Going back in time. . .
You can't live in Scotland and never have visited this beautiful part of the country with the long brooding road through Glen Coe where the Campbells murdered their hosts the MacDonalds and Ballachullish where an iron bridge spans the narrows between the sea lochs, Loch Leven and Loch Linnhe. Too many visits with so many friends to recount.
1.3.24:
The first day of my visit to Normandy brought rain and hail though it didn't stop us going out for a walk.
The next day we drove
to Fecamp for a cold and windy walk along the seafront. Bracing wasn't the word for it! So, consciences salved, we came
inland for hot chocolate at the busy Benedictine cafe. Home with a
couple of hours to get ready for tonight's visitors, Kathy &
Sylvain, Sylvie and Christophe. More haste, less speed as they say;
Valou, took a slice off her thumb with the mandoline, a much sought
after Christmas present! Tanguy drove her to casualty while I sliced
the potatoes for the gratin by hand. The occasional thought of buying
one has been well and truly banished. They're lethal. Luckily she was
seen quickly and was home just as we were ready to make a start on
the apéro.
There was more catching up to do; dinner with the cousins Alain, Irene, Sylvie and Christophe and lunch with Lydie, Bernard and Janine.
All too soon, my last night in Normandy came and it was a lively one. Dinner at a new well quoted local bistro "Le Boullion" after an apéro chez Valérie. Everyone was in good form so the fun and laughter was plentiful!
Although the fields were sodden, it was windy and rain never far away, there were moments of sunshine and some lovely sunsets.
8.3.24:
Moving on day so took it easy apart from another jab. Finished watching Nordic Murders and was taken by this Japanese haiku, here in English from the German. "Hope does bloom in icy winter if friendship waters it". (Haiku would normally have 3 lines of 5/7/5 syllables) Walked up to the station in good time. No probs and was met by Elsa who'd been dispatched to meet me. Must admit, it's so much easier when someone else deals with your case.
During the afternoon the news came that Stéphane had been found dead of natural causes in his apartment. We were joined for dinner by Elsa's partner so conversation moved on to other things. during which I sampled the delights of a "Daim" dessert from Ikea. I only know what I'm told. Funny, as I'd never heard of this chocolate before 10 days ago when Kob gave me some.
Went out for Sunday brunch
with Frank and Stéphanie to the restaurant where Léo was the chef.
Choice of juice, choice of hot drink, mini croissants with butter &
jam, my choice of 3 from 5 dishes avocado toasts, eggs Benedict with
bacon, granola and yogurt bowl. Walked around " la Butte aux Cailles, an interesting and politically active neighbourhood. Street art and street names changed to the names of Palestinian writers and activists.
Up relatively early for this trip's cultural visit. Stopped at Pause Café at the top of the road for a coffee and pain au chocolate and was then ready to negotiate the métro to the Champs Élysées for a visit to the "Paris 1905 - 1925" exhibition at the Petit Palais. Despite the rain and despite the scaffolding at the front entrance, it was such a gem. The building was splendid, the gardens full of charm and the exhibits from the temporary and permanent collections were interesting and varied. 15€ well spent. Only disappointment was that the garden café was closed for renovation.
From there, armed with my Scottish waterproof and umbrella, I walked up one side of the Champs Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe and back down the other. Shades of thecGrand Old Duke, eh? Sadly, my shoes weren't waterproof so with my feet feeling the cold and damp, I headed underground for the journey home. In between these two main visits I walked locally along the canal, took it easy and thanks to Stéphanie and Frank, watched "Insomnia" with Al Pacino, Hilary Swank and Robin Williams and "Nadja" on Netflix. Neither of which I would have picked myself but which were both worth the
watch. Annette Bening, Jodie Foster starred in the latter.
13.3.24:
Up for 7h, out heading for the train at 8h10. Hadn't looked forward to negotiating the métro but it was less crowded than I'd expected. I even remembered my way to the Gare de Lyon on foot so arrived in good time. Boarding the train was chaotic as there were two with one going on to Barcelona. Not clear which was which, people were going backwards and forwards (self included) to find the right place. For the first time I didn't have a solo seat and sod's law, I had an elderly (78) lady who talked even when I had earphones in. Had five minutes between scheduled arrival and the departure of the bus to Céret and another 5 minutes to get the onward bus to the village. Made them both and in Céret had a lad who helped me get my case into the hold and as luck would have it, he got off when I did so he got it out for me. For once in my life, I unpacked straight away then made a pot of tea to drink on the terrace in the sunshine. What bliss! Dinner of roast chicken legs with Michel and Kob and in bed by 22h30 to do a jigsaw, write my journal and enjoy the luxury. More bliss!
14.3.24:
Spent some time thinking about Stéphane as it was his commemoration today up in the Alps. Regretted that whichever way I tried to plan my journey back from there, it didn't work without an overnight stop somewhere and several connections hauling my largish suitcase; I had a rain coat to do wet weather but not to do snow. No suitable footwear either, so all in all I just couldn't face it.
15.3.24 - 31.3.24 Home Sweet Home
Rapidly, I was back into the swing of village life.
A belated Women's Day event in the square took place in warm sunshine. Women had the pleasure of being served tea, coffee and cake (no doubt made and donated by women) along with a fair number of men who as usual had slid in. I didn't partake, preferring to go to the cafe with Françoise M and Nicole. I did, however buy some raffle tickets and what do you know, I won a prize . . . Chinese teapot and cups . . . Coals/Newcastle. Now I have 4 teapots of differing sizes. Must ask Lisa to translate; she speaks Chinese as well as Japanese.Unlike years gone by I watched rather than participated in the Carnival. you can only admire all those paper flowers.
St Patrick's night included a set from Mike Harding, who you may remember from the 1970s as "the Rochdale Cowboy."Meals with friends came along at regular intervals. Chez Jacques and chez JJ. No photos but you can imagine the scene as you've seen us around the table at theirs endless times. There was also an all British affair too, chez Ann and Terry. Good food and pleasant but more restrained company.
Twice chez Dali. Always a an evening with great, well presented food and numerous bottles.
A Russian meal chez Michel. Had a couple of days out, too.
A visit to Figueres market with Michel & Kob. Met Michel & Michèle plus their daughter and her boyfriend for a drink and DIY nibbles at the market café. We took up their invitation for an apéro of white sangria (with cava rather than white wine) at the Santos restaurant in La Jonquera. As the French say you can't drink without food so neither we did; pan tomaquet and serrano ham appeared on the table as well as we chatted in the sun.
Another day out over the border with Michel and Kob. Marsiam took up the spare seat in the car. First off we wended our way up to the Mother of God of the Mountains Sanctuary. Had a coffee on the terrace with a splendid view of the communications antennae. What an eyesore.
Had a picnic at the St Llonenç de Sous monastery and then went down to Besalú for a cuppa a very quick look around.You'll not be surprised to know that I watched a fair bit of tv resulting in some later than is sensible bedtimes, had several trips to local cafés, met Lisa for English conversation, Wordled. More surprisingly, I did some time on the treadmill. On a sadder note Nicole and I went to José's, (from the now defunct other village café), funeral in Céret. Afterwards we went to the Praline for tea but I wasn't impressed so it wasn't until I went to collect my new mini computer that spirits lifted. Oh, how I was looking forward to a machine that would react instantly. Colin helped me set it up though I did do some trouble shooting myself. Where IT is concerned, there's always some complication or another that comes along to drive you dotty!
Weather: Unsurprisingly for a Mediterranean Spring, the weather was changeable. Lowest temperature was 13° and the highest 26°. Mostly blue sky and sunshine with the odd cooler days with a spattering of rain.
Nature in March:
