We are very relaxed now after spending our second Christmas in the Charente, south west France. Its Boxing Day and the shops are shut and there are no signs of the sales. The sun is shining and the water of the Charente river is flowing strongly after the recent heavy rains. So what is living in France like? Chilled I would say. Its not at all hectic. Even in the run up to Christmas, the shops were cool, calm and collected with no sign of the manic-panic buying that characterises so many UK supermarkets.
Before Christmas we went to the Christmas market in Bordeaux which was magical, 150 little wooden chalets with twinkling lights selling mulled wine, hot chocolate, biscuits and treats from Alsace, teddies, trinkets and everything imaginable. Bordeaux was wonderful, as beautiful, if not more beautiful than Paris with its vast squares, sand-coloured eighteen-century buildings and magnificent fountains. We found a street of the most fabulous restaurants with every food imaginable from French to Chinese, Japanese noodles to fondue.
Back in the Charente now and not much stirs in the winter. The elderly people in our tiny village stay very much indoors but we occasionally get to chat to them when we are out walking the dogs. The village has three Christmas lights up, its rather sweet. The only noisy creatures are the donkeys which call to each other across the village, even in the middle of the night.
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