Some Last Thoughts

RANDOM NOTES
We got to see, in action, how French parents raise their children.  We were speaking with Isabelle when 6 1/2 year old Emily interrupted.  Rather than succumb to her daughter's interruption, we watched an interesting exchange:

Isabelle: "What was I doing when you interrupted?"

Emily: "Talking to Tom and Maxine"

Isabelle: "Donc" (means 'therefore')

Emily: "I should wait until you're finished.

Refreshing...

 There's always a lot of press about how the French are lazy.  35 hour work weeks.  6 weeks of vacation.  Retirement at 50.  Turns out that that really only applies to union workers and public servants.  The farmers in the area are up and on the fields by 6am and stay out till 10pm.  Quite a different life.  Donc, French in general aren't lazy, but like in other places, organized labor tends in that direction.

At the end of the day, there's a big difference between what is touristically cute and what everyone wants.  What I mean by that is that we, as tourists, like charming buildings, small streets, stone buildings, all of the "quaint Europe stuff".  But, people are people.  And in reality, what they do is buy suburban houses with yards, drywall walls, and maybe a touch or two of difference. 

 Our French language skills are good enough to get by!  After years of lessons, many, many trips to France, tapes, tutors, and educational language shows, we understand roughly 50% of what goes on in a conversation.  No, we can't discuss life the way we can in English.  But, we can get a whole lot further than our previous bar, "where is the toilet".  Hard to imagine ever getting to this level, as low as it is, in another language.

 Parking meters are free for lunch (2 hours).  If you put sufficient money in a parking meter for 2 hours at, say, 11am, it will give you free parking till 3pm.  And, Monday is a day off for just about all the retailers and museums.  So, planning a day's adventures can sometimes be tricky.  Or frustrating.

 

LESSONS LEARNED

 Internet access is a great help in planning, not just before the trip, but operationally how to go about each day.  In London we had 15 gb service and we could, in just a second, look up the best way to get someplace or what time a restaurant opened.  In addition, our next iPads will have cellular capability.  With it, we really won't even need city maps when we're out and about.  And with SIM cards cheap enough, we can easily check what's nearby as we walk down the street.

Staying in rural France was a reality check.  We've been fascinated for years with the possibility of living a Peter Mayle lifestyle, among the vineyards, with French farmers as neighbors and, for that matter, not many neighbors at all.  That's what we had in Broze.  And while it was a great experience, at this stage in life, it's not our life.

Being gone an entire month disrupts your home life in ways that taking a two week vacation does not.  It literally takes a month to get home life back in order.  That's everything from dealing with emails that you dodged (despite reading them) while away, to going through mail, to restocking the refrigerator.  It's worth it, but there are implications.

Spend the money or miles to upgrade to business class for the flight over.  While it's not great, it is OK to be frugal on the way back.

France is about small vignettes.  A place captured not with videos, but with well composed pictures.  Take lots of pictures.

Not all chocolate croissants are worth it.

There's always one more cute village or other sight to check out.  At some point, the tour guides get it right.  A 3 star sight is almost always better than a 1 star one.  And, if you skip some of the cute villages, there's more time to adapt to the life you're emulating.

I'm running out of things to buy.  I came home with a great pocket knife.  And, I've been carrying it in my pocket.  But, I live a pretty urban life and I'm much more afraid of losing it than I am finding opportunities to use it.

Try to speak to people.  It works.  The distillery, for example.  And plenty of other places where people who spoke no English were patient and we really could communicate.

We really don't need *that* much space.  700 square feet, well laid out, is sufficient for months.  We liked having 2 “desk” areas, outdoor living space for good weather, a dishwasher, and a washing machine. 

While we did a better job of packing for France than our London trip, we still had more clothes than we really needed since we could wash clothes as necessary.

2005 is a great year for Bordeaux.  Also 2009.  Avoid years ending in 7.

 

TOM'S TOP NINE

1. The LL about rural France lifestyle.
2. The jet lagged shock of seeing Bill at Blagnac airport the morning we arrived.
3. Bordeaux wines -- there is a difference.
4. Albi -- a great city for tourists.
5. Having the vendage literally going on around us.
6. Tatou (the vineyard dog) following us as we walked through the vines various times.
7. Le Romuald for lunch on a rainy day, especially getting their last table.
8. Breakfasts in Bordeaux with the Graysons
9. Le Gourmet Quercynois for foie gras.

MAXINE’S ADDITIONS

1. Walking in the area around our house – vineyards, interesting stone houses, small country lanes, wineries.  Just beautiful!
2. Fabulous lunch at Esprit du Vin in Albi.
3. Relaxing with a glass of rose on our patio overlooking the vines.
4. Pech Merle cave with 25,000 year old cave paintings.
5. Dinner at Le Jardin des Quatre Saisons in Albi.  It was great to be able to communicate completely in French and the food was good too!

