Sigh. Our last day in Saint Aignan. We are so thankful Claire has planned a fun day for us. Of course we started our day with a nice baguette and cheese with our coffee and iced tea.
One of the new people we got to know a little bit this trip, Veronique, invited us all to her home for a quick visit so she could tell us goodbye. She has a very beautiful home with a lovely garden. She is an artist and her home is full of wonderful art pieces -- she definitely has a nice flair!
When we left there we headed for the ZOO! The Beauval Zoo is in Saint Aignan and it is world famous. The day was cold but sunny so it was good to be outside. For some reason David and I did not get around to visiting the zoo last time we were here and that was a big mistake on our part!!!
We all had our favorite animals that we visited. I could not wait to see the pandas!!!
Claire loved the lions and tigers.
Douglas really liked the reptiles. Ick.
And David could not get enough of the monkeys, chimpanzees and apes!!!
And we all thought the birds were huge and gorgeous!
What an incredible day and what an outstanding zoo. Everyone should visit the Beauval Zoo!!!
We all went home and rested up and then met for a final dinner at their home. David and I contributed baguette, cheese, crackers and wine. We begged Claire to make us her grandmother's recipe again which was the mashed carrot and potato dish with tons of butter. She also made us a good salad. After dinner we all just sat around discussing how much fun our trip had been, how much we love Saint Aignan and how grateful we are to Rachael to offer us another opportunity to stay at La Boulangerie. It holds a very special place in our hearts!!!
Douglas offered to drive us to the train station on Tuesday morning and we planned to meet at 9:00. With heavy hearts David and I strolled home to finish packing.
We do not want to leave! :(
We were able to sleep in a little bit today after a late night with Christina and Claude. We had plans to have Sunday lunch with Claire and Douglas at Sur Le Pont -- the new restaurant on the bridge. It was a cold day but sunny and clear so we walked there. I did not get a picture of the outside of the restaurant, so I am using one I found online. I did get this nice picture from the inside, looking over the Cher River at Saint Aignan.
Here is a picture of Douglas looking very Douglas-like! The clock on the wall looks a lot like the one in our room at La Boulangerie!
We were warmly greeted by Marie, the owner. As I mentioned before, she used to own our favorite bakery in Saint Aignan. The restaurant is very pretty and has about 11 tables. Claire and Douglas told us that in the summer the terrace on the river bank is open and it's wonderful to sit outside. We look forward to doing that one of these days!
For an aperitif we all had a kir. It is a blackcurrant liqueur topped off with white wine. Very delicious and refreshing. With our lunch, Douglas selected a nice rose. The restaurant offered many excellent choices. David and I started with the salad below (his without ham). Douglas had the French onion soup. Claire did not have a starter.
For his main course, David had the French onion soup and I had the most tender, delectable roast beef you can ever imagine. It was the perfect slice of "pot roast."
I don't even know what to say about what Claire and Douglas ordered for their main course. It looked like sausage . . . and Douglas said I don't want to know what is inside of it. But, they loved it!
Before we ordered our meals, our server told us that if we wanted either the apple tart or the chocolate tart we needed to order them ahead of time. So of course we did! David and Claire ordered the apple one and I ordered the chocolate one. Douglas doesn't seem to care too much for dessert. They were both beautiful and decadent!!!
We could not have had a better time or more delicious food. The walk home did us good and we were all very happy!
David and I continued on a longer walk after dropping Claire and Douglas off. We then spent the rest of the afternoon being lazy. A wonderful Sunday afternoon!
Around 7:00 Christina and Claude dropped by with champagne -- they wanted to say goodbye. Christina also brought us dinner which was leftover from Saturday night. She is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful woman I have ever met. They only stayed for a short time and it was very hard saying goodbye to them. They say they would like to visit us in the United States and they will be very welcome!
We finished the champagne and the leftovers and called it a night. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how kind the people in Saint Aignan are and how welcome they make us feel. We feel very lucky!
