And that time has now come

And so we come to the final words in this blog, at least for the time being. We came to France for this much extended time to test ourselves in this culture and to explore areas where we might like to spend a lot more of our time. We will go home to Canberra in a few weeks time knowing a lot more about things French than we did before and grateful for taking advantage of the opportunity we made for ourselves. We have found a couple of places we like and we have also resolved to return again all things being equal. We have also resolved a few things about what we might do next in this challenging time of our lives. Who knows just what has changed in our lives as a result of this experience?

Allez Wallabies

In the previous week, we met up with about 10,000 other Australians in Montpellier to watch the Wallabies play Fiji. This was not much more than a good training run for the Wallabies but the atmosphere was great and centre ville Montpellier was buzzing afterwards. As it turns out, the Fijians surprised most by beating Wales to make the quarter finals but I do not think the Sth Efricans are too troubled by the thought of playing Fiji. I am not too happy that the French press is approaching the coming quarter final of France versus All Blacks with the best attitude. My view is that, the All Blacks might be a pressure game short this coming weekend and therefore as vulnerable as they could ever be to crumbling a bit. I would like to see France do the right thing by the Wallabies and Sth Efrica and topple the All Blacks but it might help a bit if the local press could see the game as an opportunity and not the threat they seem to be reflecting. For our part, we will now travel to Paris this week to see Argentina play Scotland. Yvonne is for Scotland whilst I would like the Argentinians to go through to the final.

Sth Efrica Versus George W

This last weekend we travelled back to Montpellier in mid evening to see the last of the first round Rugby World Cup matches, this time between Sth Efrica and the USA. We were expecting (and in some ways hoping for) a very one sided game as we all know that Americans cannot play much of any sort of football. Surprisingly and although the final score was lopsided, this was a very enjoyable game. The USA did turn on one of the best tries of the tournament thus far making the Efican wingers look decidedly as slow as Randall is these days.

Abbey -Chemin de St Jacques

Late last week, the weather dived again to deliver the first snow to fall at this time of the year in the nearby hills for over forty years. And we were wondering why we were suddenly rugged up in our warmest clothes. We did manage an interesting visit to a ruined abbey but we quickly lost interest in exploring yet another small village and headed home for the day with just a few snaps and a couple of bottles of local red to help digest dinner.

We have visited Sete twice now and, weather permitting; we hope to have our last lunch there.One of the noticeable things to us in France is the obvious sense of community in most places. Like bush towns, everyone knows everyone and what they are up to most if not all of the time. It is nice to see the old folk having a chat with their mates and there are lots of pictures for the artistic minded around the fishing boats and the port area. We also visited Adge and it’s port full of pleasure boats but Adge has a different feel and was not to our liking. In some way the bars, cafes and restaurants at Adge seem to be a lot tackier than the those at Sete. We also like the port areas of Meze and Marsaillan along the coastline near Sete

Sete Harbour

The other town that has caught our interest here is Sete. Sete is a large fishing port and is second commercially behind Marseilles as a Mediterranean port. It has picturesque waterways, canal system, beaches and great shoals of fish restaurants and cafes.

We are trying not to over indulge but what is life for and we have come all this way so we might as well enjoy a few moments in a restaurant here!

Canal de Midi

After our own lunch in a nearby guinguette (snack bar), we spent an hour or so walking along the canal and enjoying the last of the sunny days. A few days later we returned to another part of the canal system to enjoy another walk. There are quite a few pathways/bike tracks along the canal de midi and it would be an enjoyable boat trip to do with family or friends one day.

Canal de Midi

We revisited the Canal de Midi last week and enjoyed several hours just watching the tourist traffic going through the 8 lock system of the Ecluses de Fonseranes. We are now towards the back end of the tourist season but there were quite a few boats either going through the system or waiting their turn. Boats generally go in one direction for 2 to 3 hours before the system starts to operate in the other direction. Of course, like almost everything else in this culture, the whole operation stops for lunch.

