France 2013 Chapter 19

I really must be losing it!! When I looked for photographs to include with last week’s blog, I couldn’t make out why there seemed to be so few. A couple of days later I discovered the reason – I had forgotten to down load them from my camera! So this week I have included one or two pictures that should have accompanied last week’s episode. They show some of the amazing glass art that we saw at Chateau Lavardens.

This week has been quite an active one. We started off by going to Auch on Monday where the family spent many hours shopping for clothes and shoes. They were in seventh heaven and came out of the shops laden with bags and parcels. I was getting quite concerned about how it was all going to fit back into the suitcases they came with, but found out that an extra fold-away bag had come along too just for this purpose. In the afternoon it was time for some culture and history so we all went to the Cathedral and the old part of town. We dropped the family off at the bottom of the Grand Staircase which leads up to the Cathedral and by the time we had found parking and walked over to the top of the staircase, they were just about there. Auch Cathedral is a place we always visit with friends so we have been there a number of times, but every time we visit, we find something new and interesting to see. This time it was a frieze of gargoyles which we hadn’t noticed previously.

Tuesday was a relatively quiet day spent doing chores in the morning and then out in the afternoon to the little chapel of Notre dame du Cyclistes. We have been there before and it isn’t sensational viewing but is quite a novelty and of interest to anyone involved with cycling. I know I have mentioned in previous blogs the hundreds of cycling jerseys that line the walls, many of them from previous winners of the Tour de France.

Wednesday dawned clear and sunny which pleased everyone, not least of all, Andre who was about to enjoy the last part of his birthday present from Leigh. This was a five-lap run in a single seater racing car at the Nogaro Racing Circuit. It had taken a huge amount of planning and organisation and Andre was thrilled to bits at the idea. It was probably far too short for him to really enjoy himself, but I think he got a good idea of what Formula Renault is like. Perhaps a little tamer than his own racing car, but good all the same. The instructor, who drove ahead of him in a  racing Renault Clio, was very complimentary and said that he was going as fast as possible to stay ahead but that Andre was managing to keep up with him perfectly.

The following day was market day at Eauze – an event all had been looking forward to. The weather was good so the market was well supported and the many stalls spread along the main street as well as up and down the side roads. Having seen it all before Neels and I went off to join Nicky for a cup of coffee at one of the coffee shops and waited for everyone to join us. They seem to have enjoyed the experience and spent much time looking, admiring, tasting and buying. Eventually we decided to stay in town for lunch and go home soon afterwards, which the ‘cooks’ thought was a brilliant idea. And soon after we got home there was a lot of snoring going on from all over the house!

On Friday the family left early for Pont d’Espagne, a point in the Pyrenees where a bridge over a gorge is allegedly on the border between France and Spain. Their drive took them through Lourdes which has suffered terribly in the recent heavy rains and floods, and also Cauterets which was even more badly affected. We had not realised before they left that their route would be so disrupted, or would not have suggested they go. As a result of the bad road conditions, and subsequent lack of tourists, the cableway at the destination was not working so they even lost out on that too, but being ever resourceful, they walked up to the upper cable station and then on further to the bridge over the gorge and the lake beyond that.. I think the girls were worn out by the end of the day, but everyone enjoyed the outing. Meanwhile, back at ‘home’, we packed up our clothes for a week away and enough food  for several armies, in preparation for our week in another rented house in the Aude department, which is part of the Languedoc-Roussillon area of France. Or in simpler terms, in the Southern part of France, not far from Perpignan, in a small town called Paziols.

We managed to get away more or less at the time we had planned to do so, in two cars loaded to the gills, with all our goods. Unbeknown to us, the schools had closed the day before so half of France was on the road with us and traffic was really heavy. A long but uneventful drive during which we were struck, again, with the standard of driving and road courtesy. How we wish a few more locals from home could experience this! We arrived at our destination in time for a late lunch after which we walked down the hill to the village to take a look around. The house is built near the top of a small hill in the town, with only a church above it. The houses are built in higgledy-piggledy style very close to each other and there are few roads but many pathways. This area of France is known for its high winds which apparently blow for 279 days of the 365, and has numerous windfarms dotted around on the hills which supplement the country’s nuclear power stations. Today was no exception and the wind was howling around the corners and slamming the doors of the house.

