One for the road

After stopping in the Juliénas wine co-op shop and buying a few bottles to bring home to Saint-Aignan, we went and had one for the road. A coffee, I mean. We drove into the village and found the main street down at this end of town.

We parked on a little square across from this café, Bistrot Le Sarment, and sat out on the sidewalk in bright sunshine. One other couple came and sat down at an outdoor table and ordered glasses of sparkling wine. A waiter brought us our espresso coffees and a bowl of cold water for Tasha.

A sarment (de vigne) is a flexible vine shoot or cane that results from the year's growth and is then pruned back in the autumn or winter. People use sarments as kindling or as fuel for the barbecue grill, but mostly these days the grapegrowers' crews come through with a grinder or chipper and pulverize the clipped-off sarments to be rid of them.

I noticed this piece of street art on the side of a building across the street from where we were sitting. It's called Les Quatre Saisons de la Vigne. I'm not sure I've figured it all out. Maybe you can. A plaque said the artist had donated it to Juliénas and it carried the date 1999.

There was another bistrot or taverne just a few meters down the street from Le Sarment, but its outdoor tables were in the shade. While I went and took these photos, Walt stayed with Tasha. It actually felt too hot to leave the dog in the car by herself.