September, our season ends

Panoramic above Lautrec

Duck liver salad

We are now completing our season with a family gathering for a 70th birthday party, complete with nerf wars.  We had an outdoor sit down meal catered by La Cuisine des Anges, fabulous food consisting of duck liver salad, Coq au vin, lots of cheese and French bread finished with coffee and apple tart with vanilla ice cream.  

French café music helped the celebration, as did the incredible canapés, some fresh from the grill and sparkling rose from our local vineyard "Garbasses" it was so successful that we are speaking with Leo who runs La Cuisine des Anges to see if we can offer his services for birthdays and special occasions when people holiday.

Last of the sunflowers

We have our final guests this month  (it has been hot with fabulous blue skies).  They thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet of La Bastide before heading home, with a short stop to buy some Loire wine on their way back to the Isle of Man.

This month our kids went back to school with our eldest starting college.  They all enjoyed going back, but are quick to jump in the pool when the they get home.  Being around 25 degrees it's still a pleasure. 

Producers market

We also had the last producers market of the year during the evening in Castres. 

We went with friends and family and enjoyed the food, wine and dining outside with the 300 or so people on long tables.

Basilique Saint-Sernin de Toulouse

Great food at the Blue Teapot

I spent under an hour on the train each way during the month learning French on a course at the Jardin Cultural in Toulouse, which was great, I made some friends from Austria, Taiwan, Portugal, France and the UK.  I don't want to be the only one in the family who cannot converse in French, as the kids are fluent and my wife spent four years in Paris and took a French degree!

Toulouse street market

We are looking forward to a well-earned rest and family holiday in Denia, Spain.  This year we will take all the kids bikes as we have had a tow bar fitted and have bought a bike carrier recommended by my biking buddy Pat.  Janine and I will hire e-bikes to see if all the hype about them being "the next best thing" is true.

We plan to upgrade the cottage (the smallest Gîte with the biggest bed) with a wooden floor, install a new kitchen complete with induction hob, install a wooden terrace and add new rear access through French doors.  We are also discussing whether to add a new bedroom...thank goodness we have a good team of skilled tradesmen!

It’s fig season again and we have enjoyed green and brown figs from the many trees that grow wild around La Bastide, great with blue cheese.

Regarding the wildlife, I have watched a Honey buzzard dig out a wild bee nest and eat what I assume are the grubs and honey.  During the morning, when I collect the bread from Marty the boulangerie in Lautrec,  I have seen Roe deer, hares, partridge, and pheasant.  On the way back from rugby, Charlie and I saw a Beech marten (in broad daylight) it gambolled along the road and into a maize field.  At La Bastide, I came across a hedgehog while working on the pool.

Al Fresco dining

We were invited to a fabulous impromptu lunch at a French friends house.  Everyone turned up with some food, we took a Gluten free quiche lorraine (one of many).  The kids played on the trampoline and went off on cycling adventures.  We drank good wine, ate super food (Gazpacho soup a favourite) and talked with new friends.

The sky here at night is un-polluted by light and is great for star gazing.  Charlie and I spent a night in a tent and observed Saturn, Mars and Venus.  It's great for the kids to get out a telescope and spend some time discovering the seas on the moon.  When the moon is full it can be very bright and we can walk in the meadows un-aided by a torch,  The dog likes the full moon and sometimes barks as an animal passes close by the window in the kitchen.

Face B in Toulouse

Well, I completed my French course with an exam and a meal with my class and teachers.  I am pleased with my progress, but know there is still a long way to go.  Everyone here is so friendly that as soon as you try to speak French and they realise your are English, they speak English!

The Gites

It has been a particularly warm and pleasant September, at 7am it is a good time to travel through the countryside.  

After four years, I thought I would end on "why I love living in France".

1. Being with my family, enjoying exploring and finding new places, whether a beach, a wood or a path, that takes you somewhere new.
2. Great food and wine.
3. Very friendly people, sunshine and warmth.
4. A more relaxed way of life.
5. If I see more than five cars on the road to Lautrec (our closest town) it's unusual.

FIN