When the sun finally comes out, this is a different place...

This morning we woke up to blue sky, sunshine, no wind, no rain, and the promise of heat - the southwest of France, at long last.

The change was almost too much to process. After all, I spent significant time yesterday stoking the Jotul stove in the living room, just to take the chill off. Suddenly this morning we put on hats and sunscreen to go to the big Saturday market in Revel (about 10 km down the road.)

I am the first to admit I take too many market pictures (and post most of them on the blog.) But there I was with the camera, letting Cathy do the heavy lifting (lettuce, tomatoes, peppers) while I played official photographer.

Others bought bread, fruit, wine, dessert (a chocolate/white chocolate/ladyfingers/liqueur somethingoranother...yum) paella and bouillabaise, and we hauled it all back to Durfort where we ate lunch on the sunny terrace sheltered between two houses, overlooking the river and the waterfall.

The market in Revel is a once-a-week event, and it takes up the entire place surrounded by the arcades. Yesterday we could park right next to the stores, and had our coffee at a table close to the cafe door.

Today we parked blocks away, and felt lucky to get the last table squeezed in between the vendors and the arcaded walk when it was time for coffee.




What would you like to buy at the market? Bread? Olives? Bunnies? Birds? This market has all of that, and more.








And for something absolutely unique, try this (actually, we didn't.) Translation of the sign is "stuffed pig's nose."

In Durfort

Where it is still raining, off and on. However, "La Cascade," the carefully restored village house where we are staying, is warm and welcoming, and we have plenty of jackets and umbrellas for outside ventures.

Our train arrived in Toulouse soon after 1 p.m. yesterday, and even with time out for a bit of lunch and some errands, we were on our way in a new Opel by 3 p.m. With excellent directions on hand, it was easy to navigate, and we arrived in Durfort after a drive through green countryside (growing greener in the rain as we watched!)

"La Cascade" is named for the cascade - waterfall - that is directly behind the house. From this bedroom, on the second floor, we look directly at the waterfall, and its sound quickly becomes soothing white noise.

This morning Cathy and Carolyn (the chatelaine) did the morning croissant/pain au chocolat run to Sureze, the nearest market town (3 km up the road.) The custom is for guests to gather whenever they wake up, to make their own breakfast from whatever is set out - coffee, tea, fruit, cheese left from last night's buffet dinner, cereal - then help with cleanup. Afterwards, the two young couples sharing this week with us left for ambitious sightseeing runs to Carcassonne and other places, and Cathy, Carolyn and I went to Revel, the nearest big town, for some necessary shopping.

Afterwards we enjoyed a cafe creme at the local gathering place, under the arcade that goes all the way around the main square (particularly welcome in wet spring weather!)

Off to Toulouse and the southwest...

Almost before the sun comes up, at that. When we went Tuesday to get reservations, the SNCF reservation agent first got us onto a train leaving later in the morning, then found I would have to pay full fare instead of using my pass. Plan B was the 7:45 a.m. from Montparnasse.

Although our hostess in Durfort says the weather is "balmy," the forecast is for more rain and cold weather. But a journey is always exciting.

Late yesterday afternoon a short, sharp thunderstorm and heavy rain washed away the gray air that lay over Paris. Afterwards a small bird I've never seen or heard before filled the courtyard with song.

After much fussing and many interesting learning experiences, I finally learned to save & retrieve pictures on the mini, and even upload to the blog. This tiny but powerful machine continues to amaze me, because I can remember when computers that filled a room could not do half the things it does.

Time to finish packing. We have to have enough time at Gare Montparnasse to get coffee (and chocolate to take to our hostess!)

Sunshine at last!

Although the forecast was for more showers and thunderstorms - and it rained hard most of last night - today the weather got steadily better here in Paris. By late afternoon, as we walked in the Marais, the sun was out and the sky was almost cloudless.

Yesterday we carried umbrellas and used them from time to time, but we were lucky enough to be inside at the Louvre when the heaviest rain fell. On the courtyard by the pyramids, the wind had blown hard enough to push water out of the shallow fountain pools.

Seeing the sights

In spite of the economy, the possibility of swine flu, and up and down weather, Paris still appears to be everyone's favorite destination.

Today we followed some of the same routes I took last Sunday, starting with the market at the Place de Bastille. In addition to the regular food and dry goods market, there was another group of tents housing jewelers, clothing and accessories merchants, and purveyors of high-class dried and candied fruit (among other things.) We did our bit for the local economy (good thing Cathy was carrying a really big shoulder bag.)

From Place de Bastille, we made our way to the Place des Vosges, where locals and tourists enjoyed the lawns (it's one of the few Paris parks where there are no "keep off the grass" signs) and waves of people moved along the paths. Neither of us had been to the Marais for a few years, and we were amazed at the crowds and the changes at street level. Where it used to be full of small shops, delis and a few large restaurants, the district now is full of high end clothing, accessory and home stores, and expensive restaurants. The delis and falafel shops remain on the Rue des Rosiers, with lines of people waiting to get in or to order takeout.

Since the weather was pleasant (in spite of a forecast for rain) we kept walking, trying to find a place to sit that was somewhat away from the crowds. We finally found a nice corner cafe, where we got a table just inside the open windows and felt we had the best possible situation.

"Are you lost?" said an American voice behind us, as I checked my Paris Pratique Par Arrondissement book to verify our location (corner of Rue de Turenne & Rue des Francs Bourgeois.)