Hmm, what do I do now

Touring these places is something we like doing and this one is one of the better ones with a great audio guide to help us along as we wandered up and down through the place. We were not sure that it would have been a great posting for the 25 or so troops that were assigned to duties there so long ago. But they did not pay taxes and jobs were handed down through families so that must have kept a few people occupied. It is a fairly popular place these days with a steady stream of visitors whilst we were there.

Chateau Peyreteruse-Cathar Country

Early last week we went south towards Spain and climbed up into Chateau Peyretertuse. This old chateau was one of the “five sons” of Carcassonne guarding France from Spanish counts of Aragon until the Treaty of Pyrenees was executed some centuries ago. Although well into Cathar country, it was not part of the heretic troubles a long time ago. Today it is a very interesting ruin commending great views of the surrounding countryside.

This Country Grows on You

We are finding that the countryside down here grows on you. Somehow the harsh stony environment has its’ own attractions. We like the little villages often set on hilltops surrounded by grapevines. At the moment, as the vendage has just finished, it is probably at its best with plenty of action around the place and the vines have plenty of green on them. So we wonder what it must be like here in the winter when the skies are grey and the hillsides bare. There are buckets of English speaking people in most towns and villages and it looks like most places are growing.

Old boat, aging bird

In two weeks we expect to be back in Paris. We will give the car back to Renault and then we are planning to visit the larger cities of Nancy, Lyon and Strasbourg before making our way back to Australia. On leaving here, this trial project will be over and this blog will be shut down. Then we expect to reflect a little on what our experience has been and decide if we are up for more over the next few years. We continue to go over options, to have our good and not so good days in this French culture, and wondering what sort of a difference the experience has really made?

World Cup Rugby Minnows

With no allegiances to either Tonga or Samoa in the rugby we enjoyed their rugby match up last weekend. As the Tonga team is staying in a suburb of Montpellier, they have picked up a large force of supporters for their matches here and it was good to see them hang on to beat their more fancied opponents. Not that we fancy their chances against England to secure a spot in the second round of games!! On Sunday we will make the short drive up to Montpellier to see the wallabies in action against Fiji; a match we expect them to easily win. There is a noticeable Aussie component around Montpellier at the moment and the team has a lot of local support with the bars and cafes draped in flags and signage.

Filling in time-again

Of course, the other tourist option is to enjoy another meal in yet another quaint restaurant. So we have had two such seafood meals this week in Meze and have promised ourselves another half day in Pezenas next week. We have yet to see much of Beziers with just a few hours earlier in the week to get some information and a feel for the place. Our current feeling is that we prefer the university city of Montpellier. Yesterday we spent several hours on the local Beziers beach of Valras. Whilst it was nice and sunny, the weather is definitely turning cooler as each day passes and we expect that our beach activities will ease up from next week.

Will we buy more stuff

Although our strictly tourist activities are less and less as we go along, we have made short visits to the fishing and pleasure port of Meze and Marseillan as well as the artist heaven of Pezanas. But what do you do in these places once you are there? In our current mood not much. Budget conscious Randall has a heart attack each timeYvonne picks up that fantastic leather bag or yet another eye catching necklace. He often takes to loitering outside these arty shops trying to look as bored as possible until Yvonne gives in and we move a bit further along the medieval streets. His latest ploy is to raise the issue of excess baggage if Yvonne looks like opening the wallet. Yvonne counters by negotiating her way through the not too hard working post office staff and the sometimes long queues to get things posted home.

What Bloggers do in spare time

This whole area is devoted to grape growing and wine production. Most villages have one or more distilleries. At the moment the grapes are being picked and the roads have tractors and carts going back and forth with the harvested grapes. We have enjoyed a bottle or two of our host’s produce. Even with our moderately good language skills we are not too sure where his plot is, how big it is or where he sells it! We do know that he is not part of a cooperative nor does he market his wine through local markets as some independents do. Maybe he just has a small production going to keep his hand in the business and make a euro or two on the side. He does make a surprisingly good chardonnay though. In this area we have the choice of white, rose and reds.

