Disclaimer: the following was written in fragments as the day went on and the tenses are all over the place. I'm sure my editor will fix that before publication.

I like to flatter myself that I'm a traveller and not a tourist. Part of what I am enjoying about this trip is how our hosts are so happy to share their friends with us, so that we are not mingling solely with other tourists but are able to meet people who have a different perspective on life here. I may not be that interesting myself but I try to always be interested.

And so, to our tale. The sun came up this morning - always a good thing - and I made my morning trip to meet Malot (probably the wrong spelling) at the boulangerie and get the day's quota of bread and croissants. Our fellow guests left early for their Tiko Tiko trip and C&T needed to make a grocery trip so we decided to stay put for a change, take advantage of the opportunity to have the place to ourselves and worship at the temple of the Goddess.

Ye gods! It's hot. So hot that I have decided the sun must already be over the yardarm and the grog supply can be breached. Lunch came and went in the form of a plate of cheese and pate from our own selection and the major part of a bottle of Chinon. Chloe & Thierry joined us for a short time to help shoot some more breeze and the afternoon passed with a combination of floating, reading and adoration of The Goddess.

There have been a few mosquito and no-see-um attacks and while annoying they haven't been problematic in the long term, which is good. OK, that last sentence was pretty dull, wasn't it?

Tonight, I made dinner for The Goddess and I. Before leaving home, I made up a batch of bone dust, a BBQ rub that is mighty tasty. A couple of steaks were duly rubbed and slapped onto Club F's indoor grill, while I whisked up a simple vinaigrette for a salad. Add in a bottle of Crozes-Hermitage courtesy of our hosts et voila!

After dinner and some swim and hot tub time, The Goddess commanded me to instruct her in the intricacies of the game of Chess. This was never going to end well because, of course, I knew that I would beat her and that is never going to be a good move. If there are no further posts after tonight, it's because I have been reduced to a pile of ashes somewhere around Cul de Sac. For now, however, I am drinking in this glorious full moon and the sound of the music from the beach bars drifting up the hill.

And with that, faithful readers, I draw the curtain on another marvelous day.