It is also the area famous for the religious wars between the Catholics and the Cathars and there are some wonderful ruined castles dotted about on the hilltops. On Sunday we visited the Chateau Aguilar, one of these castles and found that quite a lot of restoration work has been done and that the site is very tourist-friendly. Fortunately the wind had died down a little as the castle is perched on top of a hill with steep rocky sides and one would not want to miss one’s footing there.  This area is quite harsh in comparison to the Gers, and reminds us a little of the Karroo with its dry rocky terrain and low-growing, scrubby vegetation. I would not be at all surprised to see snakes from time to time, or the odd scorpion.

After late lunch there was more snoring from all corners of the house for a while and then the family donned swimming costumes and went down to the river to try out the local ‘swimming hole’. The water is very clear, probably very cold and has numerous tiny fish in it, although the man-made ‘beach’ on the banks seems to have been another casualty of the recent heavy rains in the area. All this fresh air is making our seemingly huge stock of food disappear quite rapidly and it is as well that we have a small supermarket in the village. It is so convenient, in fact, that the two grandchildren were persuaded to walk down there to buy some more fruit cordial. A great achievement for two young South Africans in a foreign country.

France 2013 Chapter 19 Photographs only

These are photographs that I didn't include with the last episode as well as the ones that accompany this weeks episode.

France 2013 Chapter 18

 

I just can’t believe this weather! Tuesday was again grey and rainy but by dashing out every time there was a break, we managed to clear the last of the nasty creeper weed. No doubt it will return as soon as our backs are turned but everything looks a lot better now.  We also became aware of a rather nasty odour in one part of the house which we couldn’t trace, so eventually had to go up into the attic to try to track it down. To our horror we discovered some quite large heaps of excrement, which had to be identified and removed. Not being terribly clued up on such things, we had to guess and to use the internet, eventually coming to the conclusion that it could maybe be attributed to something called a stone marten, a weasel-like creature, well-known for moving into loft spaces and making a nuisance of itself. We also found two large possible entrances for such an animal, which we had to close up with that wonderful expanding foam –perfect for just such a job. Thinking the day couldn’t get much worse, we were further horrified to find a puddle of rain water on the kitchen floor and hardly a sign of where it came from. So we put a bucket down and went to bed!

The next day we discovered via the internet that stone martens don’t like the smell of mothballs and, although one can no longer buy the original naphthalene balls, we managed to find something fairly similar, although not nearly as pungent. We also scattered masses of mouse/rat bait around, so one way and another we hope we have dealt with the problem. It wasn’t all bad that day though, because we stopped while driving through Manciet (on the way back from our mothball hunt) to have a look at the very unusual oval wash house where laundry was done by hand in the old days. The water is crystal clear and rushes in at one end from an underground spring and then disappears down a drain at the other end. I have heard that some people still use it, a fact which I find quite remarkable in this day and age.

On Thursday we were up with the sparrows and off to Toulouse to meet the family, help them with their hire-car and lead them back to the house. What a palaver! They had rented a car from a company that had recently been taken over by Hertz, but had apparently not informed everyone involved. So the man in the office in the airport terminal told us where to go to pick up the car but didn’t tell us that the company had changed name in the last two months. It was quite a step away, so Neels decided to get our car out of the parking area and at least put all their luggage into the car. That was when he discovered that he had mislaid the parking ticket. All he did, though, was to go to the pay machine, push the ‘Help’ button and tell the lady who answered what had happened. She was completely unfazed – asked him for the car registration, told him where it was parked (correctly), told him when we came in and how much he owed and then when he had paid, reminded him not to forget to take the card, so that he could get out of the area. Very impressive indeed. Needless to say, the family was really weary when we got home so it was a light lunch and a siesta for all. But we couldn’t waste a moment and after all had woken again, it was off to the supermarket for things like breakfast cereal, fruit juice and cheese, which we had purposely not bought before their arrival. About two hours later they were still wandering around gaping at all the wonderful goodies for sale. We finally prised them out of the shop and went for a short detour on the way home to re-visit the farm where Andre worked for six months in his student years. Back at ‘home’, we had a reverse dinner – dessert, champagne and snacks followed by a main course. Oh well, there’s no accounting for taste, is there?

