Jim & Happy : Dormans, our final days

Tomorrow is our last day in Dormans.

The family will be returning home tomorrow night from their holiday in Corsica. We will head off Sunday morning to visit our friends in Bellentre. Bellentre is one hour’s drive from Chambery. The drive from Chambery to here took 6.5 hours so it will be a long day. It will be good to be among friends and to be able to chat chat chat.

The dogs are lovely but a handful. Whilst writing this Filou & DS are playing ‘round and round the mulberry bush’ around the coffee table via the kitchen - one of their favourite games. Filou instigates the chasing but then takes refuge under the coffee table. It often ends in tears with DS giving Filou a chomp out of frustration. Meanwhile old man (Bandit) is either barking or whining because he doesn’t like them doing it. These sessions happen a couple of times a day. To cope with it Jim and I are either laughing or yelling ‘stop’ out of frustration and trying to put them outside. It is difficult to chastise the dogs - you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. They are set in their ways and we are only here to babysit.

We made a welcome home card for the family from the dogs. It is really cute. You can tell we have lots of time on our hands.

Living in a typical French village has been interesting (as everything new is) but it has been a long two weeks. I think the main reasons are we are both feeling homesick, not having anyone to talk to in English except for each other and for Jim the limited English TV. Every afternoon we watch 'The Ghost Whisperer. ' We have never watched this show before (at home). I liked the first couple of shows, now I’m over it.

The supermarkets, bakeries and most businesses in Dormans shut for a few hours over lunch, normally from 12 to 2.30pm. They reopen from 2.30pm to 7pm. It is the equivalent to the siesta in Spain and Italy. We found this out the hard way. Our first day here we walked up the road to buy a baguette for lunch, nothing was open. It was a late lunch that day.

Before we leave Dormans I should tell you a bit about its history. The river Marne runs through the town. You may have heard of the battles of the Marne, battle 1 in 1914 at the start of WW1 and battle 2 in 1918 ending WW1. It was a bloody period for the French, Germans, Australians and the English. We visited the war cemetery, walking distance up the road from the house. The cemetery is in the grounds of Chateau Dormans along with a huge memorial to the war. I had to Google for information on the events because everything at the cemetery and chateau is in French.

Here’s ‘Sante’ to a few champagnes tomorrow night with Nathalie and Christian and then onward bound.