Le Dorat, located 7km away from our house sit in the commune of Magnac-Laval, was the first place Mick and I decided to explore once we had caught our breath after our big holiday with our friends.

We have been busy enough getting the routines with the dogs organised, and me returning to my French lessons.

The daily walk has proved harder than we thought as the weather has been quite hot, and we have had to juggle leaving one dog behind (the one recuperating from her operation) which required some coordination.

I was very unhappy about how muddy the dogs became during the walk, so I came up with an idea to circumvent the (lead) dog who was hard to get out of the muddy pond, from getting into it in the first place. I have been putting her on a lead near that part of the walk and letting her go into the less muddy water further along.

She doesn’t seem to mind and it has made a big difference. Particularly, to the chairs we both share.

We also had to work out a way to cover the bandaged paw of the dog who was operated on, because the bandage must not get wet. At the moment she is sporting a bright red plastic wine bag taped up with masking tape. I’m lucky if one bag lasts the day. This technique must continue for a few more days until she has the stitches out and a new dressing applied early next week.

But, I digress.

Le Dorat is famous for its 11th – 13th Century Church.

Can you spot Mick near the front door?  HINT: He is wearing a red shirt.

La Collégial St Pierre-aux-Liens is the largest church in the Limousin District.

The term Limousin is still very much used around here to describe this region even though the name of the areas have been changed to Haute Vienne. Limousin is well known for its beef breeding using the cattle that bear the region’s name.

But Le Doret is renowned as the principal breeding centre for Anglo-Arabian horse. Basically, this is a very rural part of France.

The church is in need of repair. Bats, pigeons, starlings and owls have made different parts of the church their homes for hundreds of years. I doubt they will ever raise enough money to fully restore it. The baptismal font was huge.

On our first visit to Le Dorat, it was the start of the farmers’ market. These are held during the summer months once per week. The organisers and caterers were expecting a lot of people as suggested by the many long, empty tables waiting for dinner time. There was one full table of people near the front of the church – mostly men all dressed in white. I’m guessing they were the cooks and servers getting in before the crowds arrived.

But Mick and I could not stay to enjoy what was going to be on offer; we had dogs to feed.

Mick enjoyed strolling along the stalls to find something that he’d like to try.

He eventually picked out some local wines on offer, and a small container (for €6) of these freshly cooked goodies – covered in garlic butter.

I bought us some freshly picked zucchinis and beans!

We spent some time on a second day in Le Dorat walking around the ancient town that was once home to nobility and many wealthy people.

It looks a little different now; a quiet, ageing town in need of some TLC (tender loving care), but one refusing to die apparently.

When we arrived for this house sit last week, our host told us we had just missed the 2019 World Sheep Shearing Championship – which attracted huge crowds of people to the town and the area. The streets were still filled with flags from many of the participating nations, including Australia. The national champions from many countries competed for several titles. We heard that a shearer from New Zealand had one the big title (but I can’t back that up). Sounds feasible though – they beat us at Rugby too!!

One thing that makes Mick and me smile about France is the parking habits. I have started to practise some of the techniques too as I have become more confident driving on the wrong side of the road.

If one wants or needs to stop somewhere, even if it might block the narrow road, all that needs to be done is to put on the car’s flashing lights. That seems to do the trick. But then again, there are others who don’t give a damn, like the driver of this vehicle we spotted in Le Dorat, in front of a bank, who had parked in the middle of a roundabout. The car was parked there the whole time we were in Le Dorat.

We have made a list of about six more little towns we would like to visit over the remaining two weeks of our house sit – we just have to fit the sight seeing in to the schedule for the dogs and the vet.

POSTSCRIPT

Mick very much enjoyed the snails – well 30 of them at least. They were the first he has had this year in France. I tried two – but I was not such a fan. But, I thought I could not leave France without tasting them!