We had meant to organise a mobile phone card for Andre at the supermarket but they were unable to provide him with the type of card he needed so the following day they all went off to Nogaro to the mobile phone shop to get one. Needless to say, it took all morning as there was so much to see that was new and exciting. By lunch-time it was still drizzly and cold so we decided on an indoor activity some little way away. Our destination was Chateau Lavardens which was hosting an exhibition of art glass. It was a bit of a shot in the dark as we really didn’t know how the girls would react. Well, we needn’t have worried – they simply loved it and were amazed to see what can be done with glass. What a shame it was all so expensive. By the time we got home everyone was rather cold, so there was nothing for it but to make a fire. Is it ever going to be summer??

We had planned a picnic in Aignan Forest for Saturday, perhaps followed by a dip in the lake. Luckily we had a back-up plan which was to have a picnic at home in the lounge! And then the weather cleared up so we went to the forest anyway and went for a walk around the lake. I think the family were impressed by the ‘beach’, made of imported beach sand, and the water slides. They were even more impressed by the canopy trail which had been erected in the trees surrounding the lake and we promised them that we would return the next day so that they could experience it all, especially the ‘foefy slide’ (zip line ride) across the lake.

However it was not to be as the next morning was again grey and miserable. Real socks and jerseys weather. The girls were very disappointed that we couldn’t do the canopy tour but it would have been horrid in the rain, so instead we took a huge circular drive which took in Marciac, Bassoues, Peyyrusse Vieille (where we stayed in 2010) and then home. Let’s hope the forecast for tomorrow is correct as it has predicted 21 degrees and a sunny day. One can only hold thumbs.

France 2013 Chapter 17

 

Whoops! Sorry folks! I missed my deadline on Sunday but have no better excuse other than that I forgot. Put it down to old age!

Our week started off with us getting a bit panicky about the family not yet having bought their train tickets for later in the month. Andre and Leigh will be spending two nights in Nice while the rest of us stay in a holiday house not far from Perpignan, but they are going there especially to watch part of the Tour de France – along with the rest of the world. Strangely enough the French railways don’t seem to take this into account and once the trains are full, they are full and that’s that. As they had already booked their accommodation in Nice, getting the train tickets was vital and we were really concerned that they would lose out. So we went off to Barbotan les Thermes where there is an office for the French railway company, the SNCF.  Here we established that there were still tickets available, but there were so many options of departure time that we came home again with pages of details. Later in the week, we returned to make the actual bookings and to get the tickets.

On Wednesday it was ‘Specials’ day at both the big supermarkets, so off we went and did a mammoth shop which include quite a few of these specials. We came home with what looks like the Quarter-Master’s Store in the army, but it will probably all disappear quite quickly. Fortunately we had been invited out to dinner that night so didn’t have to start using our precious supplies just yet! In fact, we had a wonderful evening out. The weather was perfect and we were able to sit out on our hosts’ covered patio for the entire evening.

Thursday was a bit of a washout, quite literally. After the previous day’s glorious weather, we had expected a repeat and had planned a sight-seeing outing. However, after our very late night on Wednesday we finally staggered out of bed at 10.30 which was definitely far too late to start going anywhere, but in any case, it had turned grey and chilly again. We should have expected it really – we had had excellent sightings of the Pyrenees on Wednesday and the frogs in our pond had been singing loudly all day; always a bad sign.

