The ice block lights adorning one of our purchases from Emmaus (large warehouse of recycled stuff) yesterday along with the lighted cactus!
Today started with yours truly feeling a little ordinary, not being able to shake the summer cold, and an inbox full of emails! So I attacked the work with a vengence as the day promised to be a fine sunny 30 degrees Celsius! Nothing a shower and a Panadol couldn’t dull as Kev and I had planned a lunch out at Roland’s (work) hotel – The Brit!
Sitting on the terrace, with a view over the pool and shade above, we enjoyed our lunch, while poor Roland slaved away serving a quite busy crowd for a Thursday, I enjoyed a wild mushroom omlette and a salad, feeling very full for a midday meal, no dinner needed.
Looking back up at the castle landmark of Fumel…..
And down towards the Lot River, a very pleasant relaxing last day….getting read to hit the travel traps tomorrow – first train at 8am from the nearby town. The afternoon spent packing and repacking as I am taking an extra suitcase (as already paid for) with Kevin and Rols belongings that need transporting back to Malta! The day will be interesting rolling two bags and a small backpack on and off trains and buses until I can rid myself of one on the flight checkin from Bordeaux!
Today was our trip to Cahors! And after morning work, Kev and I raced out the door to get on with ours days tasks!
First stop was to check the progress on the new (old) little French car, which has been in the garage for several months waiting for it’s facelift parts!
No it’s not this Landrover Junior (this one’s for you John!) just a teaser outside the garage! The mechanic assures Kevin he will be working weekends to have his ready in a couple of weeks, as up until now he has been very busy on this caddy….
Cute little village, as all are here in this area, houses lining the main roads and no parking….so a stroll through the town after finding a park at the other end!
Interesting wall hangings barely missed while navigating the narrow footpaths and avoiding the two way traffic on what is essentially a one way street!
Google maps then showed us the route of the Tour de France Female….which just happened to be departing Cahors at midday and circumnavigating a route in our direction! A stop at Prayssac for lunch to delay our journey until the mayhem had passed!
In the heart of the town, for all the kiwis who visit these remote villages, is the pukeko restaurant ! Apparently started by a New Zealander a few years ago! Menu boasting Fish and Chips and a great range of hamburgers! Feeling like a bit more French oriented eating…we chose a more Boulangerie option
My lunch for today….and just perfect! Until I decided I needed another Cafe crème (flat white) and confidently took my cup and reordered and paid for my coffee! Waiting….waiting……no coffee, the chap behind the counter thought I was just paying for my coffee (the already drunk one) and Kevin was paying for the balance! As Kevin and I have been taking turns with refreshments my limited knowledge of the language did not cover the ‘pay at the end bit’ So we actually left the refill (which wasn’t being made) and Kev settled the balance!
Rather focusing on the planter boxes – scattered around the town and heading back to the car to continue our journey to destination Cahors!
The warning signs were there a few Lycra clad indivuals and sporting like supporters cars with bikes on roofs and tow bars and there we were – smack bang in the middle of a country road traffic jam….
With roads still closed waiting for the straggling cyclists! Off we went on a detour!! Which took us through some beautiful even more country lanes and villages…
Underpassing one of the old railway bridges still supporting the main line from Paris to Cahors!
We did our business in the magazins (shops on the visit list) in the outskirts of Cahors…by this time 4pm and time to head back, on another little scenic route. The excursion into the city of Cahors aborted due to most roads in and out being closed half the day for this annual cycling event!
One last stop for a much needed beer and thirst quencher in another picturesque village high above the Lot river (same one that meanders through our village of a fumel)
Home to a shower of rain, and our evening happy hour!!! One more day before I head to the heatwaves of my other home in Malta!
Yes the kiwi storms have followed me…night before last the weather gods threw down torrential rain and hail! I now know it is possible to have hailstorms in 25 degree (Celsius) temperatures. Thunder and lightning and giant hailstones, which tumbled off the roof filled up the gutters and filed down the internal gutter pipes right behind my tiny house in the garage!
Yesterday was spent getting back into my work routine and another garden cleanup (after the storm) before joining Roland and Kevin for lunch at the Brasserie! Main meal in the middle of the day followed by a lazy afternoon.
The garden looking back at the house, starting to look bereft of garden debris from two days ago.
The jet lag summer sniffles are still hanging around, first cold I’ve had in years, so have had to inhale the odd paracetamol to clear the head!