Gite Interior

The gite has been renovated and is quite modern in furniture and fittings. Although small by Australian standards, we are very comfortable here. The second bedroom upstairs makes a useful study where we can catch up with internet news and blogs. And voila, one of the local cafes has wifi and so we can relax a bit more, (if that were possible!!) and do our online work whilst having a coffee or two.

Gite Number 10-Magalas

Last weekend we moved again, this time a short way further south in the Herault Department to Magalas, a small hilltop village a few kilometers outside of the city of Beziers. We are well located within the village and just a short uphill walk to the village centre where there are a couple of café/eateries, boulangeries and a highly recommended restaurant. The gite itself is in the “backyard” of a fairly large property. It belongs to a couple who are retired grape growers and who live in another village closer to Beziers. M Fulcrand’s mother was living alone in the main house but in July she moved into a retirement residence. The main house is currently being renovated to be a second gite on the property. So another variation in location and the first time we have been in a working town of any size.

The Little Guys win sometimes

In our time here we have also caught up with our reading and relaxing. Yvonne thinks our gite is a more like a cave than a house but hermit Randall is very relaxed here and after downloading a heap more from the ABC this week, he has been happy enough to listen to the radio programs he likes. The internet gets better and better each day from that perspective.

As expected, things back in Australia gradually continue to evolve, politicians carry on being politicians, farmers and primary producers continue to winge about their lot, shares go up and down and we continue to follow along behind George W and his ilk. We are very grateful to be spending at least part of our lives away from the negative aspects of life down under. This week, and in common with many of the spectators, we enjoyed seeing little Tonga give the US Eagle a kick up the Rugby butt. Despite Yvonne falling foul of the body and bag search on entry during which she lost her bottle of hand gel. Much cursing as we made our way to our seats. You have your good moments and then your not so good moments. We wonder if security will be same for the next game we go to between Tonga and Samoa?

Aix en Provence

Aix en Provence is a larger town in the Provence region. Very close to the somewhat horrendously busy and industrial area of Marseilles which we have avoided like the plague, even if the All Blacks are playing good rugby there. Aix en Provence is more our scene. Large boulevards shaded by old and huge plane trees. There is much grand sidewalk strolling past numerous cafes, brasseries and restaurants. The tight ever changing lanes in the old medieval centre are populated by boutique shops of all types. Streets full of many well heeled chic women, some with the inevitable dog, keeping their collection of dresses up to date. And of course, there are the shops flogging the wares of Provence, lavender, pretty linen, garden nick nacks and all. We have to travel an hour or so each way to get to Aix but we have decided to come back to this part of France again one day and to spend more time here.

Nimes Arena

We have re-visited Aigues Mortes where we did the tourist bit and enjoyed an afternoon strolling around the old town and a great dinner. We also had a few hours one day in Nimes where they have a truly classic arena. As it happens, this week is bullfighting week in Nimes and there are lots of Spanish and other tourists around. This is not for us and so we take a few snaps, enjoy a drink and lunch there before moving on to other places.

PonT Diable

And so we are now coasting towards the end of our time in France and starting to look towards returning to Australia. We did leave some free time in mid October for follow up on actions but we have parked these and will be flying out a little earlier than planned. World Cup Rugby will finish on 20 October and we leave France on 21 October.

In the meantime, we are here in the south to allow Randall to enjoy a bit of Rugby. Yvonne has been patiently window shopping, keeping in touch with family and friends, enjoying new sights, eternally judging people for their origins, motives and reasons for being here.

Our location here could be described as idyllic in many ways, despite the very dry and rocky conditions. We are deep into wine growing country and grapes are being harvested; mainly by machines. The wine is fine without being the highest quality. We come across tractors towing harvested grapes to the cooperatives daily. Nevertheless there is not much change in the slower pace of life in these parts. The villages and smaller towns shut up for lunch and Mondays. The old men have their chats in the centre of town late mornings and then play boules later in the day. Occasionally the boules also include a few women, especially when the game involves a younger crowd. Pic Saint Loup is a very prominent natural feature here and we are in a hamlet just a few kilometers away in St Croix Quintillargues. Life here is much the same as it ever was.