However, all was not lost as Friday was once more a glorious day and we could make a good start for Sarrant where we had heard there were many pigeonniers to be seen. Sarrant is known as one of the ‘prettiest villages in France’ and is also a fortified village so lots of interest there. It is quite a small original village built in two concentric circles with the church in the middle. A number of the houses have been restored prettily and it obviously has a lot of history. A shame though, that the tourist information hasn’t quite kept up with demand and finding out about any of the buildings was difficult. We had a snack lunch at a small café just outside the walls and were entertained enormously by the owner and his wife. Particularly the wife who knew everyone who drove past, and had a shouted greeting for all of them, as well as comments and asides to her customers. When all the others had left and we were the last, we invited her to come and sit with us and give us some information. As she sat down and we started in our hopeless French, to ask about the history and about pigeon lofts in the area, she gave a little smile and said ‘Or we could speak in English’. It turns out that her father had been Welch and her mother French and that she was brought up to speak both languages fluently. What a bonus for us! She sent us off to various locations which included Solomiac, Maubec and Mauvezin and some stunning pigeon lofts. We have got quite adventurous lately in our search for these lofts. Not many of them are built close to the road, so in a few cases we have just driven into the property, knocked on the door, and asked if we may take a photograph. Although some people have told us that this is ‘just not done’ in France, we have had only friendly responses to our requests and have met some lovely people.

Saturday saw us trying our hands at being gardeners – something we are not terribly good at. But with the family arriving on Thursday, we really do want everything looking at its best. So we cut and clipped and cleared away until we were satisfied with the results. Neighbour Matthieu came and cut the grass with his ride-on mower, so now, apart from doing a bit of interior house-cleaning, we are ready to receive guests…..again!

On Sunday we went over to Aignan as they were having a Vide Grenier (a boot sale, remember?) but it was far too hot to wander around in the sun ad we soon retired to my cousin’s flat for a cool drink and a bit of chat. She had returned from the UK the day before after having been caught out with the French air-controller’s strike which prevented her from returning on the previous Tuesday.

Which all brings us back to Monday again; the day that we went to buy the train tickets and then spent the afternoon spring-cleaning the house. Only three more sleeps and then the family will be here. Yayyyy!

France 2013 Chapter 16

 

What a marvellous start to the new week, and what a waste! Brilliant blue , cloudless sky all day and what were we all doing? Washing, cleaning, tidying and packing. As the house had been lent to us to continue to use after the owner left, we felt it was only right that we left it in pristine condition, and, since we all anticipated a fairly long road home the next day, none of us were inclined to do any driving around. The next day was more of the same, at least as far as the weather was concerned. Such a shame that the best days of the week that my sister and her husband had had with us should end up being the last day, and the day they had to depart at nine o’clock in the morning. At least the Carcassonne Airport version of ‘Drop and Go’ made us all smile. We left a little later and had a good drive back ‘home’. The snow-covered Pyrenees were clearly visible as we drove along and we wondered if the myth about getting rain within five days holds good all year round. I have decided to try to make a collection of photographs of pigeonniers and we knew that we would be able to find at least two more if we detoured off the main road, so our return trip took a little longer than expected.

 It was so hot when we got home that I rashly put both my jerseys into the wash at once, but they were both dry again after an hour on the line. I had forgotten how much drier the atmosphere is in the Gers, or should I say that it is a lot damper in the Aude where we had just been. And I am not only referring to the recent weather! The tap water, too, is quite different – very, very hard. The soap that we always use here just wouldn’t lather there, and my hair turned to straw within a couple of washes. Even the clothes that had been washed seemed to feel different. It all made us feel very grateful for what we have.

While we had been away, a nasty creeper type of weed had spread all over part of the garden, so before it got any worse we decided to attack it. It is a really horrid plant! One has to wear gardening gloves to be able to grab it as it is prickly, but then it sticks to the gloves because it is sticky too. And if you don’t keep control of the tendrils as you pull it away, it sticks to anything else too – hair, clothes, other plants, even the grass. Eventually we called it a day when we had filled the wheelbarrow to overflowing, twice. While I had been attacking the weeds, Neels had been trying to get the grass down to an acceptable height with a trimmer so by the end of the day things were starting to look a bit more orderly. Oh, and it wasn’t a full day’s work – we had gone to fill the grocery cupboard and to give Goldie a bath in the morning, coming back to find the temperature had risen to 26 degrees, so postponed our gardening efforts to a little later in the day when the worst of the heat had passed.