Today started overcast but warmed up and the sun came out this afternoon, morning work for me, then Kevin and I spent the day shopping for the new Air BNB – visiting every homeware shop in the area, racing between closing (midday siesta) hours, and reopening,
The Citroen laden to the roof with homewares, to then be unloaded and put away as much as we could….
Adding another solar parrot to the vine covered garden terrace! As there is daylight until after 9pm here at the moment these guys will light up the night!
Roland and I had a 3.30pm date (inbetween his split work shifts) to visit St Vinnies (charity shop) reopening today after the summer break! Along with half the population of the area thinking this would be a good outing, also cluttered with British tourists! A hot busy time, and of course we didn’t leave empty handed!
It’s now beer time, early night as we have big plans for tomorrow after my work morning!
Saturday, a day of rest, or not! Kevin and I had a garden plan at his future Air BNB house in Fumel!
First stop – LeClerc Jardin – the Bunnings of the south of France! Weed spray, Grapevine spray (the hot and humid weather has attacked the grapevine with black mold) weed eating the grass etc….and then some sustenance for the workers….bread and cheese, beer, and raspberry tarts!
Then the work began…
The grass before
The grass after!
The grapevine and courtyard before
The Grapevine (minus all the dead leaves and grapes) and courtyard after!
After all the physical cutting and deleafing the vines were all sprayed with anti mold treatment and the courtyard and paths with roundup! We will wait to see the results
A quick bite to eat of baguette and emmentalier (cheese) and a not so cold beer, we did a final clean up, Kevin weedeated the neighbours grass, as it was lowering the tone of our now beautiful garden, gave the plants a drink and I pruned the roses and bleached the bench seat
Around 5.30 pm a well earned unwind with a slightly colder beer before packing up and heading back to our abode.
Showers, a (real) cold beer, chicken and salad, and our somewhat soggy (by now) raspberry tart!
As the sun sets at 9.45 – I have retired to my boudoir for a read and lie flat….I’m sure we will sleep well.
Tomorrow, I will set up my work station for the week, as back on line for the work days.
Montparnasse this morning threw a cool and drizzly morning at us (Kevin and Sue) as we left our hotel with rolly bags and backpacks to catch the 9am train to the south of France….
A three hour train trip to Agen, one stop at Bordeaux, sandwiches and puzzle books to fill in the time, and a snooze for me as I had been awake since 2.30am, not really hitting the new time zone!
One change of trains to catch the small train from Agen to Monsempron with a tight change of 5 minutes – Kevin and I poised at the door, bags in tow to leap out first (jumping out before a raft of children who were also keen to get out first) luckily our little train was on the same platform and we jumped in with 3 minutes to spare! If we had missed this connection we would have had a two hour wait for the next one….an hour later we arrived…
I guarded the bags while Kevin retrieved the car and our last leg of the journey to Fumel was in the Citroen.
Construction and roadworks are universal and the Main Street in Fumel is closed! So after a little de – Tour of the town we dumped our bags at the house and parked down near the Church!
Being close to Rols work at the Brit Hotel we trotted across to say Hi and have a couple of nice cool beers on the terrace while Rols finished up his lunchtime shift…
A little overcast and balmy temperatures was just was the doctor ordered! While Fumel is bursting with summer colours…
Familiarity does not breed contempt – we are both happy to be here, Kevin home for the summer and me ensconced in my tiny house for a week, avoiding the Maltese heatwave and power cuts happening in our other happy place….
After a day or so of a terribly sore throat and headache – I am feeling more human this afternoon, and hope the malaise was just a travel hangover, passing by!
Arriving in Paris at 7.30am yesterday meant I had two full days of a flying visit – cool wind, clear skies, and a pleasant 25 degrees shorts and T’shirt couple of days!
Taxi to my friend Sally’s house in Clichy and a day of catching up, making new friends at the local bar and sampling the local beer! And…. getting to know Sally’s Roommate ‘Bert’ not to be confused with Bird!
A Salad for tea – made by yours truly and an early night….Kevin having stopped overnight in Korea arrived at his hotel around 9pm by which time I was already sleeping!
This morning Kevin made his way to Sally’s and after a catch up, we left Sally to get on with her work and went for a stroll around the local area…taking a coffee at my new favourite bar…
Surrounded by the colours of summer…
Spying on our (foot) travels the artwork exhibition of Philippe Katherine…these pink sculptures leaping out to greet the locals and tourists…
Where’s Wally in front of the town hall?
Then there’s the more traditional thin version of sculptures….and the blonde!
