Friendly Faces, Familiar Places

Poppy field with Muffin

(I don’t know what these little buildings are.  I’ll try to find out)

The countryside is singing with wild flowers of every kind and the garden of our little home is awash with colour   Not many French homes seem to have flower gardens.   I think it is because of the extremely hot summers that we have been warned about but, so far, have no evidence of.

We’ve been to the local airports so often that people think we work there.    Gary loves a pilot’s uniform.   Said yet another teary farewell yesterday to Lin and Lawrence who, unbeknownst to us had a five and half hour delay, as “spare parts” were awaited from across the globe to glue the plane together.  God protect us from Mr Ryanair!

(Cafe in Olargues.   Wall art)

Visiting Olargues in the pouring rain was a new experience.  Cobbled, perpendicular streets, rain and flip flops not being a great combination.   But we found a welcoming cafe (just the one open in a back street) with hot coffee and sandwiches.

So we ooh-d  and ahh-d through misty car windows.  Drove home and Gazzie actually barbecued and our guests ate indoors, while  I went to my first proper book club meeting (the previous one had been a “social”).  We discussed “Elinor Oliphant is completely Fine”, whilst drinking Rosé wine and eating chips and mayonnaise!   The only way to do it.

 

Fortunately, Tuesday brought sun and we wowed our guests with the Petit Camargue.  We visited a part of Grau du Roi  that we didn’t know and had lunch at the Quayside.  Looked in lots of lovely dress shops on our way back to the car.   Must go back when we win the Lottery!

 

(This is a random stranger, but he looked so content, it captured our mood)

On to Aigues-Morte, now awake and vibrant in brilliant sunshine and clear blue skies.  Our guests seemed to be as impressed as we always are with this lovely area.

 

So when we are asked if we get bored of showing off our lovely countryside to visitors the answer is “Not so far”.  Each friend has different interests and so visiting the Canal du Midi with Mandy and John opened our eyes to other aspects of this interesting waterway.  Like where would you join the canal with your boat, wondered Sailor Mandy.   And we discovered where : in an apparently almost deserted part of the canal

And off they went in their hired car to look at the famous Nine Locks (where we have already been, bloggees, remember?) while we attended our French conversation group after a long break.

Gazzie obviously gets bored occasionally with all the pastoral and watery idylls and decides to scare the living daylights out of me by going up mountains.   So whilst I thoroughly enjoyed the coffee and house sized baguettes in Fraisse sur Agout,

 

onwards and upwards went Gazzie.   I tbink he was fantasising that he was Sherpa Tensing on his way up Everest.   I didn’t see much more of the scenery as my head was in Mandy’s lap, screaming, “Gary take this bloody car downwards this instant”.  He ignored me and carried on to his destination which was a rather disappointing lake called Lac du Laouzas. Not worth the climb in my humble opinion, but the others coloured themselves impressed in order to curry favour with the driver.

However, we rounded off a scary day with a wonderful meal in Les Palmiers in Pezenas.

More teary goodbyes.   These goodbyes are doin’ my ‘ead in!