The Charente is famous for its Cognac production which is music to me ears as I love a little tipple occasionally.
It is also very beautiful and after the South of France it has the most amount of sunshine hours per year than the rest of France.
At the moment there are undulating fields of yellow from the rapeseed farms and as these fade you will notice lines of vines that stretch for miles.
It goes without saying that the wine in the region is delicious.
The Charente is on the West coast of France and you are never more than an hour from the sea but why not visit one of the many beautiful lakes? The lakes and rivers are so beautiful, you can swim, go boating, go fishing or just laze in the sun, they are a more gentler way of enjoying the long hot sunny days of summer rather than baking on a crowded beach.
I love it here but sadly, it is hard to find cafes, bars and restaurants in the Charente to buy ready made plant based food. So far I haven’t found a single coffee bar that has anything other than cows milk and most could not do a decaf coffee either.
Some restaurants do have a veggie choice but that’s about it. I have got a bit sick of salad and chips which is the only choice for me if I want to stay completely plant based.
I have found a hotel called “Under The Lime Tree” based in Cellefrouin. “Under The Lime Tree” is a Spa and B&B. They specialise in home-cooked vegetarian and vegan meals and the restaurant is open to non residents as well as residents.
I am going to try to get a booking for a vegan evening meal. I’ll report any findings in my next blog post.
We came across a little farm that had some gorgeous goats. They all had names and the owners obviously loved them very much. I mentioned to them that I wasn’t happy with the way billy goats are killed at birth because they don’t produce milk and they agreed that it was an awful practice. Their billy goats lived out a lovely life as their pets.
So we bought some goats cheese and, I have a confession to make, it was delicious.
I would be interested to know how you feel about this? Would you eat organic, ethically reared cheese from happy goats?