Rita turns 86 today-what a mum

Today whilst sitting in a quiet little restaurant in St Tropez, we drank a toast to Randall’s mother who turned 86 today. We had a few words with her on the phone to hear that she had enjoyed a nice meal with her other son Darryl and his family in Perth and that she was looking forward to a few days with Darryl and his country hide out at Bridgetown WA. After our meal we spent the rest of the day in St Tropez with the locals walking around the busy port area, enjoying a drink or two and the sunny conditions. Happy birthday Mum.

Over the last month or so and during trains trips or just lazing around, I have enjoyed the opportunity to pop on the ipod and dial up some Jack Johnson. I especially like “Sleeping through the static”.

“Just cash in your blanks for little toy tanks
Learn how to use them and abuse them
And choose them over conversations
Relationships are over-rated “I hate everyone” said the sun

And so I will cook all your books
You’re too good looking and mistooken
You could watch it instead from the comfort of your burning beds
Or you could sleep through the static.”

Modern Art at St Paul de Vence

The weather has continued to excel through the week and the weekend. So we have the relative luxury of lazing around home or taking an outing or both. The visits to hill top villages have continued too, so that now we have visited Biot, Tourettes sur Loup, Grasse and St Paul de Vence. It was a lay down mizere that St Paul de Vence was the most impressive as it had a strong range of high quality art shops and just outside the town is a world class modern art museum. We also spent a day in Monaco without buying a yacht at the boat show. Not enough time to organize for it to be sent home to Australia. And besides Canberra is just too much a bush town to take one of the more interesting yachts.

Tourists Again-this time in Gourdon, Provence

Yesterday we had a nice lunch nearby in the pretty village of Valbonne after spending an hour or so in the hilltop village of Gourdon. We even conned Sarah and Ben into a guided tour of the old chateau of Gourdon, a site that has a military existence going back to Saracen days. There were quite a few French visitors, a good mixture of locals and the occasional English couple in both places. The weather has now recovered from several days last week of high winds and storms and summer is just hanging in there at about 25 degrees or so. This afternoon we dropped down into Cagnes-sur-mer for a laze on the stony beach and a refreshing dip in the sea which was very pleasant. There were plenty of people about and of course the talk was all about the age at which women should or should not cover their breasts and give up the bikini look. We will renew this discussion over the next week or so as we find other beaches to enjoy.

Coaching the new arrivals

On Sunday we met up with Ben and Sarah who arrived from Italy by train. They need to recover from tourist numbers in most places they visited in Italy so up here might be just the trick. Whilst it is inevitable that we will be tourists in Nice, Cannes, St Tropez, Monaco and the glitz of this coast, we will try and soften that with visits to smaller places in the hinterland. Already we have tested the scene at Cannes where there is a late summer sailing regatta underway but perhaps the movie scouts are not about at the moment as we have received no offers for instant stardom. Our GPS is getting a thorough workout and we wind our way along the narrow roads and navigate through multiple roundabouts. So far we have made it home each day in one piece.

In amoongst old olive tree groves

So after settling into our last gite, we are now back into more of a holiday mode. The more docile pace of life in the Tern has given away to more of the rat race. Our gite is located rather high up in the hills behind Cannes and heading towards Grasse. Chateuaneuf de Grasse. The gite is the lower of two stories of a home where once there were teenagers living downstairs and now they have left the nest. As it happens we did a quick handover with the owners who then departed for a belated holiday - 2 weeks in their country dwelling somewhere further inland behind us to be followed by 2 weeks in Croatia. So we will not see them again before we leave.

Stimulated in the move south

It is one thing to take a walk in the countryside and park under a tree with a baguette and a newspaper and another thing to pack your current life up to drive into another world.

Yesterday we left an overcast Tarn department and after just a couple of hours we were sitting in a nice portside restaurant in Meze which is just off the sea, not far from the busy Mediterranean port of Sete. We enjoyed a pecillada of fresh cuttle fish, prawns and sea bass. Nice weather, relaxed environment and a pleasant break from the 130 kph flash down the autoroute out of Toulouse.

Then later in the day we were sitting in one of about 22 wide queues on the autoroute de soliel patiently waiting to pay the money to rejoin the other racers on the autoroute. I think I won at least part of the race although Italian registered cars occasionally got the better of me.

After yet another visit to the supermarket we climbed up into the hills behind Cannes to find our next gite and to settle into the world of the Riviera where we will live for the next 14 days.

Walking around Cordes sur Ciel

From time to time we get questions on why we often end up in France when there are other places in the world still to visit. These questions are not easy to answer but if we think about it, at least a part of the reason we come here is that it is all part of a restless need to establish “place”. To date, we remain somewhat trapped in a mode where we have been captured by that idyllic and somewhat misplaced view of a beautiful country where we can relax and enjoy living in the moment. We continue to talk about establishing at lease a base here.