We headed back to Sally’s apartment to collect Sal and head off for lunch at a local cafe…spoiled for choice – another delicious salad, to cleanse our bodies of the stodgy airplane food.
Around 3.30pm Kevin and I bid adieu to Sally and taxied to Montparnasse to our hotel for the night in readiness for an early morning train trip from here to Fumel, Kevin and Roland’s abode in the South of France.
The Taxi ride was an interesting one, our driver and another taxi driver had a lane altercation early on in the piece, and then happened to end up side by side at each set of lights for the next 10 kms, winding down their windows and yelling loudly at each other until the lights changed…in French, the tone of voices confirmed the ongoing argument!
We finally arrived at our Hotel after 4pm, took off to look for some juice and fruit for our dinner, and something to ease my increasingly sore throat! Not sure if this is happening from the pollution or a cold coming on – nothing a rest in my air-conditioned room, and some quiet time won’t fix I’m sure!
On a final note, Montparnasse, the train hub to the south and a rather touristy area is very colourful with a definite floral theme…
Cafes abound the intersections and streets in this vicinity – I’m leaning towards MamyRosa if a cocktail beckons as the evening closes in.
As I wing my way to the northern hemisphere and escape reality for a while – I’m 24 hours in and five to go before I land in Paris – the city of love! If it’s hot I will love it!
A recap on the trials and tribulations of getting to this day, 19th July 2023!
So it’s getting old the big wet that our part of the world has been getting in 2023! And many are just jumping on planes to have a break with some sunshine!
My Brother, Kevin , with whom I am not travelling with – he is on another plane out of N Z , and I left on Tuesday after his three week whirlwind visit to spend time with Dad, and his dear friends after 3 and a half years of absence. Needless to say he had a busy time, as did I preparing for my absence until october.
There has been Family time, Date nights with my sons – flat renovations, Dog time, work time, car time (didn’t help taking my passengers side mirror off on the day before leaving) maintenance time (weed eating the lawn as still too wet to cut with mower)
After a few hours at work on the morning of my leaving I had worked up an appetite for – my AIR New Zealand lounge feast, however the booking not allowing me to use my lounge vouchers as they had code shared with Singapore airlines and even though my round trip is booked and paid to AIR NZ I flew on Singapore! So looking forward to lunch it was back to the old faithful treat – Big Mac combo with lemonade! The lemonade loosely translated by the lady who took my order to iced tea! Not a great start from a food perspective!
First flight to Singapore was full, second one not so much – I have a seat between me and my immediate roommate on the 13 hour flight to Paris – now four hours out….and the humans who have been sleeping about to burst into action – there will be a run on the bathrooms, possibly another meal – so far 1 out of three has been edible – at least a coffee to prepare me for my first French experience – Airport to my Friends via Taxi!
Due to land at 7.30am, navigate the circles of Charles de Gaulle airport and taxi across town to my friends….. the adventures begin after 30 hours of plane time! Roll on summer!
Mid June and the temperatures drop, the rain did ease for a five day stretch and threw us Aucklanders into a eurphoric moment!
Almost bringing the pansy’s back to life! Sunny days meant temperature drops at night – almost down to zero when I left for work at 5am earlier this week…but just in time for the weekend, we are back to crying skies and wet feet!
Six weeks ago I was lamenting about the rain, not much has changed…except we have hit a few milestones…
Jaxon (my second offspring) turned 30 and we had a bus trip to Orewa (all of 10 minutes), a pub crawl (three) and back to wake up the cottage for a long overdue bash inside its tiny walls!
Mud play for the grand baby at kindy – mudpits replacing sandpits these days, was due to see this little man this weekend but the dreaded “C” has hit their family again and they are staying put!
Dan, George and I and the other mate or two of Dans when needed, have been giving one of my flats a makeover after 17 years of the same Tennant….weekends only, cleaning, painting, repairs, carpet, tiles- everything actually! So yay 7 day weeks for me I’m up and at it again this morning!
The work (of various kinds) was broken up with a three day roady to Whanganui – giving Huntley (the public toilets) a brief visit…
Some trains still run in Rural NZ, and along with charity shops, food and convenience stops and….the roady was stretched to a nine hour journey on the Friday of the first ever (in my lifetime) Kings Birthday holiday weekend!
Saturday saw a catch up with my old work colleague, market day, and family day and (delivered in the mail 2 weeks later) a $65 parking ticket for overstaying a 180minute car park by half an hour! I guess revenue collecting is nation wide with local councils as they get restructured for the hundredth time!!! Tongue in cheek!
Sunday found us on another Roady….
