That’s about it….

Today’s our last day in Firbeix and our trip is drawing to a close.  We’ve had an amazing time here making the most of the chateau, pool and surrounds.  I’ve loved running the hills around Firbeix, Montcigoux, Montchatny, Paulliac and Aillac.  Cath and Lisa, occasionally accompanied by Tracy or Nicki have discovered many walking paths around Firbeix and surrounds.  After four weeks they’ve even managed to complete a couple of paths without getting lost.

We’ve played lots of cards and Articulate, watched a little TV and movies and drank endless beer, wines and champagnes (cassis optional).

This is our last entry on the blog.  Many thanks to those who have followed the blog and shown interest through emails and comments.  We’ve had fun recording our trip and are pleased we’ve got a lasting record of our adventures.

Please click through to our parting comments page and drop us a quick blog goodbye so we know who’s been blogging with us.

James and Cath

Firbeix – Wednesday 20 August

Nicki has joined us this week for a holiday from London. Funnily enough we’ve spent a fair bit of time lazing by the pool reading and swimming but Nicki has joined in with our jogging and walking so that we’re ready to start cocktail hour with a clear conscience.

Last week we went to a herb ‘pique nique’ part of one of the local festivals and enjoyed a local lunch under marquees. No blanket required.

Today we went to the caves Gouffre de Padirac. 120m or so underground a boatman takes you along an underground river for 500m and then you walk through the caves admiring the pools, columns, stalagmites and stalagtites. Most impressive and a great way to spend a couple of hours on a 38 degree day as the temperature in the cave was a very mild 13 degrees.

Firbeix – Wednesday August 13

Tracy, Matthew, James and Sam came and visited with us this week from London.  The weather was mostly fantastic and we spent lots of time in the pool.  Matthew and I fitted in a few runs on the killer Dordogne hills and we all hit the markets again to rediscover the French food that we had missed.  The figs stuffed with foie gras were exceptional and I even fired up the Grand Marnier for an evening of crepe suzette.

The photo below show us taking the kids on a velo-rail ride (train cart powered by pedalling) from Bussiere Gallant to Chalus and back.

Bussiere Gallant – Monday 3 August

Marcus and I (James) had a fantastic afternoon today in Bussiere Gallant. We did the ropes course. You make your way through a selection of rope ladders, suspended mesh nets, high wires, flying foxes, wooden bridges and trapeze.

Marcus did a fantastic job and quickly picked up the concepts of clicking his carabiners onto the guide wires and moving through the course. I had one shaky moment where I missed catching the rope at the end of the flying fox and drifted back to the middle of the cable. Instead of calling out for help I decided to tough it out and made my way hand over hand on the overhead wire to finishing platform. Luckily there was someone there to grab my hand and help me up.

Of course Cath was there with the video camera so should make for interesting viewing.  See more photos here.

Firebeix – Friday 31 July

We’ve been here in Firbeix for a week and two days. The weather has been great so currently have just spent time by the pool and the kids playing in the yard which has a badminton court, flying fox, sandpit, bikes and then there is the playroom out the back .  The house is split in two so we have seperate living quarters to the Marchettis but it is still all connected ( good at night when us grown ups retire at one or other of our lounge rooms to play cards, games or fav at the moment completing our 2000 piece puzzle).  Just one thing though we have been watching a fair bit of True Blood and scaring ourselves before climbing the old stairs to our huge old bedrooms!!!

Yesterday checked out the local swimming lake – has sand etc and this great ropes course where you are harnessed up and climb through the trees on to platforms etc.  Marcus cant wait to do the course – think I will volunteer to be the photographer.

Firbeix – Wednesday 22 July

We are in our second French Chateau !!  Chateau de Firbeix in Firbeix.  My guess is that it is the oldest building in Firbeix.  It is big and at night can be a bit spooky but its fantatsic. Has cellar then two stories and then an attic the wh0le length of the Chateau.  (Attic and cellar we can’t access).  Its made of typical French stones with light blue shutters at every window and the customary flower boxes.  The owners have an amazing vegetable garden and supply us every second day with beans, eggplants, zucchinis, tomatoes, cucumbers and green peppers.

Beaune – Monday 20 July

Left Switzerland today for our journey back through France and, after a very quick visit to Dijon to pick up a few (well 5) different kinds of mustards, we went on to Beaune. Beaune is a lovely walled city with cobblestone streets and is known fo its wine caves. Wine houses all have these caves under the ground which go on for ever . We did some wine tastings in the caves where you walk from barrel to barrel through the caves with metal cups with a wide flat dish ( better to see the colour of the wines ( well by candlelight in the dark). Marcus and Ol loved the caves – actually they were my company for the wine tastings as James had gone off for a jog. Spent two days in Beaune, wine tasting and shopping eating icecreams and lots of quiches ( they seem to have these great one person quiches from the patisseries everywhere- they are very light (in taste, not waist line) and are yummo – kind of lived on those for two days.

Schynige Platte – Sunday 19 July

Angelo and I (Cathy) ventured to do our hiking day ( no kids).  This involved leaving at 5.30 am ( as Ange would never dream of leaving in the heat of the day at 9am) and climbing up Schinge Platte ( 2000m above sea level).  This took us about three and a half hours and virtually went straight up – when climbing it, I was thinking ‘ so this is what exercise really is’! Then I probably walked with Angelo up the top for another hour and a half before making my way back to the train station at the top of Schinge Platte to catch the train home. Ange went on to complete a 10 hour walk ( double my meagre 5 hour walk) but I still felt v proud.  The walk up the top of the mountain showed some amazing scenery ( again) and we were really walking on thin paths that if you fell over the side you were a goner… didnt help that some of the paths were quite slippery due to rain etc! Did get to one point where you had to climb down this ladder/stair thing to continue the track ( and in my case to get back to the train station) — I did have another moment of weakness , where Angelo had to get me down these stairs in the quietest manner.  At one point Ange slipped a bit with his footing , so I of course started screaming my head off – and yes all the people on the other tracks down below heard this and all stopped their hikes to stare at us – quite amusing ( later), but I made it down in one piece —- I think it was at this point that Ange convinced me that I may be better off heading back to the station as his hike involved 3 cable cars down other mountains.  Ange made it back at about 7pm that night – what an effort.

Schynige Platte

Thun – Saturday 18 July

Visited Thun , where all the real locals are ( not just the tourists doing their mountain climbing, paragliding etc etc). Marcus and James went on a ferris wheel

and Ollie went on a carousel.

Thun is on a very fast rushing river with swans aplenty.  That night went to a local restaurant in Interlaken for Rosti and cheese fondue – yummo on both counts.  Also finished off with chocolate fondue – just to give the kids the experience of course ( not for us at all).

Bern – Friday 17 July

Went to Bern the capital of Switzerland – known for its bears!!! The kids were keen to see the bears kept in a bear pit in the city centre before the animal activists had it closed down; unfortunately the last bear had been put down in April…. ( too old apparently). They are building a much nicer bear pit and should have bears in it by October.

The city of Bern has many fountains – this one depicts a ‘child eating’ ogre – after almost four weeks on the road with young children I was kind of hoping it would come to life about two seconds after this photo was taken.