Pic Saint Loup

After almost five months on the move we are now very much into routine. We have lived day to day in the quite different culture of France. We have taken opportunities to be tourists and checked out the local tourist happenings, museums, galleries and gastronomy. We have tried to see ourselves spending at least a part of our remaining lives here and we have discussed a range of activities that we might take on next. We have been very conservative in our approach to things and we have not made any decisions for future ventures here.

The weather is now turning towards Autumn. The evenings are now starting before 9pm and we are very much missing our late afternoon 10pm+ strolls around town. Randall has pushed back his 7 am jogs around the countryside to 7.30. He is also a bit wary down here of becoming a hunting trophy as the locals are into early morning hunts in the local forests where he jogs, even if there is no chance he could be mistaken as a startled gazelle.

Place de la Comedie Montpellier

The whole place is made of stone with the walls over a metre thick in places. The ceilings are also stone with rounded arches as you get in wine caves. We are on the ground floor and share the building with at least two other gites/apartments. Outside there is also a nice big tree for shade. So we call this city living. We can sometimes hear people upstairs if we are outside but in the main all is very quiet indeed.

On Sunday we went into Montpellier to check out centre ville and to get a feel for the place. The centre is highly pedestrianised and looks very people friendly and relaxed. We will check this out further during the week. It sure looks like life is a lot more congested here compared to the Tarn and before that the Vienne. There is also a bigger mix of races here.

Southern Country

Consistent with the trip thus far, this is yet another quite different gite. Firstly, it is owned by the commune and not a private individual. The Marie runs the operation. And so we are dealing with some poor young kid who has been detailed off to do the formalities. We are right in the middle of the commune, opposite the church and right on the main road running through the place. But this time, surprise, surprise, we are right next door to a brand new general store. By all accounts this is a seven days a week operation, we can get a coffee right outside the front door and on Sunday they have put up an ad inviting all and sundry to watch the opening match of the Rugby next Friday evening on the giant screen. At least that is the theory. Who knows we might even go?

Our new kitchen

The gite itself has a long entry hall from the front door and you pass the toilet, bathroom, and laundry, facilities room before stepping down into quite a spacious living area. From the living area there are double doors leading outside onto a patio area which has a large outdoor table and chairs and also doors leading off to the kitchen, main bedroom and a second bedroom. The bedrooms are quite large and the kitchen we describe as cute. Randall can almost but not quite walk into the kitchen without ducking his head so best leave this room for Yvonne.

Gite at Ste Croix

We arrived at our gite in Ste Croix de Quintillargues as scheduled and in a few minutes we are through the formalities and on our way to the hypermarche for our regular change gite shopping expedition. Domestic duties over, we eventually settle ourselves in ready for the next couple of weeks.

A Stop after lunch from Albi-Olarques

Now Montpellier adds yet another dimension. Even though we are only a little further south and a couple of hundred kilometers east, this is quite a different world. We progressively left farming land and went through hilly regions with only a few towns on the way. The countryside has a distinctly Mediterranean look with lots of dry areas and smaller tougher bushes. Not too much grass on the ground in these parts. Closer to Montpellier, the traffic was a lot heavier (even given the end of holiday traffic). We drove through Montpellier (could have a navigation error or two - but at least it was weekend traffic only) and quickly sensed the big city feel compared to laid back Albi.

Flowery Thoughts

Before we give you some idea of where we are now living some 20+ kilometers North of Montpellier, we ought to summarise our last few days in the Tarn. We were leaving Albi just as France was finishing up the grand summer vacance that never was, and gearing up for the Rugby World Cup. We liked Albi and the surrounding area a lot and, as we may have said in an earlier blog, we plan to stop over in the area on our way north in a month or so.

The other day we met up with two interesting couples; one Australian and the other Scottish. Both have country houses in the very north of the Tarn, the Australians are just a year or so into their project to renovate an old watermill whilst the Scots are trying to sell up after 9 years. Both had interesting stories to tell on their French projects which we readily soaked up. There was much discussion in the car on the way home from our get together, including a bit of a rethink on the pros and cons of country living. Our feelings on a project here have continued to evolve over here without us ever getting ahead of ourselves. Sometimes we think that we are just too calculating in what at the end of the day will be an emotional decision. Nevertheless, we have finally found an area which meets all current criteria.

