Monday the 20th September started out quite cool but later turned into the most stunning day – clear and sunny. We had arranged to fetch Nicky from the airport in Toulouse that afternoon so left fairly early so that we could have a walk around the city, which we have never done before. We ran into the tail-end of the morning rush-hour but it wasn’t too bad and we managed to find parking in an underground parking garage without too much hassle. There are plenty of wonderful old buildings in the city, but there is no ‘Old Town’ as such and to our horror, ultramodern blocks have been squeezed in between gracious 18th century buildings, which completely destroys the impact of both architectural styles. It is obviously a ‘go-ahead’ city and the side-streets are full of earthworks and machinery, with the sound of pneumatic drills reverberating up and down the narrow, cobbled streets. I tried quite hard to find something to take a picture of, to remind me of our visit, but every vista was partly obscured by stationary trucks or huge compressors. Still, we enjoyed what we saw and had a good lunch. We also searched for, and found, a hobby shop where Neels bought himself a small model to build, before we ventured out to the airport. The plane was due to arrive at 4.30 pm so when we pulled into the parking area at 4.10 pm we patted ourselves on the back for timing it so perfectly………..until we went into the Arrivals hall and discovered that the plane was delayed by about an hour! Apparently the Air Traffic Controllers had gone on strike at the Paris end and a lot of planes were held up, while some were even cancelled. Thank goodness Nicky’s plane arrived, because she had to drive back there the following day to fetch a friend who was coming to stay with her.
The next day was another fairly early start as I had made a hair appointment with an English-speaking hair-dresser who works from home and lives about 35 kms from here. We had only been to her house once before, and on that occasion she had met us in the nearest town and led us to the house. However, she sent us very clear instructions and we were only a little bit late! This couple, with their ten-year-old daughter, arrived in France at about the same time as we did but the house they have bought was not quite complete, and both times that I have been there, the place has been a hive of activity with workmen dashing in and out all the time. Last time, I had my hair-cut in a funny little room off the front hall, that was piled high with boxes still waiting to be unpacked. This time the hair-cut took place in the front hall itself! One can’t complain though, as they are both so friendly and she is very competent. While I was being attended to in the front hall, the two husbands sat in the kitchen drinking coffee and setting the world to rights! What a very comfortable arrangement!
Leaving there with my shorn and shiny locks, we headed due north for about 50 kms to a tiny hill-top town called Brouilh-Monbert, where we were due to have lunch with a new-found friend. What a spectacular site! The house sits right on the top of a fairly high hill with wonderful views in all directions. The person we had gone to visit is a great horse-lover and has ten Haflinger horses. These are Austrian working horses and have immensely strong and solid legs, and are quite big horses too. Hers are all a beautiful shade of gleaming chestnut brown with blonde manes and tails, and are very friendly and placid.
When we went shopping later in the week, I was delighted to find oranges from Nelspruit on the shelf and bought a whole bagful. I felt like running out to the car to get our little South African flag off the windscreen and running around the shop waving it and cheering. We have been following the news from home, in a rather desultory fashion, via the online news services and have been getting quite depressed at all the bad news coming out of SA, so finding these oranges lifted our spirits enormously.
Late on Saturday evening, Pieter and Jessica arrived, both coughing and spluttering, but as pleased to be here as we were to see them. The next day we took them to lunch at our favourite eating place, Bassoues, but unbeknown to us, there was a Vide Grenier on that day and the restaurant was packed. Although we had booked in advance, we had been allocated a table outside which was quite chilly and rather spoiled the effect of the outing.
The weather has suddenly turned very cold again, which isn’t too bad if the sun shines and there is no wind, but every now and again a really sneaky breeze gets up and is not pleasant at all. We are hoping that we will still have a short burst of warmer weather before we leave at the end of next month.
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