Showing posts with label Churet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Churet. Show all posts

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Trying out a new restaurant with a great recommendation.

Maximum temperature today 25C, minimum 11C.    Dry; 5km/h North Easterly winds with up to 17 km/h gusts.

Unfortunately, their street address on all the mapping websites was 'up the creek' and we could not track down any coordinates. However, we were duly very impressed when we managed to locate it after a short detour through a nearby village with a similar name.  I now have it in the car satnav with the correct details!!

The restaurant is called the Bouton D'or (buttercup) (see the above arrow) and it is in the village of Saint-Romain-en-Charroux. This village is called Saint Romain, and there is another place down the road called Charroux, photos from which I will publish tomorrow. For anyone who would like to take a trip to this Vienne village, the coordinates are N 46⁰ 13' 17. 63"  E 0⁰ 21' 55. 58"

Bouton D'or from the outside...

and inside, with the owner waving his arms around, telling a table full of women some funny story!  We were one of the first arrivals, despite being delayed on our detour.  The place filled up soon afterwards.

The piano, we gather, is often in use by someone or another.  I am not sorry it was quiet today, as we were sitting right next to it!

The special Sunday menu; weekday meals are simpler, and considerably cheaper.

Amuse-bouche.

Seafood cassolette.

Duck (apparently 3 x cooked in different ways, so the owner informed us) with mashed potato, mushrooms and a salad.  The duck, from Sarlat in the Dordogne, was delicious and very tender.

The cheese board.  David and Monica, eat your heart out 😉

Dessert.

The church of St Romain right next door.

Nigel spotted this very old and rusty sign for Ricard on a house wall....

and this one, which he managed to work out was for a fertiliser.



N.B. My new bird blog is updated  HERE 
Part 7 of the birds I saw last year in Africa.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

24/02/2018 A visit to a nut oil producing water mill

Maximum temperature today 8C, minimum -4C.  Dry, but total rain since 1 Jan is now 279 mm; 13 km/h North Easterly winds with up to 29 km/h gusts.

Winter trees but the ivy remains green!


as above.


Driving through Pont d'Agris.


Logging.


Arrival at the mill.

The river Argence runs both sides of the mill, this is near the entrance...


and on the other side...


with the sluice gates.


The water wheel...


as above.  The wheel is 4.55 metres (14'11") in diameter and 0.77 (2'6")metres in width. It also generates electricity.

Inside walnuts being manually cracked to remove the kernels... 


The mill wheel inside...


the stone wheel that crushes the walnut kernels...

The wheel in action crushing the kernels,,,


the crushed kernels are then heated here, there is a fire burning underneath...


and here they are extracting the oil into the bucket.  We were allowed to taste the warm oil and it was delicious. 


We did not see this machine in action but we wonder if this is what cracks the shells mechanically rather than manual labour with a hammer!

Here are some very short videos of the machinery in action.  With our slow connection it took some time to down load them so I hope they help to give you some idea of the what is going on...

The stone crushing the kernels as they are tipped in.  The lady was telling the child to get back as he was getting too close!!!

As above.



For those that have been following our trip to Nevis the 4 and final part of our holiday is HERE.