Ambialet on the Tarn

The area north of Albi heads into the southern parts of the massif central. Here you find quite a few little villages tucked away in the valleys or on hilltops. Ambialet is one of the nicer ones. Not too much to explain about these places: an ancient place for an abbey, a hilltop church, some camping and canoeing on the river, some fantastic scenery and one or two local cafes to take a relaxing drink. Not we need more relaxing at times these days.

Toulouse Area

On Saturday we drove into Toulouse where we bought a few little things and walked the old town with other tourists and the locals. As a university city and the centre of the French aerospace industry, the town is fairly lively and enjoyable. We came home via the canal de midi where there were plenty of walkers and cyclists out enjoying the afternoon. Not much action on the canal itself though; perhaps because it was towards the end of the day. The boats that we did see were parked near villages with the occupants either wandering around town or taking it easy on deck with a book and drink in hand.

Harrison William Kingsley

We are now also copping some well deserved feedback from son Daniel on the non appearance of Harrison William Kingsley on the blog. So to correct the situation we publish this photo taken we assume as he was heading home from hospital a week or so ago. We understand that he has been to watch his first rugby match when Daniel played his semi final. We hear that the Wallabies have left Australia for France under a fair bit of pressure and that Daniel might be planning for Harrison to join his cousin Jayden in the Wallabies team for RWC 2027. We have not heard a view from Kylie on this yet (nor Ash and Rachael either).

Admiring French Engineering

We are two weeks into our stay in the Tarn area. One thing that we have agreed on over here this trip is that we need to stay at least two weeks in an area to get through the “excitement” of exploring a new area and come to grips with living day to day. So this next week will give us another chance to test things out a bit further. We do agree that this area has plenty of potential with the bigger towns of Montauban, Albi, Toulouse and Castres being within easy reach and we like the interesting bastide towns to the north of Albi. Also the canal de Midi is about an hour way. We are now certain that buying in the countryside as seems to be the case for many English is not for us. If we wanted that sort of lifestyle we could follow that up in Australia and not have to take on the other challenges of communication, culture and language etc. So our discussions are now moving from around locations to the more important one of what sort of life we would be taking on over here.

Politics

President Sarko has returned from his US holidays, flashy image intact. Paris Match is in the news for photo shopping his midriff spare tyre; teachers are getting ready to return to work and to face a reduction of 12,000 people in the Education department and Sarko will now face up to making all the changes he has promised. The Left is in disarray and their battle to find a leader and a political direction is about to start.

Here in the South, things are starting to warm up around the Rugby World Cup. There is lots of positive publicity on the power of the All Blacks. France is quietly confident after winning two warm up games against England, but they are wary of the pool games as they are in the pool with Argentina and Ireland - the pool of death! French rugby has quite a few south sea islanders playing professionally (Fiji, Samoa, Tonga) and so there are footy jumpers etc starting to appear in shops. Cannot say Yvonne is wildly enthusiastic about being here for the event but she is slowly getting used to the idea. She likes the idea of moving camp so is looking forward to our next two gites and the change of scenery.

Castres - centre ville

Otherwise, this has been a more routine week, one where we have been able to catch up with our domestic chores, including reading and the plethora of ABC podcasts. We made another visit to market day on Wednesday at Realmont. We also took a trip down to Castres to check out the town and the excellent Goya museum. Several trips have been made to Albi. A visit to the wine town of Gaillac and the real estate agents located there.

The weather has also retreated once again into cloudy days and showers. This has been a very challenging summer for most of Europe. We wonder if we are more sensitized to events being over here with floods in England, fires in Croatia, Italy, Portugal and Greece. Quite a few tourists perishing in the alps as they get caught in the weather changes and here in France, the regular news clips of campers spending their day wading around the campsites cleaning up. More than a few campers have headed home early, umbrella sales have doubled and museum visits and tourist tours are also up.

