Travel without Bugsy

Since our first three nights in France we haven’t been able to use Bugsy. This is how it happened. We were leaving the village of Vertuel when the clutch stuck to the floor. Complete failure. Bugsy was taken away on a flat bed to be repaired.Our decision was to continue travelling in the area using a small hire car and bed and breakfast/ hotels/ home stays. We stayed two nights at most places and enjoyed talking to the owners. Some funny, others eccentric but all kind and taken in by Bess’s appealing brown eyes.Our last stay was in Chapell-Sur -dun. Son and family bought a home in France. Mum came to visit for a month from America and then came for longer each time. Twenty- six years was the number reached when she died five years ago. She was a painter her son sold her work and laughingly said when I appreciated all the paintings.’ She saved us a lot of money on wall paper!’What did she paint? Lots of flowers! Coastal scenes, the garden around her son’s French home. She loved to make composite paintings. A little of this placed with some of that over there. I really enjoyed looking.Here is the painting on our door.Some thoughts about hospitality:Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take place.Henri NouwenDo what you you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.Walt DisneyWhen hospitality becomes an art it loses its very soul.Max BeerbohmOne place we became attached to and where I spent time drawing was near Vertuel. It was terribly windy and Roy spent most of the day finding the hire car.Then there was the chateaux near Bourge. We were the only guests with the caretaker present and vineyards all around. This was our cheapest stay at €40.Hotel rooms in Royan, Lacana and Saint Palais all welcomed Bess and provided clean well decorated sea view rooms. All were close to the budget set by our insurer.Our funniest booking on the internet was in in a very modern 24 hour care home for senior citizens. Wide passages with support rails and lifts with two way access. A section unused but well equipped for the elderly was available for tourist. Again Bess was welcome and we were going to spend three nights because it really was a selfcontained flat. Then we had a phone conversation and Bugsy would only prpbably be ready just before Christmas. We moved fast and decided we needed to get home. It was getting colder and our insurance covering car and stay needed to be respected.All in all we have had a blessed time. People were really friendly and helpful. The places we stayed made us feel welcome and at home. I certainly don’t think they have made hospitality an art because where we stayed it still had a soul.Thank you France.To all of those who have read our posts. May you glean how lovely our world is.’ The LORD is my light and my salvation. The LORD is the strength of my life.’Take care,Sandy 🙂