During this week we returned to see how far advanced an acquaintance is in his quest to renovate a watermill not far from here. And while it looks like progress has been made, we both agreed that his location in the Causse area north of St Antonin Noble Val, is too remote for us. As for Cordes and this area, the likely complications are around the demographics and what the locals do with their lives. So whilst our hearts can contemplate a project, our heads keep saying “just enjoy the moment, keep your pennies in your pocket and move on”. But the restless need to establish place continues, as it must.

Now where did I see David Jones around here

We still enjoy just wandering along these backroads into small towns and hamlets. A coffee or cold drink here, a lunch somewhere along the way and a dawdling drive through quiet villages to the gite where we sometimes relax during the late afternoon. Yvonne has just finished her latest book and her Guardian newspapers so she is now back to her embroidery and painting. Randall has his podcasts and email newsletters to review which keeps him up to date with news on the GFC and what he needs to do to keep our finances on track.

Summer is ending

Last weekend we enjoyed an evening concert in the monster cathedral at Albi. An orchestra from Prague, 4 soloist singers and a combined choir of 130+ gave a rendition of works by Dvorak. Although such concerts are held during summer in France, and over Europe, this one is slightly later than most and so were able to see it. In these parts, the grape harvest is now in full swing and local villages are having their last clean up before winter through local trash and treasure events (Vide Grenier). We don’t go to Belconnen or Woden trash markets so we don’t go here either. The goods look to be much the same here as in Australia.

And as quick as a flash, summer is fading away. From 30 degrees plus last week, we are now into the mid to low 20s. Some clearing light fog in the mornings as RDK jogs his way along the local back roads and the evenings close in a bit more each day. Some heavy rain further south last night drowned the European soccer in Marseille and flooded Cannes, so we hope that is gone by the time we reach Provence on Saturday.

Pelerins for a day

On another level, each time we return here, we seem to go a bit deeper into day to day life. On Monday, which is a notoriously slow day in France, we (ie RDK), decided to go for a walk in the nearby country . We duly completed a round trip following a GR route out from Cordes and back and finishing with a climb to the square of Cordes sur Ciel, around 18 kms in all. It was a rather warm day but we managed to find shelter under trees and enjoyed a picnic lunch by the river. During a drink at a local bar we had a chat with a couple of old guys part of a peloton on one of their 3 weekly bike rides. Very fit lads and into their 70’s probably. A match for Cadel if current tour of Spain results are any indication.

Another Version of Liberty for you to find one day

Living in another culture can be stimulating, frustrating, enjoyable and relaxing-all at the same time. We know France and French culture pretty well by now but it is always surprising to reflect on the cultural differences, especially given the common heritage through history of England and France.

Language differences here in France, and last month in Scandinavia, mean that most of our international news has come via the BBC, CNN, the Guardian and Financial Times (English) papers and French newspapers and TV. This is where you can easily see the differences. There is currently English envy of France when reports cover France. Several articles on how Sarkozy tries to compensate for being somewhat height challenged (by using pre-planned height challenged workers when in factories for a PR visit, wearing special shoes) and by UK talking up the basket case UK economy in the face of improved economic conditions in France and Germany especially.

By the same token, there is evident glee in French news reports on the imminent release from prison of the Iraqian who threw a shoe at G W Bush a few years ago. I must have seen the same report 6 times tonight where the Iraqian is about to return home as a hero with offers for a new car, job, marriage and celebrity status. Whilst in the last month the US and UK seem to be focused on the latest stuff ups in Afghanistan, the release of a Lockerbie bomber and where the UK is heading financially. France seems more internally focused on swine flu precautions, EU farm policies affecting French farmers (currently milk production), troubles (cat fights between women in the main) in the political parties on the French left and troubles with French football as they face a battle to qualify for the coming world championships in Africa. And culturally French free to air TV is almost the same as it was in the 1980’s when we were living here.

St Antonin Noble Var today

Well, time goes fast when you are having fun. We are now in our second gite and just on the outskirts of the small hill bastide of Cordes-sur Ciel (Cordes in the sky). Cordes was established in the 1220’s by the Count of Toulouse and as a refuge from Catholic persecution of so called heretics. As a tax free town, it rapidly grew and gained an artistic tradition which it still has today. Sometime well before the industrial revolution, when France developed its canal system, the world passed by Cordes and it slowly faded away until re-discovered by the numerous artists who fill the place with tourists, at least for the summer.

