The Romans in France

I didn't realize how far the Roman Empire went. Reading about it in a book in Jr. High School just doesn't give you the awe inspiring images that seeing it in person does. The beginning of this week, Larry and I drove to the Provence region of France. I was expecting to see lots of fields of lavender (which I did not). I didn't think we'd be seeing such great remains of the Roman Empire.

The first pictures are of the Pont du Gard which is an aquaduct bridge that spans a river valley. The information about it says it was built entirely without mortar and was built in the first century AD.

The pictures at the bottom are of the Roman amphitheater in the town of ARLES. We rode the trolley all around the city while listening to a taped recording via headphones. You could choose from 11 different languages. There were also ruins of Constantines bath house and another theater though those were not in as good condition as the colliseum and the Pont du Gard.
We had supper at a brasserie across from the amphitheater. The ruins make for a great backdrop for our salads and wine, don't you think?

The Markets

I think my favorite thing about being immersed in this culture is the markets. French people like to buy their food fresh, so they tend to buy only what they will need for a few days.

In Toulouse, there is a market that I go to that's right off one of the subway stops. Its vendors sell fruit & vegetables and bread Tues. through Sunday mornings. Some of those days, meat and fish vendors join them. In Toulouse, there are several markets including one market that's indoors on the first floor of a parking gare (that's garage in French) that is all meat and fish vendors. You can buy whole fish, and even a whole rabbit ready to roast (I haven't braved that one and I don't think I will). The fruit and vegetable vendors set up around the outside of the garage.

Smaller towns have market days once or twice a week and their markets include other things in addition to food. The pictures posted that are not of food vendors are pictures of the twice weekly market in Arles (Provence). If you look closely you can see them selling clothing as well as fabric and related items. There were even people selling hardware and household type items (even matresses). In Arles, once a month, the market is a flea market.

the French Countryside

This past weekend, we drove about an hour and a half north and slightly west into the countryside of the region, Lot. We stayed at a B&B that was a refurbished barn operated by a couple of Brits (yea - we could communicate with them). It was quite warm and we enjoyed their pool. We explored the area and had several nice meals.

The area was very nice, the sunflowers are in bloom. It could have been northern MN if it wasn't for the hills (foothills of Pyrenees) and the very small roads with all of the round-abouts.

The wine region in the area, Cahor, produces Malbec wines. Peter, (the B&B owner) suggested several winerys and we enjoyed touring and sampling each of them.


The top three pictures are of the area (Lady and I are looking out the window of our room at the B&B) and the bottom two are of our wine tasting expedition.

Preconceptions

I don't know about you, but before arriving in France, I had this idea of what apartments and homes were like here. One of the preconceptions was of their shutters. Now, don't get me wrong, every home has shutters, just not what I'd imagined (like in the opening scene of Beauty and the Beast). As a matter of fact, there is a law in TOULOUSE that doesn't allow you to keep your shades open for more than a 24 hour period. Okay, I have to correct myself. I went back looking for where I found info on the blinds. It my not be law, but it does have to do with insurance. If you leave your blinds open for more than 24 hours and you're burglarized, the insurance company doesn't have to pay.

We live in a newer neighborhood of TOULOUSE and all apartments have what Larry's manager, Randi refers to as "blast shields" right out of a Bond movie. The picture on the top is of a nearby home with shutters (as I'd imagined). The picture on the bottom is of a door of our apartment. The shutter raises and lowers by a control switch near each of the windows/doors. There is also a master switch that raises and lowers them all right by the front door.

Another preconception that I had is of their roads, cars and driving. That idea has not been proved wrong. Their roads are small as are their cars. They drive fast. I'm glad that Larry is happy to drive around here and I don't have to. Public transportation is fine with me.

Weekend in Collioure

We are enjoying our first weekend on holiday in the South of France. We are 2 1/2 hours south of TOULOUSE in the small village of COLLIOURE. It's only about 15 miles to Spain. The area is called Cataluyna and this particular town has been fought over between the French and the Spaniards many times. The last time it was battled over, Louis the XIV won and it's been part of France ever since.

We are learning about the French ways. Many of them make a lot of sense but others do not. A prime example of one that doesn't is the phone/internet/television. It is delivered through the mail and supposedly, they tried but our name wasn't on the box. Now, we don't know what the problem is because we've gotten other mail the days before the supposed delivery date. It may be up to another 3 weeks while we wait for them to get it back from the post office and resend it. I'm finding this very frustrating. I feel isolated without it.

Larry left early from work yesterday so we could get here before it got dark. It's absolutely gorgeous. This town has been host to many famous artists including VanGogh and Matisse. The views certainly are incredible. There are many street artists painting/sketching today.

They do love their dogs here. Lady comes with us everywhere. When we stop at a restuarant, they usually bring Lady her own dish of water
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Conmmunication

Technology is a wonderful thing. I know, because I've been without it for the past week. Our telephone, internet and television will be connected this week, we hope. Time in France is relative and we'll see if our service is up and running in the time they promised, or if it will be fashionably late, like most Toulousians. Right now we are sitting in the hotel lobby where we stayed last Sunday, using their internet.

I have so many new things to tell everyone. I promise that in the future, these posts will be shorter with more pictures and less words. We've arrived safe and sound in TOULOUSE and I spent the week learning how to get around this new city of ours. Public transportation is great. I have successfully navigated the subway and the public buses all around the city.

They do like their dogs here. Lady can go just about everywhere with me. She rode the metro into the city centre with me and sat at my feet while I enjoyed my cafe at the bistro.

Yesterday we went car shopping. Larry wants to drive a Peugeot, a 207 style. We will have the relocation person work on securing a lease on one for us this week. In the mean time he is driving a European version of a minivan - a Citroen. It's a little bigger than the size of a Rav4 and it's too big for these streets.

This weekend TOULOUSE is hosting its annual music festival. We went out for dinner Friday night and as we were walking around the centre, we heard a drum corps. They paraded everyone towards the centre square where they had set up a acrobatics presentation. The pictures are from this. Today we are joining Larry's coworkers for more of this festival.





We are anxiously awaiting our air shipment this week. I will have a few more of my own comforts to make the flat our home. It's very comfortable. In another post I will describe it more in detail.

I will post again when our flat has internet, hopefully later this week. Until then, au revoir.

The Pre-move top 10

Here are the top ten most frequently asked questions as we get ready to move to France:

10. Have you finished all the wine in your wine refrigerator?
9. What are you going to do there (Amy)?
8. Will you have a car?
7. Do you speak french?
6. What are you doing with your dog?
5. What are you doing with your house?
4. Are you excited?
3. Are you nervous?
2. Are you packed?
1. When do you leave?

Here are the answers:
10. No, but we're working on it.
9. As Larry says, I'm on holiday, but my job is to take care of him and be his interpreter.
8. Larry has a car allowance. He's looking forward to driving a Peugot.
7. Not yet, but will take lessons there. My goal is to get proficient enough to take some french cooking lessons.
6. Lady is coming with us (as carry on luggage).
5. Katie (and a roommate) is going to house sit for us.
4. Yes.
3. Yes.
2. No.
1. Saturday, June 13th.