When you wake in the morning and the sky is blue, you really don’t need a weather app to tell you the ‘sky is blue’, but it’s nice to see the forecast.

It was a gorgeous day and our guests were heading out to explore the local area and visit the Renoir museum in Essoyes.

Once we’d had a quick tidy up and opened up the pool, ready for their return later in the day, we decided to have a little outing to a local Vide Grenier.

We bumped into a couple of friends who were just about to tuck into their lunch of saucisson and frites they bought from one of the stalls that are always found at these little markets. They’d sat down at one of the tables and chairs set up in the shade of the church. Our friends had also purchased a bottle of Champagne – of course, you can’t sit down in Champagne without a bottle of the local fayre to smooth things along, and a fresh, sparkling glass was exactly what was needed. Enjoying a glass with friends is still such a wonderful pleasure, that’s life in Champagne. It was a very pleasant surprise to catch up with them.