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.