A chocolate bomb and a coffee eclair with a red heart for good measure!
Setting up camp in the courtyard and catching some much needed sunshine and the Telegraph
We set out with such strong resolve this morning, armed with a flask of hot coffee, two apples, a chocolate bar (well it is Valentine's Day) and the determination to have a look around the Sommieres market before going for a walk and maybe a picnic.
En route, we stopped off at the household supply shop on the edge of Sommieres to try and find the right connection for my headphones. Now that we are blessed with British TV, I always seem to be right in the middle of something interesting when Jean has to take an important phone call, and rather than me lose track and him being interrupted, we have all the cables necessary to let me use our excellent headphones. Sadly we were unable to find the right combination of male and female plugs, so picking up a packet of fat balls for the birds, we left the shop, and found ourselves in the teeth of a wicked north wind. In addition to this, a fair amount of cloud had blown up and the distant Cevennes Mountains were once again capped with snow, so it was a joint decision to get back into the car and head for the warmth of home.
There was only one more port of call and that was the boulangerie. In honour of the day, we felt that we should have something delicious to go with our coffee, and so I stayed in the car while Jean went to make the purchase. It wasn't laziness on my part, but due to the fact that there were no parking places left outside the little parade of shops in the village, so I had to keep on moving.
While waiting, it occurred to me that all the men coming back to their cars were laden with bunches of flowers, and before long, my patience was rewarded by the sight of Jean coming towards me almost hidden behind a large pot of beautiful pink cyclamen, with an interesting small cake box suspended from his finger with a blue ribbon.
My Valentine had gone one step further and had purchased the Saturday Telegraph which gives me enough reading material for a week, and armed with our coffee and fresh cream cakes, we ventured out into the courtyard and found a sunny sheltered spot. Defiantly we set up the small table and two chairs, opened the newspaper up and declared it Spring.
We might not have made it to the market, but we have marked this happy day, and we realised that it is the first Valentine's Day that we have ever spent in France. May it be the first of many, and to all of you, wherever you are, may the sun shine warmer (or slightly cooler if you are in South Africa and Australia and are fed up with the heat) and may love from whatever quarter it may come, make a welcome visit.