South East from Whanganui to Fairleigh – markets and antique shops! Say no more! Determined not to sit for another 9 hours in the car on the return journey, we were on the road home by 7.30am – one comfort and breakky stop at Taumarunui and a very wet stormy drive on the homeward (Waikato) strait!
6.5 hours and home in time for afternoon tea – only to find, on dropping some things to my cottage that the lowlife have been in action, since Jaxon’s Birthday bash and this time (two weeks later) someone has decided to remove, from behind my cottage and my shed…a kayak, a full tank of petrol for the boat (very kindly left the empty one) fishing rods, life jackets and my two (pop and Noel) garden gnomes!!! I know the price of everything has gone up but really what are they going to get if they sell my old stuff!!!!
Then Work, eat, sleep , renovate….it begins again
A small treat as my eldest took me out for lunch yesterday – an Orewa Colada! As we crank into a weekend of renovations!!!
Just over a month from the shortest day and the winter woes are setting in….lack of vitamin D from sunshine after a summer of wind and rain sees the kiwis desperately planning their winter escapes…yours truly among those desperately seeking summer! Roll back….
March found us rugging up inbetween downpours to at least get outdoors! Gardens were drowned and replanted only to be drowned again!
A road trip (solo) to Wanganui and Masterton to celebrate my wonderful in-laws (Carters) wedding anniversary – 1000k round trip in three days…culminating in a visit to the doctor on the way home with a swollen neck…which began a chain reaction of medical appointments, surgery and recovery as the bullfrog look (swelling) subsides! Meanwhile my brother was due to visit in March but cancelled due to surgery on the other side of the world! He too is recovering well! So life, work and daily activities continued…
Babysitting the grand baby and grand fur baby…one fussy eater and one who eats anything! The fur baby managed to swallow broken glass and after emergency surgery, lots of $$$$, and a 12 inch wound, clawed his way back to this world!
Meanwhile the rain continued, and a watery St Patrick’s day found Thelma and Louise come out of mothballs to entertain the locals!
Roll on April, Easter…. And more wet days, however Anzac Day threw us a (pleasant) curveball and produced a cool, crisp, rainless 5am start as we (the locals) gathered on the waterfront to listen to the Dawn service in my Small, but loud, boom box and watch the sun rise over Sugarloaf Island (an annual event since lockdowns)
As there is not much to do in the rain when you live in a beachside wonderland, with easterlies and twisters blowing you inside out, Lex, Trudi and I decided a de clutter was appropriate…gearing up for a car boot sale (which was cancelled due to weather conditions) we rallied round and had a garage sale, then loaded up the rest and took two carloads to a windy market on the Northshore! An early morning followed by chasing flying clothes around the car park – but relatively lucrative and returned with only a small carload, now donated to the Charity shop!
Meanwhile, Russell Rose and Mary Rose found a moment to bloom between being stripped bare of leaves and Petals! (With the wind and rain)..now it is time for their winter haircut. The rest of the garden has fed the snails and slugs as the come out in force when it rains and without the aid of chemicals, I have spent all summer feeding the bugs!
So now we look forward to a winter of soups, thermals, umbrellas and terrible driving conditions…except we have some exciting times ahead as we look forward to visits from overseas family, and winter escapes!
This time last week we were bracing ourselves for the onslaught of cyclone Gabrielle! Auckland once again in the firing line….
Yes the sea was wild and being a Waiwera waterfront resident was probably a little unnerving as the large swells pounded the Seawall and sprayed salt water over the rooftops!
The rain was incessant for a couple of days and the wind a little frightening at times- especially when the large tree branch above my house cracked (as I feared it would one day and land on my roof) but no it is hanging by a thread, even a week later…while I scramble to find an arborist to remove it!
However, this pales into insignificance when compared to other areas of the North Island, who experienced severe flooding, slips destroying homes and livelihoods, prolonged power outages, 1000s of people in temporary shelters and 1000s unaccounted for with death toll rising! Communication and access to some areas are still out a week later, so we are all praying that everyone is safe!
My seagull got blown off his perch! And what remained (from the last two January storms) of my garden decided they had had enough! I have spent the last two days, cutting grass, sweeping up storm debris, removing dead plants from gardens and pots in readiness for another go at Summer.
Managed to get the flowers in yesterday and today is vege planting day! I will need to fortify my vege garden as Floyd (dog) has finally got a taste for tomatoes and snacks on these when no one is looking! All ripped out now but new ones to plant!
All who wander are not Lost girls 