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Places to visit: Castres
There are so many fabulous places to visit in this area. This month I thought I would introduce you to Castres. Once the capital of the Tarn, before Albi took on that role, it is about an hour and 15 minutes’ drive from us and north of the Black Mountains. We first visited Castres in February 2020, actually on Valentine’s Day, before pandemic days and lockdowns. The weather then was amazing, so we sat outside for lunch in the main square watching the world go by, little knowing that we would soon be in a very different situation. The only other time we have been to Castres was for a…
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The story continues…
Is Max terminated or not? The story continues… Hello to you all This week we went to our rendez-vous at the local CPAM (health insurance) office to discuss the state of termination Max is suffering from. (See last week’s post: ‘Sometimes you just have to dance‘ for more information). To recap briefly, the saga of getting into the French health system continues. For Max it should have been easy but NON! After security clearance, hand sanitising and wondering why so many people can’t manage to wear masks properly (I’m becoming quite grumpy), we were called into Boite B (cubicle B) on Tuesday morning. Max is learning French at the moment…
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Sometimes you just have to dance.
Hello again March is a lovely month, the days are getting longer, the mornings lighter, we have even had a few sunny and warmer days. We made it through another unheated winter! The skies have continued to be stunning, especially at sunrise. What a great view to wake up to – once the shutters are open of course. We also got to see the February full moon known as the Snow Moon – really beautiful. I got my son Alex, who is back in the UK, to nip out and look too. It was lovely to think we were both looking at the same sight at the same time –…
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Hints of times gone by
Hello everyone I have just realised that this is my 20th post (along with 13 recipe posts and 2 places to visit) – I am feeling a little proud to have been doing this for 4 months already. I would love to hear what you think, if you are enjoying it? This week I am having a look at hidden signs of the house’s history but before that another moment of celebration: We are completely in the French health system now – hooray! I have a social security number, a social security online account (compte ameli) and my top up health insurance (mutuelle). I am just so French (almost)! It…
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Projects Galore!
Bonjour everyone How quickly the weeks are flying by. How did we get to half way through February already? I am convinced time is speeding up – or maybe it is a symptom of my age! At last the weather here has improved – it is still February but the days are warmer, we have had some beautiful sunny afternoons and the garden (and house) are slowly beginning to dry out. There are signs of Spring everywhere now. It makes me want to be outside all the time – not that compatible with work and a house renovation. I have started planting some seeds in trays – so far some…
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Places to visit: Albi
Albi – a brief introduction Albi is a beautiful city – a world heritage site on our doorstep and another place we discovered on our first trip here in 2018, but only to drive through then as we were on our way to see another house in Mazamet. We crossed the river Tarn, which gives the département its name and runs through the city, and spotted this stunning cathedral seemingly on a hill. I took a couple of quick photos from the moving car to remind us to visit properly one day. Albi, like Toulouse, is built in the very distinctive pink stone of the area, giving the city a…
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Marmite and Mimosa
Bonjour to you all Sadly no snow here this week but great clouds and skies, frequent downpours of rain and some lovely sunny moments. The garden is very squelchy – our potager is quite waterlogged – I hope my bay tree, that survived the move to France on the back of a removal truck and being transplanted into a new garden, can cope with sitting in a puddle for a little longer! We had to do the dreaded trip to the supermarket this week. I used to really enjoy going to large French supermarkets – something to do with loving food and wine I expect. However since the pandemic I…
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Rainbows and Renovations
Welcome to February, where did January go? On the other hand one more step towards warmer temperatures in the house! I love seeing the evenings gradually getting longer, knowing Spring is on its way. It is so nice to look out of the kitchen doors and see it is still light after 6pm now. The weather has felt a little more like Spring for some of this week, although we have also jumped from one extreme to another. On Sunday we got caught out in very heavy rain showers, whilst walking Bear – we got soaked and he was not that impressed. He is not a big fan of the…
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Making Marmalade
As promised last week, a little later than intended, but finally here is a great marmalade recipe. Marmalade This is an easy marmalade recipe that works well with any of the suggested fruit. I have made 5 fruit (using blood oranges, bitter oranges, lime, lemon and bergamot), blood orange and a bergamot marmalade. All three are delicious. Makes about 3kg (6 ½ lbs approx.) Ingredients About 1.5kg oranges (eg: Seville, bitter, blood orange) or a mix of citrus fruit in any combination, eg: oranges, clementines, limes, lemons, grapefruit) Juice of 1-2 lemons (1 if you add a lemon to the fruit mix) (For lemon marmalade you don’t need to add…
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Marmalade and Moodboards
Welcome back, or welcome to the blog if this is your first read. How has everyone’s week been? We have had a marmalade filled week – more on that shortly. The weather has warmed up a bit outside but with it we have discovered a new characteristic of our French home. It is so cold inside that the windows steam up from the outside! Quite funny really. What with that and experiencing chilblains for the first time in my life – we are truly living the dream! I did, however, find our first hellebores and primulas have flowered – a lovely sign that Spring is on its way. This week…
