1€ and they were really good. I am not usually that enthusiastic about sorbets but these were so good we had to get two each. The litchi was particularly tasty. After eating well we went home and had an earlier night which was good for everyone.

The next morning the kids were eager to go to the bakers and so I went over with them but we didn't get enough and so Erin and Agnès went back a further two times to re-up. We spent the morning at home with the kids playing nicely. We met the men at the Etape Charollaise for lunch and we had a nice table in the garden. Then adult's memu was taboulé salad, then guinea fowl in a cream sauce with lardons and peas, cheese and then a chocolate muffin with ice cream for dessert. It was excellent as usual. After lunch we needed a walk so we went up to the butte de suin. It was a bit hazy so the view was not as extensive as sometimes but the kids enjoyed the playground. We popped into SuperU on the way back and after putting the kids to bed the adults drank lots of wine and chatted out in the garden.

On Friday we had reserved a tour of the caves at Azé but the weather was not great and a vigilence orange storm was forecast. In the end the rain came and went by breakfast and we had to leave at 09h15 which we decided to do regardless of the rain. Before we left we notced that the water was off (they had been doing some work on the road outside the house) and I went over to the bakers to check his water was off too. It was and so we left the hosue to make our 10h30 cave appointment. We arrived in advance and waited in the little museum until the guide came. There wer lots of fossils and bones including cave lions and cave bears. The guide arrived and handed out headphones (or 'edphones) for the non french speakers and then we went down into the first of two caves. The tour was very good and there were interesting calcium formations and iron ore deposits as well as an underground stream.

After the cave we drove into Azé village as I had booked a table at le relais des grottes which was a very nice restaurant. The kids had steak haché with rice followed by moelleux au chocolat or ice cream. The adults had a set menu of terrine followed by chicken in a mustard sauce and the various dessert choices all of which were good and not the usual creme caramel or mousse au chocolat. We then motored over to Viré and stopped off at Thevennet which is a wine we discovered a few years ago when eating at the Potin Gourmand. Lukily the vigneron was around and we tasted his two wines that he is selling - he only has a very limited range. Ben asked him if he had any root beer which we found very amusing. Hugh and James purchased a few bottles for gifts including for us which was very generous. We then had a little walk around the village before heading home.

When we arrived home we had a bit of a shock as when we opened the kitchen door we could hear some noise coming from downstairs. Jules raced to the guest room and there was water and everywhere. The tap in the bathroom must have been left open and the water came back on while we were out. Luckily the house is on a slight pente and the water was going towards the back door. We switched the water off, then the electricity and and started to evacuate the water from the room. Unfortunately Mel and Hugh's stuff was in that room and most of their books were ruined as well as their clothes being soaked. We totally emptied the rooms and managed to get all the water out. Hugh swung into action and James went off to SuperU to get more towels. We managed to get the rooms dry and we have a dehumidifier so we had that going all night. It could have been worse - the electrics could have tripped etc etc. We put the big rug outside in the wood store to see if it will dry out as it was soaking. We had to rearrange the sleeping quarters but it all worked out. I put the heating on and even a few hours later the room was drying out this was due in part to the fact that the tomettes in the bedroom and bathroom were porous and so the water drained away. In the evening there was the annual medieval concert by the Salterelle group in the church. As this is on a Friday we usually miss it.

On Saturday morning the ladies left the men in charge of the kids and we went off to Cluny to do some laundry. It took longer than expected as the driers were not very efficient. When we got home we had some lunch and then went off to Brancion castle as they were holding a medieval day. It was actually pretty good and the kids seemed to enjoy it. First we watched a horse and fighting spectacle and then we dressed up and visited the castle. We enjoyed some delicious organic sorbets and then headed back home to enjoy a bbq with absolutely fabulous steaks from the mobile butcher.

Our guests packed up and left at about 10h on Sunday and we packed the house up and left just before midday. Hopefully when we come back the rooms will be dry and not too much mould will have grown. The bedroom is empty which might not be a bad things as we are still considering going ahead with the shower room in the old kitchen which requirea drilling into the downstairs bedroom. I also spoke to M. Gosset who is going tomclear out the gutter at the front of the house as it has plants growing in it which is not great. The gardener had been again and so the back garden looked great. We will be back a few weekends in August.