On Monday we could see the still snow-capped Pyrenees when we got up, but at this time of the year it is not supposed to mean rain in three days so we weren’t concerned. Pieter and Jessica had a lot of correspondence to get through but we managed to find a gap during which we drove around and showed them a bit of the countryside. Also on Monday, another cousin of ours had arrived to spend some time with Nicky and as Tuesday was her birthday, all six of us went out to lunch in Marciac, which turned out to be a very jolly affair. When we got back from lunch, Jessica found that she had been sent an email saying that their flight from Barcelona the following day, had been postponed to Thursday, due to a countrywide strike. This caused a huge amount of consternation and subsequent frustration in the Ferreira household as their hire-cars had been on a special price for a certain number of days, which was now exceeded, and the car waiting for them in Mallorca could not be held over for another day without attracting penalties. What a palaver! And really, whatever the strike was about had nothing to do with the airlines anyway, but there you go! That is strikers for you.
However, their misfortune was our good luck and as it turned out, really good luck as the weather changed again and Wednesday was another simply stunning day. I think both of them enjoyed the chance to rest and get over their colds, but in the afternoon we took them off to a local winery to sample some Armagnac. When we arrived we found three other people who had just started a tour, so we joined them and were joined by another three people. Together we made up quite a cosmopolitan lot – two Hawaiians, with their French friend and guide who could speak English; three South Africans and an American; a New Zealander and an English couple one of whom was fluent in French. Whenever our tour guide was stuck for a word, there was always someone who could help her out. It was an interesting tour and we came away with some red wine and some Floc, which is similar to a sweet sherry, but no Armagnac which is quite harsh and to me tastes almost medicinal.
The next day the weather had done a complete turn-around and we had to say goodbye to Pieter and Jessica as they drove off in pouring rain. They soon drove out of the rain though and we later heard that they had arrived back in Mallorca without mishap.
On Friday we had various chores to do in different towns and some time in the afternoon finally turned back towards home but decided to take only backroads. At one point we missed our turning and ended up in a farmers backyard. While turning around to retrace our steps, we glanced into one of his barns and saw an ancient car parked inside. Sadly, the farmer had just driven off, so we didn’t feel that we could really stop and investigate, but it certainly looked like something that dated from the early 1900’s. I really feel that we should ‘get lost’ again soon and ask if we could have a look at it.
On Saturday the weather was obviously going to be good again so we drove off in the opposite direction (West, this time) and soon found ourselves in the area known as the Landes which is relatively flat with enormous maize fields which would make any Free State farmer proud. At one stage we whizzed over a bridge, but then stopped and went back to look again, and saw the most charming old footpath bridge across the river with a weir below it and a water mill beyond. So pretty and we could easily have missed it had we stayed on the main roads.
All good things have to come to an end though and today was a stay-at-home day to get the house straight and all the washing and ironing done. Unfortunately these chores still have to be done even if we are in France and on holiday. And sut here looks pretty much the same as it does at home, although the spiders have far more energy here and can rebuild a spider web overnight, and often do, more’s the pity!
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