Parthenay's Millennium

Parthenay is celebrating its millennium this year.  By Canadian standards, that is a very, very old town.

They had a whole week-end dedicated to fun and festivities.  One of the absolutely brilliant ideas was to create a center where kids and adults could come to check out all the games.  They played with whatever appealed to them, and if they wanted to buy one, the games were available.

Adults were just as keen as the kids; maybe more so.

There were puzzles and mind-benders, creative corners, building and construction areas.

Kids could build castles and become a chivalrous knight,

or build galleys and become fearsome pirates.

The adults sure didn't let the kids win unless it was deserved.  (Gerry is to the left.)

There were musicians and music playing everywhere.

With people, people and more people!

Crowds give us a thirst, so Karl and I stopped for a beer "in a can" (Heineken).

Becky & Emélie taking a very short pause.  They were on the go the entire afternoon.

Karl was discovering corners of Parthenay that we had not yet seen.

Parthenay is 1,000 years old, and was important during the "St. John of Compostela" pilgrimage.

Some of the buildings and scenery that the pilgrims would have seen along the way.

The view from the Tower must have looked different back then...

Today, we enjoy the half-timbered homes that existed during the medieval times.

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We don't eat well just when we go to restaurants.  Becky & Gerry got acquainted with one of the butchers at the market, Mr. Guy Boisseau, and went to his butcher shop to pick up a special cut of meat.  With specific instructions from the butcher, the roast was put into the oven.

It came out perfectly!  Served with roasted veggies and potatoes, it was a great meal.  Of course there was baguette and wine.

Not much left at the end, but we think we can make a stir-fry tomorrow with some rice and finish off the roast.  We'll be back to Sainte Verge to buy more meat, that's for sure!