Last Day of Vacation -- Wednesday, Oct 31

Last Day of Vacation -- Wednesday, Oct 31

One last trip to our bakery for croissants and fresh-baked bread.  Packed.  Walked the vines one last time.  Sat outside in the cold and enjoyed the views.  Had a glass of wine with our landlord.  Set the alarm for 5:30 and were asleep by 9:30

 

Here are a bunch of pictures of our "neighborhood" which we've come to really appreciate.  And, as well, a couple more pictures from inside the house looking out:

 

Thursday, November 1st

Left Broze by 6:45 am.  A holiday, so no traffic on the way to Toulouse-Blagnac airport.  Turned the car back in at Hertz.  Got lectured by the Lufthansa person about taking too much luggage on the plane (but she relented and gave us gate check passes).  Flew to Frankfurt.  Changed planes and flew to Houston, Texas on a very, very full flight.  It took 11 hours and I had the route map up on my screen tediously waiting through each minute.  Punch drunk from lack of sleep in Houston, but we eat some dinner at La Salsa.  Flight is 2 hours delayed.  Finally in LA.  As is all our luggage.  Home by 1 am and asleep soon after.

 

Friday, November 2nd.

We wake up in LA, in our own home.  All is back to normal!

Cordes and Other Winding Down -- Tues, Oct 30

We really are winding down at this stage.  Initially we had planned to spend the day in Figeac, another pretty hill town.  But, we're tired of driving, especially since that day would promise to be nearly 4 hours in the car and yet another pretty town.  So, we decide to take another walk through the vines near our house.  Eventually we come to Chateau Rhodes and realize that this is another back road into town.  I'm delighted that Tatoo, the Chateau Gayssou winery dog, has chosen to take the walk with us.  Over two hours of his companionship.  It makes things feel more like home, it fulfills some of our need to have a dog, and it turns sightseeing into "just a walk" which is what we'd really wanted.  The weather is great and it's a wonderful way to wind things down.

Lunch at home, then one last visit to the official second prettiest village in the area, Cordes sur Ciel.  (And when I mean "the area" I really mean the lower half of the country France).  On our last visit we tried to find the "secret" way to drive most of the way up -- it's a hill town.  But, after a half hour, we couldn't find it, gave up, and hiked.  Arrived at the town sweating...  This time we did a better job finding it, and since it was cool out, arrived comfortably.  We spent our last couple sightseeing hours in France there, enjoying the views and looking in the shops. 

 

Then, home for dinner and the beginning of the end of our trip.  It was a crisp, clear, cold night with a beautiful full moon and a sky full of stars.  In the middle of the night I couldn't help thinking that it felt sad to be leaving a place where we'd become so comfortable.

Monday, Oct 29th -- Last Real Sightseeing

Sunday we went through all the information we gathered and everything we brought with us.  The trip is winding down and we want to make sure that in the few days we have left, we see anything that seems important.  However, I have to admit that we've become jaded with the very cute hillside villages, the flowers people put out to make their small piece of France pretty, the rolling hills and vines, and all of it.  So, we're not too interested in seeing "one last hill town".  Plus, the weather has really turned to cold.  Frost on the car windows in the morning.

OK, having said all of that, we do spend the morning checking out those last hill towns.  We have a map which covers the "route of the wineries" and also the "route of the hill towns" and using it we take a 3 1/2 hour drive through the pretty countryside, looking at our last bastide towns.  We passed through Lisle-sur-Tarn, Giroussens, Rabastens, Salvagnac, and ended up in Puycelsi (another of the officially-designated most beautiful villages of France and much deserved).  Here are a bunch of pictures of Pulcelsi:

 

We're home for a late (and light) lunch.  Then we take a 1 1/2 hour walk from our house through the vines.  Shower, then drive to Toulouse one last time for dinner.

I hadn't yet gotten a Toulouse souvenir.  In fact, I had yet to buy any permanent Toulouse souvenirs in 6 visits over the last 20 years (*that number in fact resolves for us that we're spending too much time in the south of France and not enough in Paris).  So, we plan our evening to get to town by 5 pm so we can do a little shopping.

First stop is the souvenir shop for the local rugby team, Stade Toulousain.  They're one of the most successful teams in Europe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade_Toulousain).  They also charge pretty high prices for their souvenirs!  Maxine notices a note on the wall about their outlet store with last season's merchandise and we leave in search of it.  And it turns out to be next door.  And the sign on the door says they're closed.  This despite someone inside at the register and the fact that it's 5:50 and closing isn't till 6pm.  I bang on the door and he opens it, lectures me, tells me to go next store to buy, and closes it on me.  It's one of those times that France can be frustrating.  I do go next door and buy a too expensive red t-shirt.

We then take an hour long last walk through Toulouse.  Maxine remains unimpressed with Place Capitole, the grand square of the city.  She's right though that she's never seen it when it was anything other than a big open paved square with construction equipment all over the place.  But, having seen it at Christmas years ago, I know it can be better.

