first peek at the town

A bit before lunch, I expanded the ambit of my wanderings to take in the town of Le Vanneau-Irleau. Like many towns in western Europe, this one is dominated by a church. Historically speaking, that was how it worked: a church was established, then the rest of the town grew out around it.

At some point during this walk, I lumbered over to the local grocery, a humble shop with a limited range of items that are all "bio" and "éco" in nature. I bought some shampoo and a bar of soap, plus some laundry detergent so I can hand-wash my clothes. The lady in the store was a bit leery of me at first: I'm a huge, quiet stranger invading her small village, after all. Despite her caution, the shopkeeper was friendly enough. I may have to go back there to see about some organic cookies that were sitting under a bell jar.

An initial look at my French brother's town: