We made our getaway from the campsite at around 09:00, and headed straight for Bourdeilles. Around halfway there Jwan went looking for a Boulangerie in the village of Agonac, but couldn't find what he was looking for. However, there was a local shop offering a small selection of pastries. As he queued up in the surprisingly busy establishment, the gentleman in front of him bought the few remaining croissants. Bad luck, mate. Jwan had to settle for some chocolate instead.
Back in Bourdeilles, it was as pretty as it was when I left the place yesterday. We stopped off in a café for our morning coffee and Wifi fix. Here I made a Skype call to my grandparents who were the ones to point us to this particular village. I turned the video on during the conversation, showing the little town square, a local market, the café and the chateau. I think I may have made them a little jealous, wishing they were back in France rather than in the UK.
When we arrived in Brantôme, I think we'd just missed out on a big omelette event. Yes, you heard that right. What must have been hundreds of people were sat down waiting to be fed a piece of one enormous omelette they had cooked. It had to be lifted by tractor it was that big!
Our initial plans for lunch were to hunt down the local supermarket and get something cheap, but it had slipped both of our minds that it's a Sunday again and opening times are a little backwards. After finding the local Carrefour closed, we headed back into the centre of town and grabbed a sandwich each from a local shop. We took these down to the river bank and sat in the shade of a tree, watching the world go by. A father and son going up and down the river on a little electric boat, groups of friends navigating themselves in canoes and tourists losing themselves in the beauty of the area. It really was one of the best lunches we've had in France (didn't I say that yesterday?). Though I visited Brantôme yesterday, today I saw it from different perspectives. It's such a pretty village - I can see why there are so many tourists about.
From here we headed north west, and it was a tough cycle. Today we have covered nearly 80 miles and there has been more than enough climbing. The area around Châteauneuf-sur-Charente where we're staying tonight is a total dead-zone for campsites. We have an application for the tablet and phone whilst supposedly lists all the campsites in France, but there's just a big hole here. My GPS reckoned there was a Municipal campsite here in Châteauneuf, but when we arrived at the coordinated there was no such thing. After asking a few locals, we've finally found a small place on the outskirts of town. It's extremely basic with just a few pitches and a toilet block with one toilet, one sink and one shower. It seems nice enough, but again it's expensive! €12 for a night. We've been paying that at places offering swimming pools, social rooms, free Wifi and a handful of other facilities. I don't even think there's a washing machine here.
Another interesting place we stopped off at en-route was a village called Villebois-Lavalette, and of course we had to climb to get there. The village is established high up on the landscape, and is surrounded by a fort. As with many other places we've visited, the views were good, the chateau cost money to look around (so of course we didn't!), and the village was dormant with only a few souls stirring. Which reminds me, tomorrow is the dreaded Monday again where everything is closed.
The sun is just going down and I hope I can stay awake long enough to watch the meteor shower, though I'm very tried after today. I also caught the sun a little and this also makes me sleepy. Food for dinner was hard to come across, again because the supermarkets are closed, so I ate tomorrow's breakfast for dinner, and will have to venture out to find something to eat in the morning instead. Jwan has gone off to explore the local vicinity, though I expect he'll be back soon as he's on his bike with no lights, and dusk has fallen upon us.
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