Not as you might think, Arithmetic, Art and Algebra, but our favourite and most visited restaurants. Strictly, it’s not really three A’s but I’m digressing again….

Today we had lunch at ‘Amandas’. We know it as that but really it’s Cafe Gourmand in Gorron. A week rarely goes by without us going there for lunch. Amanda is renowned for her lovely home cooked ample meals and delicious desserts…this is the home of the ‘chocolate explosion’…though today I had a slice of banoffee pie.

On Saturday we’re off to L’Aromate in St Aubin Du Cormier, not too far from Rennes. We came across this after searching for an Eco Dry Cleaner. Not the usual reason for having lunch I agree but with us it’s any old excuse…Severine and Frederique run this gastro bistro. Frederiques cuisine is outstanding and Severine is a perfect host. Since going there we’ve become friends with a British couple and a French lady, all of whom lunched on a Saturday. So now we lunch together. Severine calls us the ‘Club De Cinq’. St Aubin is a really delightful town and if the weather is nice we usually take in an after lunch stroll down to the lake before driving home.

Sunday frequently sees us at L’Abbaye run by Pete and Trudy. Just north of Mortain, it’s less than a half hour drive for us and a lovely spot to have Sunday lunch. The standard of food is so consistently good and the welcome always warm. If you happen to go, (and you should) ask Pete about why he calls me ‘bro’.

The overriding feature of these three favourite eating places is that we feel like we are walking into old friends homes and that they are genuinely pleased to see us. You can’t understate how important that is….