When we were last here in 2007, we were a bit smitten by Cordes and we liked its proximity to Albi. We still like the place but only to visit and you would rapidly lose interest in walking up into a medieval home with the midday baguette each day. Today we enjoyed the end of an annual feast day in Cordes, the giant apple tart cooked sur place was terrific. But at the end of the day we were pleased to be on flatter ground enjoying another late afternoon, reading newspapers in the shade of the obligatory large tree in our gite’s garden. And, as for eating, we had the proceeds from the great market at St Antonin Noble Val, a small but pretty town on the nearby Aveyron River: chicken, saucisson, tomatoes, figs, cheese, greens and baguette.

ST Affrique for lunch today

We are not far from the major centre of Toulouse and access is easy by rail or autoroute. As a university town and a city with a large aerospace focus, things are always quite lively and the city is growing. There is a good range of shops, plenty of good eating places and the central market is always quite an easy place to obtain any produce we particularly want.

For a now somewhat old fashioned Randall (Yvonne tells me that he is getting worse as time goes by), this area is close to Rugby heaven. Sensibly France has retained a regional based approach to domestic rugby and, like UK football, there is a promotion/relegation system operating which encourages continual competition over the whole season. No nonsensical US based naming conventions here which is also pleasing and watching rugby is so enjoyable that Yvonne encouraged Randall to take her to the Top 14 Montauban-Toulon game last weekend and we are on the lookout for other good games to go to.

First level teams operate out of nearby cities of Albi, Toulouse, Montauban and Castres and so there is a great choice of games to go to. There is a bit of an old fashioned feel to the matches of competing for the sake and pleasure of the game. Plus there is a welcome absence of the commercial entertainment that is so evident in US/Australian football. Last weekend’s game also had one abnormal break due to the hot weather where the players were invited to break for a few minutes and to take on some drinks. Yvonne was shocked but it showed part of an overall approach to life here where relationships are everything. Whilst the players were taking this break the public address system was advising the public to ensure that any children with them should also be keeping up with water and staying out of the sun if possible; something very unfamiliar to Aussie sports attendance, in my experience.

Life without a picture

The touring has stopped to a crawl as we re-visit the Tarn and recall the impact that life in this quiet part of the globe has on one. Installed in our gite rural deep in the countryside and almost a kilometer from the hamlet of Virac we have given ourselves time to reflect on life in general. We are co-located with the property owners who live here courtesy of her (we think departed) parents who formerly operated a farm here now some years ago. Our hosts returned here from Normandy some years ago and they have done a great job on the old farmhouse which is now our gite and home. Virac has no shops or services although we can buy some cheese direct from the maker and we may try a drop or two of the local wine now being harvested. At night we rest in the quietness of the place; throw on a DVD (French TV is still not to our taste, any more than Aussie TV is these days) after a good home cooked meal and a drop of red.

Within a short drive is our favoured city of Albi with its monster cathedral and excellently presented old city centre, the medieval hillside town of Cordes and a ring of interesting old bastides hanging onto life these days. The weather is still very hot for this time of the year. Perhaps linked to global warming and like other parts of Europe, France has experienced several years of tough hot summers. Each of the last four days have been well into the 30 degrees range and it is definitely a lot browner looking in these parts than when we were last here just two years ago. A ‘catastrophe’, as the locals tell us.

Together we have dropped any idea of creating our bit of paradise by dropping out completely and buying a place deep in the countryside. We have been just too “citified” by now. And so we are back to thinking about some perfect place (with a view of course) on the edge of a lively town where we are in good weather, close to essential services and within range of interesting places. The quest continues.

Inside the glacier at Montenvers

We also walked inside the 120 metres deep Montenvers de glace glacier as well as taking other good walks in the area.

By the time of our departure, the streets were thinning out a bit as the French returned to work and some of the more remote cable cars had closed for the summer.

We had a great final Savoie dinner in Chamonix where we recalled the highlights of what we had discovered together over the last month and we are now ready to return to Geneva, pick up the car and head off into the next phase of our travel.

On top of Europe

In any event, the place also contains heaps of well tanned hikers, carrying no fat as they spread out of Chamonix and into the surrounding mountains for the day. The cable cabin rides are spectacular and we enjoy many hours watching climbers in the distance making their assault on the mountain itself.
Over the four full days we spent in the Chamonix valley, we managed to take the giant telecabine to Aiguille du midi at 3842 metres and within striking distance of the summit of Mt Blanc-not that we had time to do that-this time!!

Ultra marathon welcome to France

It is the last weekend in August so the French are starting to head home after their annual exodus from Paris.

In Chamonix, it is a gathering of the fit and the super fit as we stumble across an ultra marathon during which contestants run on trials around Mt Blanc in Italy, Switzerland and France over the weekend. Whilst we thought the band was playing for us as we walked out of the railway station into somewhat crowded streets, they were really encouraging tired runners across the finish line. For the main race we think there were over 2,000 runners covering 166 kms with the 22 year old young Spaniard winner covering the distance in just 21 hours.