Plutus has been away

Hello! No, I've not been lazy, I've been on holiday. Mrs P and I were in the south of France for a short while. Wonderful time had by all, well both! We got the Eurostar to Avignon, picked up a car, drove to St. Laurent du Verdon, drove round the Gorges du Verdon, drove up Mont Ventoux, drove to Orange, drove through Chateauneuf-du-Pape, drove back to Avignon, dumped the car and chilled a little after driving a little over 1000km in our surprisingly capable diesel Fiat in four days. Then got very stressed by the prospect of not being able to return home due to the fire in the tunnel. I shall not post my opinions of Eurostar/Eurotunnel nor any details of my personal experience until I am satisfied with the compensation I receive! Instead, here's a couple o' pics:

Atop Mt. Ventoux viewing our journey back down

Gorges de l'ardeche

Mrs P looking out of the Chateau in Chateauneuf

Of the four places we stayed I adored Le Moulin du Chateau in St. Laurent du Verdon and loved La Banasterie (and their dog) in Avignon. Le Moulin is run by a wonderful Swiss couple called Edith and Nicolas who operate a relaxed, beautifully decorated B&B that forces you to relax, eat well and enjoy yourself no matter how much you resist. La Banasterie is a slightly more busy place due to its location in an Avignon back street but is similarly tranquil. Typical provencal colour schemes and decor really make this place a wonderful find and Mouchi (sp?) the Shih-Tzu is an amazingly friendly little chap! If you are planning a holiday to Provence and fancy staying somewhere more elegant, charming and personal than a hotel check out:
http://www.moulin-du-chateau.com/
http://www.labanasterie.com/

Since I've been back, I've been baking bread with my newly acquired French ingredients, making lovely chicken stock from our roast chicken remains, perfecting some of my woodwork pieces as well as starting a couple of new ones, enjoying sleeping in my own bed and embarking upon some futher horticultural training at the Chelsea Physic Garden.

So much to post about, so little time...