Not a bad start!

I'm actually feeling quite good about my "accomplishments" so far (as opposed to feeling good about being in France, which I ALWAYS feel!).  I've learned how to find the stores I need without the GPS; I went into Limoges WITH the GPS and actually bought some items in a mall; I've made a couple of (possible) new friends (everyone here is very friendly, French or English); have traveled around a bit; done laundry, and know where to dump the recyclables.  The "habituation" process continues, but I think not bad for just over a week.  Haven't made my own wood stove fire, yet; need to find kindling.

Yesterday (Friday), after taking care of some mundane chores (including finding out that to open a bank account I need papers that I have back in Maryland!), I did a little exploring.  First went to look at the Dolmen Bouéry (see pic), the 3-to-4,000-year old megalith grave site, of which there are many in France (LOTS of pre-historic sites, Gallo-Roman ruins, etc.) -- but this one is just a few kilometers from me! (2.2 K to a mile, so just divide in half to get approximate miles, or multiply by point-6).  And the country path there is stunning in the fall: first time I think I've ever used words "the light dapples" and known what it meant!  (See pix, though perhaps not as true to reality as could be -- a pox on this Nikkon Coolpix, I want my Canon!)

Afterwards, after learning from Caroline (woman I met at grocery store who had seen my introductory posting on expat website), suggested I visit St. Benoit-sur-Sault, not just for the picturesque medieval town, but also for the "Super U" (or something like that).  Supermarket didn't thrill me, and the medieval town was quiet, but I did have a nice lunch (salad, boeuf bourgignon with mashed potatoes, bread (which I have to stop eating!), glass of wine, apple tarte w/raspberry sauce and coffee, for E14.  Best part was the atmosphere (see pix), listening to Charles Aznavour song recordings, and chatting with a man and his son visiting family in the region for the Tousaints holiday.

A la prochaine --


















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