How time flies - 36 years already

This week saw another milestone go by, our 36th wedding anniversary. So how to celebrate! Yvonne suggested that we have a special lunch in Castelnau-de-Montmiral, the small bastide village that we were so taken with last Sunday. So we did enjoy a great meal there in Les Consuls Logis de France. We also checked out the local market which was on then and also took a slow walk around the village to get more of a feel for the place. We are now thinking more about the potential of this village.

In our very conservative approach to changing our place in the world, we have decided to come back through Castelnau-de-Montmiral on our way back to Paris after our stay in the Herault next month.

Cotton Club in action, Albi

We enjoyed our weekend and a catch up with a couple of Australian friends who are enjoying a trip to Europe. With them we managed to squeeze in a visit to the old parts of Albi and Cordes sur ciel - the town in the sky. On Saturday evening we also went along to a jazz band spectacle in Albi in their outdoor theatre, very enjoyable and entertaining. Local events are starting to diminish as the run down towards the end of summer continues.

Cordes sur Ciel

On the way home we again came past Cordes sur Ciel. What an impressive looking spot it is and we can see why it attracts a lot of interest.

We managed to avoid any rain and we have had another good day out and about.

A quiet bit of Sunday thinking

We never made our walking destination and we spent the rest of the afternoon investigating several bastides. We had several long discussions on just how interesting these towns were and whether we might have finally found somewhere to come back to. Some thinking going on to disturb the brain cells. Wonder how our investments are going to go over the next few months??

Is this it?

Last Sunday we decided to take a picnic lunch and to head towards the Gorges de Aveyron and perhaps some bushwalking. So we headed towards the wine town of Gaillac and then further north towards the Lot region. The first bastide town we wandered into was Castelnau-de Montmiral. Whilst we did see the sign prohibiting parking in the central square, we did expect the road to easily let us do our usual quick drive through. So it was a bit of a squeeze as we headed past the square and down the street and our exit through the old city gate. Yvonne did the usual eyes shut and big intake or air whilst Randall did the usual very accurate judgment of car width and turning circle.

Exploring Bastide Country

As we head into our second week in the Tarn, we aim to explore more of this interesting area. If we combine a history of religious persecution, war with the English and some of the remoteness of parts of the area, then today we are left with a number of fortified hilltop villages. For some of the lucky or more enterprising places this has meant arrival of artists and others interested in restoration, more than a few interesting restaurants and a general pleasant ambiance. Although now a city, Montauban is one of the better and bigger examples.

Ingres Museum Montauban

Over the rest of the week we spent a few hours keeping up with happenings via internet, catching up with reading, visiting the local market to of Realmont to stock up with produce and checking out the large bastide of Montauban. Montauban is an old bastide with a renovated central precint. Museum complete with somewhat out of context, but authentic, torture rack! Ingres paintings were good too!

At this stage of our stay here we have been very impressed with Albi and Cordes, the countryside is somewhat interesting without being spectacular and we are looking forward to exploring further into the Aveyron region next week.

Monesties Centre Ville

On the way home we spent a few moments checking out the nearby village of Monesties - another “Un des plus beaux villages” of France. The locals here were preparing for a communal evening meal and concert as we walked by. We checked out a small art gallery on the edge of town and watched the locals playing boules before heading home.

A new Discovery

Again thanks to Catholic persecution around 1200-1300 and again because of protection from the Count of Toulouse at the time, we are now able to visit and enjoy the town of Cordes-sur-ciel. A classic movie set for a medieval movie complete with long winding uphill trek through a double layer of walls to find at the top a covered market place, square with a great panorama of the surrounding countryside. It also seems that the artistic community is first to “discover” these places and to set up their workshops and small shops. A big magnet for one,Yvonne Kingsley. We had a very pleasant lunch outdoors under the big roof of the covered market, interrupted by several knights on horseback and their wenches as they publicized a jousting festival being held that afternoon. So of course we had to see all the little shops before winding our way back down through the town. An enjoyable visit.

