Le Bye-Bye

31.10.2013

I took a short walk to the cemetery this morning, hoping to take lots of photos to show you how beautiful it looks with the abundance of flowers.  Unfortunately, the gate was closed and locked tight.  I was able, however, to take a few shots between the wrought iron bars.

I guess this being Hallowe'en, they worry that some kids will get up to some mischief. 









More significant than Hallowe'en for the French is November 1st - All Saints Day.  It's a holiday and all the stores are closed.  We made sure we bought our croissants early for tomorrow's breakfast!  I understand that people will be on the roads, trying to get from one town to the other to visit the gravesides of their ancestors, bringing flowers and saying a few prayers.  It's a wonderful way to remember their loved ones with a yearly good-bye.

We are saying good-bye as well.  Our time in Ginestas and in the Languedoc region has come to an end.  We will be leaving for Germany bright and early tomorrow morning and then flying from Frankfurt to Vancouver on the 4th.  Although we've been away for almost 3 months, the time has flown by.

Everyone has a life story, and Karl and I feel this chapter was absolutely wonderful!  We keep thinking that we know France well, but every region brings its own customs, its own food, its own history.  We found wild countryside, steep precipices and deep caves.  We walked with the Cathars, laughed with the Catalan people, questioned the political motives of the Church during the Inquisition.  We tasted smelly fish, savoured green olives and timidly inhaled pungent truffles.  We drove on narrow roads to reach ancient towns and climbed peaks to explore ruins.  We witnessed Nature take on its autumn mantle, felt the sun's weakening rays penetrate the soil and watched the green drain away.  We marvelled at the "vignerons" scrambling to get the grapes in within tight deadlines and then stood by to watch the alchemy change fruit to wine.  We ate and drank and chatted with people and made new friends.  Every day was a marvel.

The underlying truth of travel and its marvels can best be expressed by Marcel Proust:

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."

France will always have much to offer.  May we always have the eyes to appreciate its banquet.

For the last time

29.10.2013

With our departure date fast approaching, we took the day to finalize some things.  A quick run to L'Oulibo to buy a couple of jars of Lucques olives.  Onwards to Homps to buy a bottle of Karl's favourite muscat wine.  A stop at the chrysanthemum farm in Marcorignan to take photos of the rows and rows of beautiful blooms!

Did you know that mums are planted in pots and the pots are then planted in the ground around May?  In late October, the pots are simply pulled out of the ground, ready to go to the various markets, or sold right there on the farm.  The mums are huge, healthy and ever so beautiful!

With All Saints Day coming up on November 1st, many potted mums are bought for gravesides.  The cemeteries are just teeming with colour right now.

We then drove to Narbonne for the last time, walked around town, and tried to imbed the beautiful architecture into our memories.

We then stopped for afternoon tea at a new place called "T", which is pronounced perfectly in French or English.  Heidi Komarek-Freysinet opened her "T salon de thé" in August of this year. 

Originally from the US, she loves baking and makes all her cakes and cupcakes.  We ate a piece of her double-layered chocolate cake with creamy icing and it went very well indeed with my Earl Grey tea and Karl's cappuccino.  Despite the numerous pâtisseries in Narbonne, I predict this place will do well since there are few places where you can sit and relax with both a cuppa and a dessert in mid or late afternoon.  The huge courtyard is definitely an asset on good weather days.

Went for dinner at Le Tournedos in Lézignan-Corbières and although it wasn't on the menu, asked if they might have onion tart.  They did!  We had so enjoyed it the first time we went there that it was great to have it one last time.

There are less "first times" and more "last times" to experience as we count the few remaining days till our departure from Ginestas.  What a great two months it's been!

Vendange Update

More information has come to my attention about processing the grapes during vendange. 

Once the grapes have been pressed, two parts remain: the "moût" which is the soft part used to make the wine, and the "marc" which are the solids such as skins, pips and stalks.  The marc* is moved by conveyor belt from the "Cave Coopérative" to waiting trailers.  It is then transported to the local distilleries where it is made into consumable alcohol such as "eau de vie" or used to boost the alcohol content in the making of other liquor, such as "muscat", for which Karl has definitely developed a taste. 

* Pronunciation: the c in marc is silent, so you say mar.

It is then distilled a second time to make industrial alcohol, perhaps the rubbing alcohol that you use to soothe your aching back.

Finally, it is returned to the "Cave" where it is ploughed into the land.  This residue is considered an excellent fertilizer.  Should the "Cave" not give the marc to the distilleries, an added tax is applied.  All distilleries are state owned.

 

 

I have it on good authority, but cannot substantiate, that when the Germans occupied France during WWII, they built distilleries to make aviation or rocket fuel from the grape waste.  We know for sure that the V-2 Rocket, a liquid-propellant rocket developed by Wernher von Braun, burnt ethynol as its rocket fuel, what we commonly refer to as alcohol.  You can identify these distilleries by the chimneys with a turret about one-third of the way up.  If this is not true, it sure sounds like a good story!

 



À la plage

28.10.2013

Just so we're clear, it's October 28th and the thermometer indicates 25 degrees, not a cloud in the sky.  A perfect day to hit the beach!

We headed to Gruissan.  There is so much more to the place than the town and the salt marshes, which is what we visited last time.

On our "reconnaissance" drive, we saw the edge of the beaches where retired old men cast their rods into the sea and wait for a bite.

Gruissan is in the distance.

On the beaches, there are rows and rows of these chalets built on stilts.  In the far distance, a ferris wheel.  This area is a huge summer magnet for beach lovers.

The Mediterranean is the lifeblood of this town.  Boats, beaches, and busloads of tourists.

Boats for sale.  Like the chalets, there are rows and rows of them, three high.  Their own brand of stilts.

We stopped for lunch at the Restaurant Maxim.  Here I am with my buddy Georges.

Knowing that I love all that is French, my friend Margi bought me a dish towel for Christmas that had "La Religieuse" on it.  Here is what a Religieuse dessert looks like: a huge cream puff filled with chocolate mousse, topped by a smaller cream puff, all topped with chocolate sauce.  The base is a crème anglaise with chocolate in a very pretty pattern.  This one's for you, Margi!

Then we hit the beach.  We walked for a long time but didn't even come close to covering the 6 km considered Gruissan proper.  Its beach is really a continuation of the massive, wide stretches of sand that start at St Pierre.   It is extremely flat and wide, and feels very open.

 

The sand is soft and has no rocks - a real pleasure to push your toes into.

All kinds of boats to entertain us, but mostly sailboats closer to the beach and a few tankers further out.  And of course, a lighthouse.

The beach has a very long and gentle slope so children can walk quite far into the sea without danger.  (Or folks like me who can't swim!)

Kite flying is always fun!  You can see more of those chalets on stilts in the distance.

 

All that fresh air makes you sleepy...

"Hey my hobo, where are your travelling sandals taking you?"

"Far, far away..."

The water feels warm.  Many people were swimming.

 

We left the beach at 5:00, which had the daylight saving time change not occurred over the week-end, would have been 6:00.  It was still beautiful out and very warm.  Quite a difference from the storm that hit northern Europe.

We couldn't have hoped for a better day at the beach!

 

I've seen many solar panels, but these seem to integrate into the scenery by imitating trees.  The different angles certainly guarantee benefiting from the sun at all hours!