Monday 23rd February saw the start of our first
full week in France. We were still staying with our long-suffering friends in Peyrusse Vieille, but due, come what may,
to leave the next day. The morning was spent packing , which really meant
unpacking and repacking as we had not really ever unpacked properly. After all,
we were only intending to spend three nights with them, initially.
In spite of having already taken a couple of bulky gifts and a car cover out
of our suitcases, I had enormous problems getting everything else back into
them again! Finally it was done and there was just time for a quick lunch
before we scooted off to look for Madame Castell, secretary to the Mayor of
Espas. Happily, she was there and even recognised us from two years ago, so
there was some kissing of cheeks and chatting about family before we got down
to business. We wanted her to explain to us what the implications were of ‘a
visit from the Mayor or the gendarme’ as mentioned by the lady in Auch, and on
our side, we needed to explain that although we had used the Espas address, we
were not actually going to be staying there this year. She took it all in her
stride and even emailed all our documents through to Auch so that we didn’t
have to call in there the next day. “Don’t worry about anything” she said,
“They will give you the ten-year permit. Just carry on with your holiday and
wait for the SMS which will tell you when they are ready for collection”. What
a kind person she is.
All of which left us
free to get on the road the next day and aim straight for our next destination
– the little hamlet of Le Puech outside the slightly bigger village of Vabre
Tizac in the Aveyron department. It wasn’t a wonderful day for sightseeing as
we had rain most of the time, with a few patches of blue sky and warm sun and
then an unexpected hailstorm at lunch time followed by some flakes of snow as
we arrived at our new abode. Talk about getting it all in one!
Our little flat is quite small with one bedroom and an
en-suite bathroom, and a large open plan living area of lounge, dining room and
kitchen. Very cosy, though and I think we are going to manage quite well here.
The night that we arrived, the owners of the flat who live here permanently in
the house above the flat, invited us to a delicious supper and it was rather
late when we staggered downstairs to our bed. They are ex-British and very
friendly.
We knew that we would have to go out and get a few
groceries, but when Wednesday turned out to be cold and rainy we gave ourselves
permission to stay under the blankets for quite a long time! It had to be done
though, so after lunch we ventured into the nearest big town, Villefranche-de-
Rouergue, about 15 kilometres away. It is a lot bigger that we expected with
all four of the big supermarket chains represented, and what looked like some
lovely shops. Definitely somewhere to return to when the weather is better. We
tried walking around a bit but there was
no point in trying to take photographs and we just got very wet.
The next day was a complete washout, quite literally, so we
did nothing all day that required us to go outdoors, but on Friday we had a
lunch date with our new hosts. They were taking us to a restaurant located in
the old school buildings of Vabre Tizac , which, now and again puts on a fish
and chips meal for all the local British expats. There were probably about
twenty people there, but it turned into a very jolly occasion, and by the time
we left we had made a few new acquaintances, whose names I shall probably
forget very soon.
Saturday was the first really sunny morning and we were so
impressed that we got up at once and were out on the road before nine o’clock,
a miracle for us.! We went back to Villefranche, and how different it looked in
the sunshine! The main road encircles the medieval centre of the town which is
mainly pedestrian passages. A colossal
Cathedral de Notre Dame looms over the whole town standing at least eight
stories high and dwarfing the one and two storied buildings around it. The
passages are lined on each side with shops of all sorts. A shoemaker rubs
shoulders with a ladies’ lingerie shop, while across the way you might find a
coffee shop, or a dress shop or even a florist. And don’t think for a moment
that mundane items like computers, washing machines and stoves have no place in
such ancient surroundings; they are there too, although I think that most
people buy large appliances at the big supermarkets.
On the way home we took a slight detour to La Bastide
l’Eveque, which as its name implies, is a walled, defensive village. Most of
the surrounding wall has fallen down, but the village is rather cute with small
houses once again cowering beneath the sturdy church. Most of the houses in
this area are stone built with very steep roofs to discourage the snow from
settling.
Sunday was a repeat of Friday – cold, grey and very wet. We
heard that it was snowing in parts of the British Midlands and almost expected
it here too, but instead had to put up with thick fog right down th ground
level. A good day for reading and watching telly. It can only get better!
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