Thursday was again hot and clear when we set off for Mielan, a small town some forty-odd kilometres away. It’s a long way to go for a haircut but we enjoy the trip and we enjoy keeping in touch with the lady who cuts our hair. They came to France from England about three years ago with their daughter who was then ten or eleven years old. As is usually the case, the daughter slotted in quite quickly and is now in High School and doing very well. The parents are still struggling with the language, but seem to have few French friends which would probably make things simpler for them. On the way there and back, the mountains hovered tantalizingly, seemingly at arm’s length away, although from there they must be all of eighty kilometres away. They have been clearly visible for almost a week now – it must rain soon.

We had done a bit more gardening the previous afternoon, but we really put our backs into it on Friday in spite of the heat. I wish that I had taken ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs because it is really looking so much better now.

Saturday proved that the myth does work all year round as the temperature dropped to 10 degrees and the rain kept up a steady fall all day. A bit of warm sun after this lot and those weeds will be all over everything again. In the meantime though, I had my cross-stitch to get on with. That night, after shivering in the lounge for a while we retired early to bed, putting the electric blanket on for a short while to warm the sheets. This is ridiculous! It is June 8^th and we are still using the electric blanket!

Sunday was also an indoor day as the rain continued to fall along with the temperatures. I pulled out a polo-necked T-shirt to wear under my jersey and was not over-warm. Got plenty of cross-stitch done though.!

 

France 2013 Chapter 15

 

Unbelievably, Monday was again cold, wet and windy. I suppose we should have been warned when we arrived in the area as there are numerous wind turbines perched on all the surrounding hills. We managed to get some washing done but after having hung it out, brought it in; hung it out again and brought it in again, we gave up and hung it all on clothes driers inside. At least we managed to get all the various jobs finished off!

The next day my sister and her husband were flying in from the UK and as a welcoming gift, the weatherman threw down a cloudburst of epic proportions. So bad that the house gutters couldn’t handle the deluge and water came spilling over into the house at a number of places. At least by the time the plane arrived later in the day, the storm had slackened off to a mere drizzle although the chilly wind persisted. It didn’t bother us at all as there was so much catching up to do all round that the chatter went on until well into the night.

Wednesday was Market Day again and was not a bad day, weatherwise. The market was bit bigger than the previous week and we found a new stall that drew our attention – a chocolate stall! We bought some delicious chocolate slab that was dark chocolate with a creamy mousse filling. We consoled ourselves with the thought that we needed to build up our strength for the afternoon’s labours. Our hostess had discovered a large cement double laundry sink in the ‘garden room’ when she cleared it out originally, and had managed to get someone to help her to move it down the garden to a spot nearer the house. Then two plinths had been cast in concrete for it to stand on and that was as far as the job had got. It had been left standing on one end so we had to spin it around through 360 degrees and then tip it over on to the two plinths. Sounds pretty simple when put like that but I should add that the whole thing weighs a ton (or seems like it) and none of us were prepared to sacrifice a finger or two for the cause! It took a bit of discussion and a block or two of chocolate, and then with Neels on crowbar, and a long pole to use as a lever, and the rest of us heaving and ho-ing, with much puffing and straining, suddenly it was done and the laundry sink was ready to be turned into a flower box. Not bad for a bunch of geriatrics!

The next day our hostess returned to Scotland, generously leaving four of us to stay on in her house for a few more days. The day was grey and unpleasant but had patches of sunlight here and there, so after an early lunch we took a drive around, again ending up along the canal which is always pleasing. That night it poured with rain again but thankfully the house did not leak on this occasion.

On Friday we had arranged to meet with a gentleman who manages a house that we are going to rent a bit later on while the family is with us. He lives and works at Peyriac de Mer where he is part owner of a boutique winery. We were a bit early for lunch so we strolled around the town a while enjoying its quaintness. Along a small road we came across a house festooned with geraniums in pots which are all flowering at the moment and look very pretty. On closer examination, we discovered that the pots that the flowers were planted in were actually old fashioned enamel enema cans. Unusual to say the least but quite a good idea as each can has a small spout at the base where the rubber hose used to be attached but which in this case provides drainage for the  plants.

