A fortnight in September
Hello everyone
Another delayed post but what a start to September! A delicious meal out at the wonderful la Table du Sommelier in Albi, warm weather, a wedding anniversary and a 38 hour power cut, another visitor and frog relocation!
The weather keeps changing, with days of temperatures back to the mid 30°Cs, glorious sunshine, sudden storms and sometimes cooler evenings and continued stunning skies. The pool, which had plummeted in temperature to 22°C, has begun to warm up a tiny bit. It is still only 24°C but actually this makes for a much more refreshing swim! The storms have been spectacular, with very heavy downpours and high winds, the water welcome in a parched garden. Last night we had sheet and forked lightning, illuminating the length of the valley, both terrifying and absolutely fantastic to watch. Earlier in September, on the morning of our wedding anniversary, the rising sun looked white, just like a full moon, with bands of grey stretched across it – quite surreal. The light was quite unusual too as if a pale dusty haze had settled everywhere. Although the day ended up sunny and warm, the setting sun looked exactly like the rising sun, still white, slightly other worldly with swirls of grey across it.
As the days have started to shorten, we decided now was the time to take my Mother out for a long promised meal before it is too chilly to sit outside. We went to a restaurant in Albi that Max and I had visited on one of our numerous visits during the house buying process, hoping it was still as wonderful. It was, maybe even better. The outdoor terrace was stunning, sandwiched between buildings but spacious and elegant with a few quirky twists. The menus were mouth-watering, making it hard to decide which to choose. My Mother and Max chose menus with wines to match each course and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Each wine was presented with details of what it was, but you were encouraged to try and guess first! The food was fabulous and the atmosphere and environment just lovely. We even managed to pick up a rather delicious bottle of local fizz for our anniversary, which we had tried as an aperitif. The restaurant stocks all its wines for sale, which is a great idea when you have enjoyed the wines on offer during a meal.
The last couple of weeks would not have been our usual if there hadn’t been some kind of spanner in the works. The latest thing to throw plans struck in the early hours of Tuesday morning a fortnight ago. We woke to find our power was off. By some sixth sense or just good luck, I had managed to finish some very time-sensitive work the night before and also submitted it, so no panic there. That Tuesday was our wedding anniversary so having planned a day out and with no idea when power would be restored, we set off leaving my Mother and son to ‘enjoy’ an electricity free day. Selfish perhaps, but we do need some time for us occasionally, away from the challenges of our wonderful quirky house to recharge our batteries. We were heading for Montauban, a town about an hour from here, and a place we had never managed to visit. What a gorgeous place, another pink city, so called as the buildings are all pinky red brick. Aside from amazing street art, beautiful buildings and a river, it boasts a central square that is absolutely wonderful. We could have sat there all day relaxing and people watching, surrounded by beautiful buildings with double arcade passages underneath, and the most amazing water feature in the centre. The whole square was completely restored quite recently and is quite stunning with an interesting history. The central ‘water mirror’ as it is called is extraordinary, with jest that create mist and other that send up droplets of water rather than continuous water, all surrounded by restaurants and bars, beautiful planters and completely pedestrianised. We did wander around to explore, spotting some of the street art and fascinating buildings. After lunch we hired a couple of bikes and went for a ride along the canal. It was rather hot but great fun. I haven’t been on a bike for at least 5 years so was definitely a bit wobbly and rather nervous of the traffic but there were lots of cycle lanes and the canal part was wonderful. More on Montauban in another post.
On our return we found the house and area still without electricity. Each call to Enedis (the electricity company) during the day had elicited no clear information just a further delay with a ‘bon courage’ each time. We assumed that as it had been very windy that maybe a tree was down, but time ticked by, making us question this. Anyway suffice it to say that no electricity was restored on Tuesday, so by Wednesday morning phone batteries were running low, and with no internet work had albeit ground to a halt. Some wonderful friends nearby came to the rescue, so we headed off to charge some of our phones/laptops and do essential bits of work. Enedis this time informed us that there were now 2 underground faults which were being attended too and power should be restored by 8pm. Meanwhile with temperatures reaching 35°C, I feared for the contents of the freezer, recently stocked up with all the wonderful things I had been preparing with the fabulous fruit harvest and local tomatoes. Given that the fridge was already beginning to smell, we could only imagine the state of the freezer as obviously we didn’t dare open it to find out! All I can say is thank goodness for the gas hob on our fabulous cooker, a deliberate decision to ensure that we would at least be able to boil water for coffee and also cook a bit on the occasions when we are hit by power cuts.
Power was finally restored by about 7pm on Wednesday but dropped in and out for a while! We were on tenterhooks, breath held waiting for another evening in darkness, but it seemed to be temporary and we managed to eat what was cooking in the oven. As suspected the freezer had not managed to stay cold enough and the fridge was long past happy. We lost a lot of food from both which is a shame but unavoidable – now for the compensation claim!
My son had a friend to stay last week so we have been out and about a bit. We returned to Les Jardins des Martels for another visit, which once again didn’t disappoint. The flower displays in the beds and pots had changed, the colours beginning to look more autumnal, but there was still so much variety and so much to see. These gardens are so peaceful, a great place to while away a few hours. Their plant shop was having a sale, so who came home with a few plants for the garden! We also visited Albi, a place we obviously know very well. This time however, having waved my son and his friend off to do more touristy things, we ventured down a few back streets we had never visited, only to discover more well preserved medieval timbered houses, the remnants of the fortification wall for the cathedral, amongst other things. A visit to show my Mother the Church of Saint-Salvi, a fascinating old church built on a mound in the centre of the old city with a beautiful cloister garden tucked away from view, was followed by a rather interesting iced coffee made with coffee beans roasted with vanilla for me, hazelnut for Max and an iced ‘hot chocolate’ for my mother.
During the week the frog population reached 5 so we realised it was time to relocate our new pool inhabitants. Aside from the fact that I am sure spending a lot of time in a salt and chlorine pool cannot be good for them, at the end of next month we will close the pool and they won’t survive. So we decided to take them to a nearby lake fed by a stream. Max gallantly caught them all and popped them in a bin filled with water for transportation. The bin was strapped into the back seat with me and off we went. The lakes are not too far but seemingly far enough to discourage return. Once safely deposited we returned to monitor the pool for further frogs. The next day a completely different frog appeared, but then vanished again. Maybe the relocation has worked. It was fun having them around as they are fascinating to watch but not great fellow pool swimmers.
Autumn is definitely in the air, this morning the valley was filled with mist, dawn breaking over a hazy landscape, the calm after the storm. Most of the pears have been brought in, the hornets are competing for what is left. The quinces are starting to ripen, but for now the figs need collecting, eating or preserving. Such an amazing bumper harvest has given us lots of jars of jams and chutneys and pots of stewed fruit to enjoy during the coming months. Now we need to stack the logs so they are ready for the winter and tidy up the garden, relocating or planting out plants so they can settle in before winter.
Have a great week.
A bientôt
Ali xx