Eventually we make it over to Le Colombier.  Maxine's been in charge of our restaurants and to accommodate my interests, she'd found the "best" cassoulet restaurant in the city.  Food is good, but expensive.  And relatively rapid (i.e. non-French) service.  We're done in 1 1/2 hours.  Full.  But, it really isn't one of our dining highlights of the trip.  We take some solace from the fact that this really is *the* place to get cassoulet.  But, candidly, Maxine has a better recipe at home that she occasionally makes in the winter.

Robin's Birthday Party - Sunday, Oct 28

We're back in Toulouse today for Robin's 15th birthday party.  It's another of those experiences we feel lucky to have, where we can be a part of normal life in France, not tourists but friends.  Our continued visits, and their presence in our trip, is an anchor for us.

Our friends’ friends treat us as good friends of their friends.  Which is intimidating in a way.  They arrive at the door, recognize our "bonjour" as coming in an American accent, and switch to English to talk to us.  People are courteous all day, accomodating our limited language skills.  The conversation over lunch is in English so we can join in.  We talk politics a little, with the US election coming up next week.  They ask what we've most enjoyed during our visit and we tell them that our favorite southern city is Albi.  Which is true, but also diplomatic.  It's not Toulouse, but it does stand on its own merits.

We have burgers and fries for lunch.  That, and wine, of course.

 

 

Eventually the guests leave and Maxine and I finish out our last evening with Bill's family.  I'm particularly pleased that after a month of spending time together, Emily is comfortable with me.  She helps me with my French pronunciation (seriously), correcting me when I don't roll my "r's" sufficiently.  Later, we're at the point when we're all saying our goodbye's at the end of the evening.  She's grabbing my leg to keep me from leaving.  It feels poignant -- her parents have told me that she gets sad that while her siblings see their godparents with some regularity, Emily only rarely sees me.  My experience with godparents has been this.  My mother's sister is my godmother.  And, with my mother dead, my Aunt has been one of my strongest links to childhood, to my mother's family, and I guess to a sense of being looked out for.

I tell Emily that we can Facetime, but I know it isn't the same and I feel bad for her disappointment.  When we'd seen them in LA a year prior we didn't expect to see them so soon, but we did.  However, we leave tonight pretty certain that it will be years, as many as four years, until we see them again...

 

We Host Lunch -- Sat, Oct 27th

We invite Bill and family to come out to Gaillac for lunch.  We've been to their house a bunch of times on this trip, we're pretty pleased with our place (the house itself, and the location among the vines) and want to show it off.  So, it's scheduled for today.

We've stopped at the Leclerc and picked up pizzas.  No groaning, we've tried them before and they're a)fresh, b)interesting flavors, and c)much better than we can buy in a US grocery store.  Plus, with a 3 year old, a 6 year old, and a 15 year old coming over for lunch, it seems like an option everyone will like.  Maxine insists on making a salad and slicing up a melon to round out the meal.

Pate's are something of a novelty to me.  But, there are a million recipes.  Some involve ingredients I'm not too interested in, like blood, or fat, or well, or rabbit or other animals/animal parts I'm not the least bit curious about.  Thinking it would be relatively "safe" over the course of the trip we buy (I select pate) 3-4 times.  I don't make a single good pick.  Oh well...

For dessert, we stop by our new favorite bakery and pick up a pear tart.  We've also got a bottle of Gaillac sparkling wine.  We're ready for guests!

Lunch works great.  They're late getting here, but it's a good visit. 

It is a cold day though and our planned walk through the vines ends up being a quick trip over to see the neighbor's goats and then inside within 15 minutes.  We think about lighting the fireplace but are reluctant since our earlier experiment with it smoked us out of the first floor for days. 

 

 

Eventually our friends leave and we head out to Albi for dinner at Le Jardin des Quatre Saisons, recommended by our landlord.  It was a great choice – filled with locals, good food, convivial staff.  To cap off the meal, we end with something we never do, an digestif.  Since we're only a couple hours drive from Armagnac, we order glasses of it.  Two, from the same producer, but different years.  The difference that age makes is striking.  And as our waitress pours the first (and older) one, Maxine asks if "all of that!" was only 2 centiliters (what we'd ordered).  She says "tant pis" in a welcoming way and only charges us for the smaller amount.  It was a great end to a very fun day.

The Start of the End, Friday, October 26th

We can feel it, our trip is winding down.  And after nearly 6 hours in the car yesterday, we decide to take it easy.  We spent the morning doing errands.  In to the Gaillac open air market to pick up some things -- it's much smaller than it was three weeks ago.  Leclerc for diesel and other groceries.  The ATM.  And now home for the day. 

With rain expected mid- afternoon, we have lunch from our market purchases then an hour long walk through the vines.  It was interesting to see the changes in the fields since we’ve been here.  The grapes are all harvested and many of the vines have been pruned back.  The sunflowers have been chopped down and plowed under (although Maxine did find some 2nd growth sunflowers in a field the other day and they look nice on our outdoor table). Tom took a nap, and is now catching up on blogs.  Our evening?  Reading and movies…like home, the building below: