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LA VIE EN FRANCE / LIFE IN FRANCE:  THE VILLAGE

You should be feeling quite at home in St Georges de Reneins by now.  

 This little lane leads from the main road to Church Square.  The brightly painted railings were a welcome innovation from last year.  The church is to the right of the trees at the top of the lane.

The undertaker's shop (from the last blog) is just visible halfway up the lane, on the left.

 The main road looking south, just below the church steps.

The obscene-looking neon sign protruding from the building on the right 

is a stylised baguette - that's the baker's shop.

 The 'hostellerie' by the main roundabout.  

It's advertising a 'terrasse ombrage' - a shady terrace - not needed this week.

 Almost all the cattle you see in the fields hereabouts are Charolais - white and bad-tempered.

They were originally bred in the area around Charolle, not far north of here, and are now very common - even in England.

This butcher obviously specialises in their meat.

Notice the street-name, too.  Virtually every town and village in France has an 'avenue' (or 'rue' or 'route') named after Charles de Gaulle.  They really did worship the ground he walked on.  It's as if there's a 'Winston Churchill Road' everywhere you go in England.

 'Paysage' means 'countryside'; M Mechain is a 'paysagiste' - a landscaper.  Here, he offers to 'create and maintain green spaces and water features'.

 This is the village's other bakery.  It's good - but not as good as the one we'll be visiting later.

Marie-Claude, whom I would happily marry, works here.

 The station looking north.  A container train is on its way to Mâcon.

Notice the footpath across the rails - it's the only way for passengers to reach or leave platform B.

There are six trains a day in each direction.

 This picture - and the following three - were taken inside the bakery with the obscene neon sign outside (see above.)  Although the display looks mouth-watering to English eyes, today was a public holiday in France and the range of goods on offer was much-depleted.

I always put weight on when I visit the village.

 The two cakes that the divine Sara is about to box up are 'royales renemoises' - creamed chcocolate mousse on a dark chocolate and biscuit base, topped with a honey-meringe and caramel flakes.

And those were the last two in the shop.

A sign telling you the name of the village as you enter it is, of course, useful.  I have wondered sometimes, though, why - throughout Europe - they also tell you when you're leaving...

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I hope you've enjoyed your picture-visit to the village - 

and that maybe you'll join me there sometime...