A rare sleep in (Shattered) then down to breakfast in the dining room of the mansion....

We couldn't look yesterday, as retired Dr husband was painting. He could barely speak a word of English, but through his wife proudly showed us the 'Home' type magazine they had grabbed the colour scheme from - (Which was a stately mansion), and he was doing a great job of replicating it. High ceilings, panelling, classic furniture, amazing timber fireplace and a delicious spread for breakfast. We had a quick peek in the parts that we could see - and the place was brilliant. They had been lookin in the area, talked into going to this one against their judgement, and decided on byung it having only made it to the kitchen (Which is not far from the front door). Beautiful house, beautiful furniture and wonderful hosts. We so wish we had stayed longer!

Anyway - quick pack, then lead by the Dr through the terraced garden (Not started yet, but huge potential) down to the car. Sad farewall to the 'hotel' then a short drive to somewhere to park so we could explore the town some more. Magic stone buildings and alleys squished together and a great wander (through the mostly closed shops) then off to Limoges. We needed to cover ground so took the tollway motorway. A little pricey, but being able to travel at 130km/h, with Trucks always off in the right lane (Their max is 90) we covered excellent ground. Limoges had a church and an old area that had survived history andf the war, so we parked the car randomly to avoid a traffic jam (Which turned out to be a perfect spot), then headed for the fort/church/cathedral overlooking the town. The police had a road blocked off which had caused the snarl.

Around the Cathedral area was a museum which had a huge collection of rather confronting modern sculptures around it, so we got distracetd on that for a while then headed to the 'tudor style' village to marvel at the buildings and streets again. Back to the car quite carefully (to avoid some very dodgy looking parts of town), then used our car GPS to find a Maccas (For weefee and peepee). Turns out it was 500 metres away so we left the car and wandered off. Modern building, great maccas, good food (Ceaser salad) good weefee, so we rang the girls and had a good chat. Also reloaded the expired prepaid mobile.

Next, targetted a supermarket to stock up (and shop like a local) so GPS'd to a big Carrefour supermarket near our stay. Grabbed Diesel for the car (After joining the wrong queue which was Diesel for trucks with much bigger nozzles...) and grabbed our next day lunch - a massive veggie n dip platter. Grabbed lots of unseen snacks as well, and some crazy proved water. A small bottle was about 13cents. A large bottle 21cents! Euros are about 1.6 AUD, so even doubling it was still super cheap.

Moved to Feytiat, our overnight stay, and settled for the night. It was a sprawling farmhouse in need of some TLC. (Description in tomorrows post). After resting in our room for a while, we had hoped to go out for a bite (They said nothing was walkable) but decided to just stay in and munch snacks. Getting the car out was a logistical challenge with roaming kids n livestock, and a massive gate that opened straight onto the road. In raiding the car we passed the hosts and a couple of their French mates who convinced us to try the Marseiilles drink, Pastis (Aniseed alchohol they added to water). The main French guy liked practicing a bit of English (His mates didn't speak much) but chatting to the Aussie hubbie/French wife was interesting. They were living in what was basically her family's holiday home that no-one ever uses. He was starting up a business and kicking off the French side before returning to Aus. It was a shame to hear the house would not get the restoration that it needed (and deserved). After a long chat, we crashed and left them to it. Apparrently noisy when they all came upstairs, I had no idea......