Behind in my Blog

I'm so far behind on this blog I think I should start over. Margaret has been here and gone home already, and Ellen and Jean Pierre were here at the same time for a couple of days. We went to some vide greniers (like yard sales, but the whole village). I've been to several here and have gotten some nice collectible antique enamelware very cheaply, and a couple of good marble topped nightstands for E50 each, one of which is probably from the 1850's, the other 1900 to 1920, both in good condition. There were no nightstands in the house, so I was very glad to find them.

I've done a lot of checking out of various villages, thinking of where I should go next as I only have this house until the end of June. That may prove to be a problem, as July and August are high season down here, and most of the furnished short term places are being rented by the week for large sums. Today (Thursday) I spent some time in Cessenon sur Orb having the oil changed in my car and getting the new license plates for this department, and think it would be a good village to stay in and perhaps househunt. Its right on the river, and has several bars and restaurants, 3 boulangeries, and any other commerce that you would need on a daily basis. I think I would prefer to be in a village with plenty of commerce, as its good to be able to go out for dinner or a drink without having to drive somewhere. Roquebrun, where I am now, is a very attractive village and is very popular, but its small and there aren't many houses for sale. Its also very steep and hilly, and I'm kinda bored with everything being uphill and downhill. Because its so popular, it has 3 restaurants, a bar, a boulangerie & a grocery. There are not enough people who actually live here year round (I think around 700) to support that many businesses, but people drive up here from nearby towns for the day to swim in the river, go to the Mediterranean Garden, or just kind of hang out.

Its 9:40 p.m. right now, and still not dark. It doesn't get fully dark until about 10:00, and we are still 3 weeks away from the longest day. I like it fine, but it really changes dinner time and bed time. I've been eating lunch out quite a bit, and they are as big as dinner, so I don't tend to eat at night anyway.

The photos don't show up on the blog they way I load them, for some reason. They are all mixed up and bunched together, I think to fix it I would have to go in and edit the HTML, which I don't feel like doing right now. The photos are ones I took today in Cessenon: the cemetery gates and a detail of the heads on it, and a WWI memorial plaque in enamel which I hadn't noticed before. Also a fountain in town with two spouts that is spring fed and people still get water from it. The two of houses are here in Roquebrun. The other photo needs no explanation.

First week in Roquebrun

Theresa and I went to market day in St. Chinian Sunday morning and got sausages made of duck, blue cheese and mushrooms; bread; my favorite pastry, which can only be found in the south of France, a sacristan; cheese; a shopping basket. Photo is of a huge pile of bread at one of the bakery stalls. Drove home the long way through Murviel les Beziers, another very nice medium size village in the neighborhood. Took a long walk with the dogs and ate dinner in: fresh asparagus from St. Chinian, and a poulet roti (rotisserie chicken). Tonight when I went out just past dark to walk the dogs, the sky was deep turquoise and bats were flitting about, just magical. I stood in the square in front of the church and jumped when the bell struck. It chimes the hours 24/7 and is right above the house.

I bought a couple of houses, the photos are here. Kind of small, but they're starter houses, you know.

We did some sightseeing this week, check Theresa's blog for details. Got things for the house, went to Ikea in Montpellier which I've decided is too big and confusing to drive in with any kind of comfort level. Also this week went to the market in Olonzac, which is a good one, lots of food, clothing, household goods, etc., and it winds down the streets from the main square. Nice looking large village/small town, but it was very windy and kinda cold. The plane trees there were not as leafed out as the ones here in Roquebrun, which indicates to me it is a little colder. We went to the beach the same day so Theresa could put her feet in the Mediterranean, and it was really windy there also. We did have a good lunch in a very small village in what looked like it was going to be a pretentious restaurant, but it turned out to be a very good and inexpensive meal.

Hardware in France is something different, this is a photo of the door hardware from my house. It turns clockwise to lift a surface mounted latch on the inside. Very simple, very effective.

Theresa left this morning, which means that half of my brains are also gone. I still have a couple of dog brains, but they aren't a lot of help. Theresa will be missed, she was a huge help and a fun travel companion. And of course the dogs love her, and she understands them.

I've been gardening, and there's no garden here. Theresa and I found the local big nursery and I've gotten pots and plants. Its very large, with lots of plants, and the staff is very nice. One of the things that I love about France is that when you buy several things from a business or an individual, they often either give you a discount or a "cadeau" (a gift). This has happened at the nursery, from the basket guy and the paella guy at the markets, and a couple of other times which I forget just now. What a nice practice!

Settled in Roquebrun

We arrived in Roquebrun on May 1, as scheduled. We being Theresa, me, Nacho and Ginger, and my new car, the trusty 2000 Opel that I bought in Paris from a colleague of Ellen, my friend who teaches at the American School there. It has only about 30,000 miles on it, and was quite a nice car when it was new. Its still a nice car, and is very comfortable and quiet. It also has room with the seats down to haul building materials, a real plus. I figured out its getting about 30 mpg, which is twice what I got with the PT Cruiser -- the gas is twice as expensive, so I think it works out about the same cost to drive.

The Roquebrun house is on 6 levels, no two rooms on the same one. The living room is at the top of the house, half a story down is the kitchen, half a story down the master bedroom, etc. Which means you stand on landings wondering if the bathroom is up or down. But its fine, its got enough bedrooms and works fine. The street is just about wide enough for my car, which has to be parked a block away. This is a hillside village so there are lots of very narrow streets, and pedestrian paths and stairs from one street to another. There is no house address, don't mail me anything. The village is beautiful, up above the Orb River and a very picturesque bridge. There are two restaurants, a pizza place, a cafe/bar, post office, grocery, bakery, and two wine caves. There are cherry trees, figs, citrus, agaves, aloes, and olives. And of course acres of grape vines. The village is within the Parc de Haut Languedoc, which is the garrigue (chaparral to you in California). It looks a lot like the San Diego back country, which I'm sure is why I like it so much. We were in cold drizzle from Paris to here, and when we got close to this place, the sun came out and it was 75 degrees. What a relief......

This is a popular spot for people going on a drive, or taking a weekend day to go out and have lunch or dinner somewhere picturesque, kind of like driving up to Julian. Today it was a gang of Vespa ruffians taking over the cafe/bar and terrorizing the citizens. They all looked like accountants.

We took ourselves out to a good dinner last night in what I've decided is going to be my preferred restaurant. We had a terrine (kind of a pate) of rabbit as an entree (appetizer), the main course, and a dessert, and a carafe of wine with the meal and an aperitif before. What a pleasure, and I would say less expensive than it would be in the US. Tomorrow we're going to the market in St. Chinian, a few miles away, which I've been to several times previously. A good small market for food, clothing, and tourist goods. Think I'm going to have to go to Ikea on Monday for some lamps and other household items. I can always use them in my new French home. I think I can get a pretty sweet little place here for well under $100E, maybe under 50E. we'll see. Tell you more about that later.
a bientot
bon