We had our first staying guests over Easter weekend - Jen & Pete, my sister and brother-in-law. We weren't sure how it was going to work out with their car, sleeping on the sofa, no alternator, 
etc., but it all worked perfectly. We met them in Digoin and cruised as far as Genelard with a stop near Paray-le-Monial on the way. The weather was fabulous all weekend. We had picnic lunches, a barbecue, went out to dinner and to top it all on the last evening, David and Pete caught a humunguous trout and a chubb for tea! Unfortunately, we were so excited no-one thought to take a photo. In fact I don't have any photos of their visit at all as Pete was using his camera all the time. Perhaps you could send us some, Pete, or I'll copy them when I come home.
etc., but it all worked perfectly. We met them in Digoin and cruised as far as Genelard with a stop near Paray-le-Monial on the way. The weather was fabulous all weekend. We had picnic lunches, a barbecue, went out to dinner and to top it all on the last evening, David and Pete caught a humunguous trout and a chubb for tea! Unfortunately, we were so excited no-one thought to take a photo. In fact I don't have any photos of their visit at all as Pete was using his camera all the time. Perhaps you could send us some, Pete, or I'll copy them when I come home.Paray-le-Monial has an interesting old town and Basilica. The outside of the Basilica is more interesting than its plain interior but it's clearly a big religious centre as there were loads of people staying there for Easter weekend.
On the way to Genelard, we passed a nice-looking Auberge at Digoine, near Palinges. Pete caught the train back to Digoin to pick up the car and drove us back there for dinner. Excellent value menu @ 21 euros. We had 4 courses including an amuse bouche, full choice of dessert from the menu and chocolate eggs with the coffee! Friendly staff and great food.
Jen & I visited the museum in Genelard which told the story of the line of demarcation between occupied France and the Vichy administration during WWII. I had no idea the Vichy area was so large - about 2/5 of the country. It wasn't something I knew much about but I had this vague idea of a tiny area in the South. The border went right through the middle of farms and estates. Everyone had to have a special passport, or Ausweis, to be able to cross the line and all post was censored. People had to send pre-printed postcards to keep in touch with family and friends, just filling in the gaps. The museum told lots of stories about how people worked around the rules and crossed the line illegally.
It was lovely to spend so much time together, we usually only see each other on a flying visit or with the rest of the family (when Jen is busy cooking).
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