Day 205 (Friday)

I was sitting on the terrace drying my hair in my pyjamas when the doorbell rang. I reluctantly answered it to see Geoff on the doorstep. He had called in to apologise for harassing me by text on Christmas morning, so I forgave him. After drinking a coffee on the terrace he offered us a lift up to Carrefour, which we gratefully accepted. Going to most French supermarkets is always a treat as they display everything so beautifully and during the festive season it’s even better.

 

How many different kinds of cheeses can there be in this wonderful country?

Look at the size of this Brie!

I really don’t like the way they leave the head of the chicken on and unplucked

Even though I don’t eat fish or seafood I can really see the appeal of this counter.

We were shopping for food and household necessities but also for snacks and drinks for our afternoon with Audre and Olivier tomorrow. We were really struggling to think about what to give them. We didn’t want to try to impress them with French stuff, as I’m sure we’d make quite a few faux pas. Aisle after aisle and nothing inspired us until we found these little beauties and we were spoilt for choice.

We went to counter number eight where you check out for home delivery and I was very disappointed with myself when I couldn’t understand what the nice girl was asking me. I asked her to speak slower and I finally got it with a little help from another checkout lady. I told her in my best French that I’m trying very hard to learn and she understood me and was really friendly and helpful after that. They really do appreciate it when you try. When it came time to pay she just pointed at the till and I proudly said the rather big number 169€ un cent soixante neuf and wished her a bonne annee and got a lovely smile and a big thank you in return. The young man who packed our bags very efficiently also spoke to us and we muddled through with lots of giggles and he told us that our goods would be with us before 5pm in English and I said it back in French which led to more giggles. As soon as we were out of the shop I realised that I should have said avant dix-sept heure (17.00 hours) not 5pm. Why do I keep getting it after the fact? But I guess that by getting it all is good progress. It was a lovely day so we decided to walk home rather than catch the bus for our daily exercise. The delivery arrived just an hour later; it’s such a great service. We usually go to Le Phare for sundowners on Friday but today we just didn’t feel like it and enjoyed a lovely evening at home.