French Letters

We disembarked at Cherbourg without any problems.  It was a 5 hour drive down to l'abbaye Fontevraud where we are staying overnight in the hotel La Croix Blanche.  This is a lovely old village, one we know well, and we took a walk before dinner to take in familiar sights once again.  This old letter box was full of junk mail; why do postmen/women insist in stuffing old mailboxes full of junk? There is a film crew staying here, but we are keeping ultra-safe distance.  They are shooting a film about a small-town chef who becomes world famous.  The film is being shot here and in Japan.  The star is Gerard Depardieu who is not staying in our hotel.  However, we were sitting out front having a well earned beer when a big Peugeot with blacked out windows stopped just a few feet away, driven by a very large man who was clearly a bodyguard.  Sure enough, it was Monsieur D in the passenger seat.  A lackey ran out with some papers and, after some conversation, the Peugeot sped away again.  I think Monsieur D. smiled at us as he passed, but I blanked him.  I bet he is still stinging from that!  The Hotel owner came over for a chat and told us that Gerard (did I mention that we are now on first name terms since I blanked him?) was here for lunch.  The hotel had been warned about G's prodigious appetite and they ordered in extra steak, though not nearly enough!  For the starter, Monsieur D chomped his way through half a Paté de Paques  normally meant for six. He then ate his way through 1.5 kilos of steak and drank one bottle of white wine and one bottle of red, all by himself.  Apparently he has trouble walking, I think I would too after all that!  The cat in the extra was super surprised at Gerard's appetite as you can see in her expression.