I did manage to make that telephone call. Have you ever felt compelled to use a French Telephone Box, with limited French, and no idea how much to feed into the machine. Anyway, I made it, was connected to "mine hostess", and explained that we were at Chalus and would be arriving in about an hour or so. I guess she could work out how long it would take to drive the distance. I have no idea what she said in reply but I felt pleased to have made contact and was convinced that she had understood me.
This level of optimism, that people have understood my French, has remained with me ever since, although there have been times when my confidence has lapsed, either because their eyes take on a glazed look, or they come back with a totally different response from the one I expected. "Eh bien, cest la vie".
We did eventually find the Gite and discovered to our delight that it was a working farm with an apartment over the garage, which was normally occupied by the daughter, an artist of some repute, who vacated her home for some months during the season, to generate some income.
It was spacious, with two bedrooms and very well equipped so we were soon encamped, and ready for our discovery of this much loved region of France.
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