Bob is here:) Annie, Pete and Ian have all gone off to Liverpool so Bob and I walked Lily together, up above Quillan.
We took tea in lovely Espezel... the snow was around but melting.
I wondered why the French man who directed us to the cafe laughed and said that as we were English, it was perfect for us - I thought it was because it was tea-time, but the owner was a Cheshire man. See
www.le100unique.com for his many events. (the site is down today but will be up again when his son gets back from school)
We got home in time for the sunset...
****This week had the final meeting with the Mayor to arrange our agenda before the elections which are in March. If anyone in the commune is registered to vote but will be away, they can give me the authority to vote for them if we trot down to the gendarmerie in Quillan with the right paperwork - quelle joy! Happy to oblige if needful. Lets face it, we need all the votes we can get:)
HI--the link doesn't work--helas! Merci (for all the columns, not just for the fix. I tried to drive the road from the south approach.(somewhere near Belcaire as I remember..)....fortunately I lived in the mountains in northern California and learned to drive in a 1957 VW beetle on ice/gravel/ semi-paved/dirt roads...but it's still scarey. That episode and others make me think France provides special guardian angels for visitors who are non-believers...
ReplyDeleteOne trip (one of 12 over 10 years) I picked up a car at CDG and started the drive south..planning on spending the night in Toulouse, to go to my gite the next morning (Ariege). Rain and more rain and all too many trucks...needed gas and ran into a stretch with no stations...got off the road (add exhaustion from the 11 hour flight to the driving) and couldn't find a station in the little town. Ran into a police checkpoint. He recognized the license plates as a special foreign lease and understood when I asked for the closest station. I thanked him (and the othersO effusively (they all laughed said it was rare they were thanked for doing the stops...I said I thought I had a particular guardian angel who looked after me when I came to France, and took off. Of course I had to take the wrong turn and ended up (with the car warning me about the fuel noisily) back at the traffic stop. What happened? I explained how I'd gone, he gave me the instructions again...he asked if my guardian angel was taking a break? I said no, but even when one has a guardian angel one doesn't always listen to them.... (all this in French) They all laughed at that one and prepared to take down the barricades and go home. I went to the station and it required a card with the special chip...which I didn't have. I was afraid I would have to sleep in the car until morning...but up drove a couple who very kindly agreed to take cash for fuel on their credit card--and even gave me an extra 50 cent worth and after getting directions (easy --I didn't get lost!) for the closest inexpensive hotel I thanked the guardian angel (whether real or supposed). And I think there might be an assistant who directs me (to take the wrong road) to a place I wouldn't have gone to,/discovered/experienced which was so much better than the place I had been thinking of....
Can't afford to travel now (local only) but the riches I accumulated in the vaults of my memory are still mine...
Reading of your lives (you and friends) through the blogs continues my love affair with 'the South' (as a friend and I refer to it...Ariege and Aude..)...and your joys, humor and pleasures are enjoyed even second hand. .
thank you
how extremely kind of you, both to share your memories and to be nice about mine. I'm never sure how self-indulgent I'm being - or if there is anyone out there - but as I'm getting older this has become an aide memoire which I enjoy. Best to you - hope you get back to the Aude one day -
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