We awoke to the quiet of being in the middle of the countryside. We shuffled downstairs and decided on foregoing getting ready for the day and just heading out to the market to stock up on our fresh produce and meat for the evening’s meal. The area’s daily market was held in Tocane-St-Apre, just 15 minutes to the south.

We toured through the narrow, picturesque roads, northeast towards Perigueux, stopping by the side of the road occasionally to take pictures of the landscape. Perigueux was a larger town, and we wandered around looking for a parking spot nearer to the centre. We parked for free, likely because it was Sunday, and walked towards the main cathedral. It was an imposing structure, with large domed spires, that had similar leanings as Sacre Coeur in Paris (same architect).

David was simply overjoyed to be driving again, particularly in a manual little diesel car. We headed eastward towards the town of Bergerac, admiring the vineyards and rolling hills along with the gorgeous sunshine. Bergerac is situated right on the Dordogne river, and it is a darling town full of half-timbered houses and of course several statues of the infamous Cyrano de Bergerac.

We ventured out and wandered the town in search of a boulangerie, although oddly enough we couldn’t find one. We made our way down a fantastically steep ramp and back to the plaza we had dinner at the previous evening. There, we were treated to some tasty crépes for brunch. St Emilion is particularly known for its Eglise Monolithique, so we swung by the tourism office to pick up our tickets for the guided tour. As the only English option left at 2 pm, our schedule was set.

Sunglasses firmly affixed, we checked-out and headed out for a quick morning stop at Paul, the nearby boulangerie, for pain au chocolat. The sun was out in full force, unsheathed from any cloud cover, and by 11 am, we already knew it was going to be a scorcher of a day. We made our way down to the water to check out Bordeaux Fete de Vin, which lined probably a mile of the boardwalk.

We were up, bright and early, by 7 am, so D ran out to grab breakfast. If there is one thing I love about France, it is the constant supply of freshly baked croissants and pain au chocolat. Buttery, flaky deliciousness consumed, we got ourselves ready to go and headed out to explored Bordeaux.

The end of daylight savings time meant we were given an extra hour for our surfing and general puttering. It was a beautiful clear day, if not a little windy. We were out the door and headed to Hyde Park to explore a park a bit. The park was fairly manicured, lots of cut grass and golden-leafed trees. We grabbed a couple of hot dogs and took a stroll through the park. Lots of folks out, cycling and roller-blading, child playing and dog frolicking.

It looked to be an overcast, drizzly day when we awoke, but nevertheless, we had a plan. After a little surfing, we soon ventured off the beaten path to an area of town we hadn’t yet seen. In the Monmouth Coffee Company’s newsletter, they’d mentioned that on Saturdays, the location where they do their roasting is open to the public, in conjunction with Neil’s Yard (the fabulous cheesemonger). So we trekked out to Maltby Street, so D could buy some beans to take back with him.

The morning began quietly, although we didn’t end up going to the British Library as usual. We puttered around the hotel, using the WiFi in the lounge and getting ourselves ready for the day. We headed out around noon via the tube to St. Paul’s station to visit the cathedral. We stopped in at a little café for a snack and an Americano before wandering through the churchyard to the entrance. It’s a large, imposing structure, and D commented that it looked much less ornate than the Gothic cathedrals. We headed in and soon discovered, much to my dismay, that no photographs were allowed inside.

We had a good start, getting up and out the door to be at the British Library when it opened (9:30am). It was amusing to see a line up going in when we arrived, but we managed to grab comfy seats with outlets. We toiled away for a few hours before heading out to enjoy the sunshine. D wanted to head back to the Monmouth Coffee shop for a wee dram of delicious espresso, so we tubed over to the Seven Dials area. We stopped in at a fancy French restaurant in Covent Garden that had gotten good reviews to make a reservation for Friday night before walking up to the coffee shop.

With a few butterflies about my meetings with the UCL folk, I decided to quell my anxieties by doing a little bit of shopping. D stayed behind and went to the British Library to get in his requisite morning of work. I’d done a rather geeky thing before I left Vancouver and purchased a “Street Sensation Guide”, which had a very thorough mapping of all the shopping districts in London. So with my handy guide in hand, I figured I’d start off by heading to the Bond St. tube station and checking out the Marylebone High Street area.