A quiet coffee or Two

We find Albi, a medieval city, to be a treasure with a great pedestrian and shopping area radiating out from the massive fortified cathedral. The cathedral is certainly a statement of Catholic power over the heretics they managed to hold power or kill over the centuries. And for us it is a great area these days to sit in one of the many cafes surrounding the square, basking in the sun and watching the tourists going by. A very tough life indeed!

Randall had an interesting chat with this new friend whilst Yvonne checked out a few shops. He took a while to get her to understand his french so spent most of the time reading the local paper.

We have enjoyed our evening walks around the back roads although we are noticing the days shortening and it is dark by around 9.30 pm around here.

Our new Blogging Office

The gite has been quite tastefully renovated and fitted out, one of the more comfortable gites we have had. We must be adapting somewhat to this non city living as we are now quite used to no cars going by, no neighbour noise, big country views and no latte’s on tap. Or at least one of us is.

Think the chairs have been in the family for a few generations as they sag more than a little with our weight! Maybe the local cheese is a factor too.

We are on one level again here and that is now our preferred layout. Two bedrooms, the main one quite large and beyond expectations. Could be a bit more light though.

On the road again-moving Southwards

Despite yet another traffic day declared “rouge”, we had an easy run south-east to Denat, a small bastide like village about 10 kms south of Albi. We realize that the holiday season is rapidly ending as most of the predicted heavy traffic areas are now in the direction north, towards Paris and beyond. The gite is located just out of the village (300-500 metres) on a small working farm. It is the original home and the owners live in a newer house about 40 metres closer to the road. We share our space with a rooster, chooks, sheep, doves and pigeons, ducks and the occasional rabbit.

La Rochelle-worth a detour

Things are also different in La Rochelle. Here the sights are open all day and quite a few of the eating places and shops are open all day. Must have something to do with the influx of tourists over summer and it makes a hell of a difference to the general ambiance of the place.

We spent quite a good day here, mixing in two nice meals with a visit or two and a little shopping and promenade around the waterfront. La Rochelle is very well served with public transport park and ride and with city provided bikes. This year quite a few other cities are also starting bike systems where the bikes are located at various places around town and you can use as available. In La Rochelle, we think that you get the first two hours for nix and then you pay a euro or two per hour after that. There is a nice acquarium here which is open until 11pm so they can do it in some places.

Summer Entertainment

On the other hand, we have enjoyed some of the entertainment that happens around the place over the summer breaks; a nice couple of hours of opera singing in Chauvigny, a great concert of swing jazz also in Chauvigny and a performance of African dancing and singing in La Puye (small village).

We are yet to master the art of being in the right place at the right time so we have missed a couple of open air operas that were just that bit too far away to comfortably get to. Next time.

An Occasional grumble can help?

To keep up with the objective of testing our ability (and capability) to actually live here, we are using Poitiers as a main base. This translates into at least two trips into town each week for internet access or any general shopping. The other day to day issues are invariably about time: something that most French people seem to have plenty of. It is perhaps the most difficult thing for us to deal with. Some supermarkets and almost all shops in towns up to the size of Poitiers (80k) close for at least 1 ½ hours over lunch. Including most boulangeries where we go hunting for the baguette. It is much cheaper to buy fuel at the bigger supermarkets but of course these also shut for lunch; here 2 ½ hours till 3 pm. You may not believe it but cheques are still very much in use here too. Nothing can make you happier to see the old timers finishing their usual chat with the check out chick and to then proceed to pull out the cheque book. Keep the supermarket queing system in action if nothing else.

Most museums and like attractions are also shut for lunch. On Mondays, towns up to and beyond the size of Poitiers are virtually empty and closed all day. So, you can think of starting the day slowly and getting into town around 10 am, take a slow coffee in the nice tabac/brasserie just on the main square of the town, followed by a visit to the local sights and then perhaps a quiet lunch in that attractive place you noticed or have read about. But what happens more often than not in our case is that you are just that bit late getting to the visit or activity you really want to do and are then left with having to mark time until 2 pm or later. This “problem” does not seem to worry rural/small France and perhaps the culture likes it that way. But it seems to us that things would run a lot better, more efficiently and bring in more tourist euros if people worked these things a little harder.