Category: Europe and Africa Spring 2023

When we went looking for a breakfast spot this morning we first walked over the bridge towards the old town. When we couldn’t find anything open we went back across the river and found a little place in the newer town center. The owner pushed some tables together for us and we had our chocolate croissants and coffee.

Our car was parked in the municipal garage under the main square, quite close to the hotel. Although it was lightly raining it wasn’t far and we decided to walk to the car after we checked out. But as we started to walk the skies opened up and it poured! We waited under an awning for a few minutes until the rain lightened up a bit and then we made a run for it. With the heat turned on we dried relatively quickly.

Today was a short drive through the French countryside. As many of you know we love to stop at Roman bridges. So when we saw a sign today of course we stopped.

The rest of our drive was on a scenic, windy mountain road through the Montagne Noire in the rain. Eventually we arrived at the restored 19th century mansion, Demeure de Flore where we are tonight. We had a relaxing afternoon resting and playing cards and the the owner/ chef prepared us a delicious dinner.

The French people we have met have been very nice and friendly. We have had several great people experiences today. We had a lovely breakfast at Les Pesques, the Chambres d’hôtes we stayed at last night. We had a very nice conversation with our hostess about learning languages. She was incredibly helpful during our stay.

After leaving Les Pesques we decided to do laundry at the place next to the kiosk where we bought our pizzas last night.

First we went to the nearby grocery store and bought food for a picnic lunch. French grocery stores are so much fun to browse in. The vegetables made me want to buy some and start cooking.

While the laundry was running we walked to the post office. On the way an older French gentleman who was trying to use a vending machine asked us for change. When we started to explain that we weren’t from there he said oh! vous êtes américain! We had a nice conversation in French. As we parted ways he said Viva les États Unis! And we said Viva la France!

I think I always forget to pack something. This time I left my thyroid medication at home. Today we stopped at a pharmacy. The pharmacist said she didn’t speak much English but I was able to explain using my limited French exactly what I needed and she sold me 2 boxes of 30 pills. She was so nice and it was so easy.

We walked across that bridge into the center of the old town for dinner.

When we left the hotel it was raining quite hard. We had a bit of difficulty find our way out of the old town and back down the hill. At one point I called out to two guys ahead of us “Excusez-moi, où est la sortie de la ville?” They stopped and gave us directions. The way we went wasn’t well lit so we used our phone flashlights and were very careful on the wet cobblestones.

This morning we woke up to beautiful blue skies outside our window.

We knew we wouldn’t be able to check in to our Chambre d’Hôtes for tonight until 4pm so we didn’t leave Bielsa until noon. Near Bielsa we stopped next to a dam and reservoir.

Duke and Roger met a shepherd and his dog Luna and had a nice conversation.

We headed north into France, stopping often to enjoy the sites and to make sure we didn’t arrive at Palaminy before 4.

We arrived almost exactly at 4. We weren’t sure if we were in the right place because there weren’t any signs and no one was home. But at about 4:10 a couple of cars pulled in. The owner apologized for being late and told us they had been out picking daffodils for our rooms.

When we asked about dinner she checked nearby restaurants but couldn’t find a restaurant that was open Sunday night. Eventually we agreed that she would call and order pizzas that we chose from her favorite pizza place. We went and picked up the pizzas and a bottle of wine. Our hostess provided plates, knives, forks and wine glasses and we had a feast in our room.