Today was a down day, no particular goal and both of us were beat: little sleep last night with the Mistral Wind occurring again, banging our shutters open and requiring a complete apartment shuttering after our rude awakening in the middle of our sleep. We usually sleep with all windows open, shutters open and locked against the window frames. They don't have screens in the windows here, no insects to speak of. After we closed everything to escape the wind, it was too hot (no A/C here), so we tried opening some windows or shutters and closing others, only to have Le Mistral hurl huge gusts at random times, banging things around again. Deep sleep didn’t happen, so we were a little groggy all day today.
The huge wind and blustery sky kept us inside a lot, but I got restless so headed out on the bike to explore “Chemins” … the little roads and streets that connect to the secondary roads I’ve been using for my bike trips. They aren’t on most maps, and I always figured they didn’t lead anywhere - kind of like the dead-end roads we have at home into housing developments or farms. I rode many of these Chemins today, and found some DO go where you want to go, but others DON’T - and there's no way to tell unless you are a local! Lots of beautiful high-end homes were seen in various types of build: renovation of ancient buildings, new construction designed to look old, and a few modern designs without trying to look particularly Provencal. I got tired of hitting dead-ends, and essentially not going anywhere, so took off down a regular road and ended up in St. Didier. Lynn drove over and met me at the sidewalk cafe where I had a fantastic sandwich last week…it wasn’t as good this time, but we absorbed a huge amount of local culture and people watching, so it was a worthwhile trip.
At St. Didier, I met two cyclists, one from Germany and one from Switzerland, who have biked this area every year for the past 15 years. They were fascinated by my suitcase-able bike, and huge rear gear. We talked Velo in English for a half hour; wonderful to meet these guys. Their bikes were a contrast: one was super-modern custom-built carbon fiber, and the other was a new-looking Italian steel frame, but hand built in the 1980’s, which was now kitted out with full-on Shimano Dura-Ace wheels, shifters, and drivetrain. Cool guys!
Lynn made friends with one of the dogs a cafe customer brought along. This dog stayed near our sidewalk table most of the time, taking handouts from Lynn and actually obeying her when she told it to “Assieds-toi! ” (Sit!). Fun visit to the cafe: we sat outside with a crowd of “regulars” who blabbed, smoked and drank pretty heavily the whole time. Kind of like the French small-town version of the bar in the “Cheers” TV show of years ago. Glad we did it, that’s how we met the cyclists and the dog!
The rest of the day was not remarkable, no pics or excitement. We read, caught up on some chores, and later got anxious to go out. Soooo…out for a walk and to explore for dinner. Our town walk took us eventually to a riverfront restaurant we’d not yet tried, directly across from one of the town’s prettiest waterwheels! Too windy to eat outside, so we went in, hoping to meet a French-speaking couple to talk to. No luck there, but the restaurant staff spoke almost no English, so lots of French conversation followed. Then, a wonderful young couple from Singapore came in, and needed help deciphering the French menu and the waiter’s comments. Lynn stepped right in and voila we had two new friends. They were a delight: They are from the first generation of Singapore residents where English is now the official language, no longer Mandarin Chinese. So, we didn’t practice much French with them, but had a fun dinner talking in English about our homes, France, their trip, and whatever else came up regarding the food.
OhOhOh - I forgot the MONSTER TRUCK show in L’Isle tonight! We didn’t go, but I passed the exhibition yard where they were having it and took some pics. Posters all over town, on almost every post and sidewall. Then, while I was biking the various Chemins, a small pickup trunk kept passing me blaring rock music and a loud voice announcing the Monster Truck exhibition tonight, to drum up business. A traveling circus was doing the same thing for publicity in nearby Pernes-de-les-Fontaines while I was riding today. They do traveling shows OLD SCHOOL here in the tiny towns!
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| Venue: just like the county fair or a circus setup! |
Some apartment pics tonight, so we can remember the place we’ve called home for three weeks now. I’ll explain anything I can think of in the captions! See ya tomorrow…we have more ambitious plans then!
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| Kitchen-Dining area: we eat at the counter, functional but no chairs! |
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| Our bedroom during the full moon last week |
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| Study - we use it for drying laundry on a collapsible drying rack using the window and fan for help |
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| Hallway with faux antique writing desk |
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| Living area by kitchen counter. Only one place to sit, worn-out couch! We didn't use the TV at all...French broadcasting hasn't improved since our last visits!! |
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| Small park just over from us on the way down the waterwheel street |
LINK TO all the photos we took so far, if you'd like to see more:
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