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!