A New Adventure in France

June seems to have crept up on us and the weather is still taking some time to settle down to the usual summer heat that everyone tells us is the norm. The mixture of rain and sunshine keeps the grass growing at an impressive rate and Joe has a second ‘gang’ mower to keep on top of the mowing. We decided a while ago that the vegetable plot left by the previous owners is too large for us to try and manage unless we want to be full-time market gardeners. The earth is heavy clay – difficult to work or even when walk on when it’s slightly wet and then rock solid when it’s dry. We’ve rotorvated it several times but thistles grew back instantly so I invested in 3 raised beds that sit at one end of the plot and which are of a more manageable scale. Eager to get going, I planted some tomato plants but a late frost did for those so I had to be more patient before planting anything else. I’ll be surprised if we get any produce from the tomatoes, courgettes and peppers I have planted given that the insects and wildlife seem to be treating the beds as a buffet breakfast.

In France public holidays are celebrated on the day they fall, midweek or weekend, rather than making them a Bank Holiday weekend. So we’ve had a few midweek public holidays in May on the 1st (Labour Day), 8th (commemorating victory on 8th May 1945) and 9th (Ascension Day). Our village has several large events each year and one of the most important is the Flower Fair in the old town on 1st May. Parking areas are set up on the lower part of the village and courtesy minibuses and a tourist train ferry visitors up to the bastide which is full of flower and plant stalls as well as local produce and pop-up catering areas. The event can apparently bring in about 5,000 people. Unfortunately it was wet and cold all day this year so nobody was really hanging around after they had made their purchases.

On the admin front we were delighted finally to get our campervan registered on French plates. It’s taken 8 months and a lot of perseverance to get all the paperwork that was requested and then to make changes including headlights and rear fog lights, but good to get it done. We’ve read of some people just giving up or taking double the time. The next challenge has been navigating the tax system and submitting a tax return. We’re fortunate that you can actually go to the local tax office to meet someone face to face and they also offer follow up meetings in local villages to check over how you’ve filled in forms and to answer any queries you might have. We can’t envisage HMRC doing the same!

As well as local events, including classic car gatherings and village fetes, May has also been busier with visits. In early May, two of Joe’s biker friends stopped overnight on their way from touring in Spain and travelling back to the UK. The weather still wasn’t playing ball but we were able to enjoy lunch out and see some local sights.

I had a short break to Paris,travelling there by TGV train from Agen to meet with two friends who were spending a week in Paris. The train takes about 3h40, assuming no delays, and is a very comfortable way to travel.As always in Paris, we did a lot of walking and could see at close quarters the preparations for the Olympics in July, including building grandstands for some of the new Olympic events such as BMX, Breaking and Basketball 3×3. We were surprised that more hasn’t been made of the fact that it is 100 years since the last Olympics were held in Paris in 1924.

Unfortunately Notre-Dame won’t be open in time as President Macron declared it would be just after it burned down in 2019. At the Museum of Architecture and Heritage in the Trocadero building overlooking the Eiffel Tower, we saw a very interesting exhibition about the restoration of the the cathedral and all of the traditional trades that are involved – stone masons, stained glass restorers, painting restorers, etc.- in what must be the project of a lifetime for anyone working on it. We stayed in a small hotel in the lovely Marais area of Paris and I was totally charmed by my typically Parisian little ‘garret’ attic room with colourful non-matching patterned wallpaper. The breakfast room was also decorated in an opulent fashion, like something from a period novel.

At the end of May, Joe’s brother visited with his wife and son and we had a lovely few days showing them the area. Fortunately the weather was kinder, but not hot, so we could get out on the Lot river in Joe’s boat and hired canoe and do other outdoor activities. We also visited the market at Prayssac where the presence of early tourists was very marked. We immediately noticed a wonderful garlicky smell and traced it to a stall selling garlic snails – not one we have seen there before. If only you could capture those smells on your phones – we probably will be able to one day!