One of our favourite things to do is to walk into our nearby town of Sauze Vaussais, perhaps a 45 minute walk, have a coffee at Bar de la Tour ( all organic), sit and look at the magazines or visit the current exhibition at the mediatheque and then have a pizza lunch at Chez Tito before setting off home again. Another place we love to visit is Verteuil, a 20 minute drive away, perhaps beginning with a visit to Cave LaRegie and marvelling at his amazing range of wines and spirits, walking round the town and stopping for a coffee at La Senechalerie with its great view of the chateau.

An hour away are the cities of Poitiers and Angouleme which give greater shopping opportunities as well as a bigger variety of restaurants. They are both attractive historic cities and Angouleme has the added interest of murals and trompe l'oeil painted on buildings plus the Museum of Cartoons (Bande Dessinees).

Then there is the beautiful port city of La Rochelle, again an historic city with meandering pedestrianised streets, great restaurants, shops, boat trips and buskers (including Julien who played at our daughter's wedding!). Or a ferry trip to the tiny island of Aix (Ile D'Aix) from Fouras just north of La Rochelle. There are no cars allowed but you can hire bikes on the island which is a fun thing to do.

And of course the city of Cognac is worth a visit to sample the local beverage.