We had difficulty parking in Olney today, with people constantly circling the small car park in the centre looking for spaces. In the end, we managed to find a space on the main road near the shops. We were on the point of giving up and going elsewhere!
Sophie had a good haul today from her charity shopping and found tops and a pair of trousers, along with a couple of books. The charity shops were busy, with lots of people choosing to buy clothes and secondhand items there rather than new ones, which is great. For the price of one top or trousers, Sophie can buy several items!
By 2pm, we were hungry so we made our way to the Courtyard Brasserie for lunch. The restaurant was also busy but we were shown to a table in the window. I chose a chicken burger while Sophie opted for lasagne and salad. We had a glass of wine apiece and settled down to look forward to our lunch. We both love this friendly, welcoming brasserie and the service is always efficient.
Our lunch was delicious and filled us up! We decided to stop and buy some cake at the delicatessen at Castle Ashby rather than have dessert, so we paid the bill and made our way back onto the main square. Sophie suggested visiting the wine shop again before we left, and I readily agreed as I loved the Australian Riesling I bought last time.
This time, the shop was quiet with no raucous wine tasting going on, and a young man came down the stairs to greet us. He asked if we needed help, but I said we just wanted to browse, although I did ask if he had the Riesling I wanted. He explained that they no longer used the importer, so we carried on looking at the wines, which were all on the expensive side. He carried on chatting and we said we'd been in France last week and I mentioned the expensive bottles of Calvados we'd seen. He was obviously knowledgeable about wine, and when we took our bottles to the cash desk to pay, Sophie happened to mention the Gigiondas Rosé we'd enjoyed in the village last October. He immediately said that there was no such thing as a Gigondas Rosé, which we knew to be wrong! Sophie was furious with him because he'd made her feel silly, but we both clearly remembered drinking a Rosé with our lunch at the Carré Gourmand.
As we walked away, Sophie Googled the wine and we really should have gone back and showed him that there is a Gigondas Rosé and, although it makes up only a tiny percentage of the production, it does exist! Obviously, it's a wine that the French keep to themselves!
We called into the deli at Castle Ashby and bought some Guinness cake to be enjoyed with a cup of tea at home, which was delicious. It was then time to relax for a while before Sophie and I played Scrabble. My daughter made us both French Martinis and we won a game each.
Our film choice tonight was Ocean's Eleven, another franchise that we're going to watch on a Saturday evening. We enjoyed vodka and tonic (me) and vodka and ginger ale (Sophie) so we both felt a little merry at the end of the evening!
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