The wind was blowing quite strongly, so we took shelter in the restaurant and while there enjoyed a good lunch before going on to our appointment with the winemaker/house agent. Unfortunately, he did not have the keys of the house as we had expected, but phoned someone in the village where the house actually is, and arranged for us to pick them up. Instead he gave us a short tour of his winery which was really interesting as it is an organic operation; they own all of the vineyards that they pick from; and some of those vineyards are very old and on precipitous slopes. He admits that they concentrate on quality rather than quantity, which in my book usually means expensive. But all ended well as we were given three bottles to take away with us! We continued on to Paziols where we will be renting the house later on, picked up the keys and climbed up the hill, in the car, to the top where the house is. I think it is going to be fun there. The house looks comfortable, if a bit quirky, but is spacious and well equipped. I hope that the wind has stopped blowing by the time we go there. It did, in fact, drop while we were driving home, but only for the rain to come down again.

On Saturday morning we had planned to walk up into town to do various bits and pieces, and almost got blown away in the process. Combing one’s hair neatly is really a waste of time in this sort of weather – and it has been like this for ages. I’m getting used to looking as if I have just been pulled through a bush backwards! The afternoon was a quiet one with a game of Scrabble some reading and catching a few zzz’s. We also prepared a picnic lunch for Sunday, hoping that the weather would at last be nice to us and give us a good day out.

Perhaps it was a good idea to be positive about the weather as Sunday dawned fine and clear, although still rather windy. We have discovered that this wind which blows so strongly in this part of the world is called the ‘Tramontana’ and blows from the north for several months of the year, although almost without exception, the locals admit that this year has been extreme.

Setting off about mid-morning we made our way to Beziers, about fifty kilometres away to the north-east. It was here that in the days of the Cathars and the Crusaders, during a particularly vicious siege, a message was sent to the head of the Catholic Church, asking how to differentiate between Cathars and Catholics only to receive a reply saying ‘Kill them all. The Lord will sort them out’! Some really awful deeds have been carried out in the name of religion.

As is so often the case, Beziers is built around a small knoll with an enormous cathedral in a commanding position on the top. Being Sunday the streets were fairly quiet although it was still quite confusing making our way through the complicated one-way system. We found parking and set off on foot for the cathedral, but the narrow streets which twisted and turned in all directions had us soon lost. The buildings are all about three stories high so one can get no view of what lies ahead. Eventually we asked for directions and suddenly popped out into a square with the cathedral right in front of us. However, facing the cathedral was a pretty little creperie, a coffee shop selling delicious, paper-thin pancakes, so we stopped for a little light refreshment before going on into the church. We keep telling ourselves that we will not be going into any more churches, but then we just can’t stop ourselves from having just a peep. This one had the most wonderful carvings in wood and stone, and some really ancient paintings hanging on the walls. The pipe organ is enormous and we would love to hear it played

After admiring the interior, we went outside and admired the view from the grounds. The cathedral is so high up that the view seems endless. The day had actually become much clearer and hotter and we could almost see the sea from where we stood. That would be the Mediterranean, of course.

Having seen enough of the town, we made our way to the other tourist attraction of Beziers, which is a staircase of locks on the Canal du Midi consisting of nine locks one after the other. Somehow, watching people messing around in boats has always fascinated us and when there are locks involved, it can make for some truly spectacular sight-seeing! It is always a pleasure to watch the people who know what they are doing and who handle their boats with confidence, but it is vastly entertaining to watch the antics of the less experienced. A bit like seeing someone slip on a banana skin, we shouldn’t laugh but always do. Being in a lock, being thrown about on the currents is not quite the same and genuinely scary for the novice boaters, but their reactions always draw a large crowd of onlookers. Eventually the hot sun drove us away, believe it or not, and we reluctantly decide that we had had enough for the day. Although the wind was still blowing hard, we had had a lovely day of sun and fresh air and were all quite tired when we finally flopped into bed.

 

.