"I don't think so." After we explained where we planned to go - down Rue de Turenne then Rue St. Paul to Quai des Celestins, our questioner, a friendly person from South Carolina, said, "You do know where you are."

Rue St. Paul, a bit out of the main tourist area, is also full of elegant little shops, but many of them have been there for more than a few years. And in the midst of the Marimekko and antique jewelry and kilims, we found what we really needed - a bakery open for business. (The good bakery on Rue de Courcelles has been closed for the May 8 holiday, so part of every expedition this weekend has been to find bread.)

Visiting markets is a wonderful way to see a huge variety of neighborhoods in Paris. Yesterday morning we checked out the market on the Rue de Poncelet (near here) then, in the afternoon, rode the Metro to the Barbes-Rochechouart stop. This is an old elevated station on the #2 line, a stop that's close to Sacre Coeur church and Montmartre.

Although we climbed partway up the steps to the church, we decided we would rather investigate the many fabric shops of all kinds that line the nearby streets. After walking past a long line of shops and sidewalk bins full of cheap clothes, shoes and household goods (everything from lava lamps to wedding dresses) we eventually came to the fabric shops, a feast for the eyes. Although many shops are filled with glitter and tinsel and tulle, the really interesting ones sell beautiful upholstery and drapery fabrics, in every imaginable weight, color and texture. You can buy dark gray coarse linen, velvets, brocades, and tissue silks too light to imagine touching. One shop offered a bin of remnants, tied with dark raffia ribbon.

Tomorrow we deal with practicalities - railroad tickets to Toulouse, renting a car to get the rest of the way to Dufort, perhaps a visit to the Louvre.

And I will make one more effort to find the pictures I downloaded onto this computer - which seem to have completely disappeared! (Fortunately I did not erase the memory card.)

Sunshine! And "le weekend" approaches...

This morning the sun came out, tomorrow is a holiday, and most of Paris appeared to begin the weekend about noon! Outdoor cafe tables were packed, and shade felt good.

I was lucky enough to be at the Jardin des Plantes late this morning, just as waves of schoolchildren were settling onto the grass to eat their lunches, and mid-day devotees of "le jogging" ran along the paths, kicking up white dust.


As a reminder of prehistoric Paris, this beast seems to have a "what am I doing here?" look in his eye.



In spite of economic difficulties, Paris is not stinting its parks and gardens. People are every bit as worried about the state of their banks as we are at home, but trees and flowers are in bloom, grass is cut on schedule, and trash is picked up.

One new thing I notice is that every large park (the Tuileries, Luxembourg Gardens, Jardin des Plantes, Parc de Monceau) has significant numbers of blue-uniformed men and women with a red "security" band on one sleeve. Sometimes they patrol in small open electric jeeps.

So far I have barely set foot inside a major attraction, preferring to stay outside or to explore by bus. On crowded sidewalks (especially in this neighborhood, where there are lots of schools) it's important to remember that French children first learn to walk, then immediately graduate to scooters, which they push enthusiastically through crowds and across streets. Only a few of the smaller pushers wear helmets - and most of the people using the "Velib" rental bikes are also pedaling nonchalantly through the traffic, with only hair on their heads.

Springtime still a tease -

...But there is no rain here in Paris so far, only cold overcast days that feel as much like November as anything else. Fortunately, I brought two sweaters. And a fleece vest. And my winter jacket. I've worn them all (not all at once -- but close!)

Monday afternoon the sun did break through, and suddenly every green metal chair in the Tuileries was occupied. Best are the low chairs that tilt you back a bit - perfect for sun-worshipping.

With a carnet (10 tickets - you get a discount) of Metro/bus tickets at hand, I walk as long and as far as I like, then look for the nearest transport home. This part of the 17th is well-served by buses, and the Metro line has plenty of transfer points.

Today I took the bus to the Luxembourg Gardens, walked back through the Latin Quarter, stopped in at Shakespeare & Co., Notre Dame, and wandered past the Hotel de Ville (where a nice new pedestrian plaza routes cars elsewhere, and makes a true gathering place.)

Moving this way through the city, without much of a plan other than to enjoy whatever comes along, pulls the map firmly into one's consciousness. I've now been in Paris often enough that I suddenly come upon familiar blocks, intersections, places where I've eaten or shopped or even stayed in the past. (On Sunday, a long walk took me across the river from Notre Dame, to the building where Terry and I rented an apartment for 3 weeks in 1990. From the outside, it looks just the same, although I'd be willing to bet the apartment itself has been massively upgraded, because of its amazing location.)

In spite of crowds of tourists and others thronging the streets, the Latin Quarter is still a good place to eat well, for not much money. Today I got a crepe from a stand on Ste. Michelle and took it across the street to eat in the park by the Cluny Museum.

After admiring the low fences, woven of branches, that surround the planted areas and define walkways and sitting areas, I read the placard nearby, and discovered that in 2000 a couple of French landscape architects ("architectes paysagistes") were given the interesting task of re-thinking the garden space. They worked with plant material already in place, as well as bringing back trees and shrubs that might have been part of the gardens when Cluny was a religious house. The result is a series of pleasant public sitting areas, divided from an area that is private to the museum - a few feet from a very busy Parisian boulevard, you can eat lunch, watch the passing parade, yet feel quite sheltered.