Day Three- France

Today was an incredibly beautiful day in Saint Cirq-Lapopie. It was cold. It was warm. The sun graced us with some sunshine. It poured down rain (sideways), the wind blowing and blowing. In other words, we had several seasons in one...I kept waiting for the snow. Here are some of my favorites, starting with this lady out walking early this morning.

Water for traveling dogs!

This is a local apple pastry, which made for a great breakfast!

I love this old swing!

See the church?  The second house to the right (with red shutters) is our rental.

 A candle for my sweet friend, Claudia Messner, who passed away suddenly yesterday in San Antonio.  Love you, Claudia.

 A great shop with umbrellas, purses, and kitchen things. I bought a new purse.

 Twilight comes to the village.

 There's a light in our kitchen window!

See you all tomorrow!

Day Two - France

This morning I woke up thinking some construction was going on outside.  I rolled over, and it continued for a few minutes, before I realized someone was knocking at my hotel room door. It was Nancy, trying to ascertain if I'd died in my sleep. I'd overslept, and set my alarm for weekdays instead of weekend. Ah, well. 'Tis vacation, after all! I dressed quickly, met Nancy and John downstairs for breakfast, followed by a brisk walk around the center of Toulouse.

At 10 a.m., our taxi picked us up and drove us to the Toulouse airport to pick up our rental car. Soon after, we were on our way north to the tiny village of Saint Cirq-Lapopie, where we've rented a cottage for a week. Leaving the big city behind was a relief, and soon we were driving past rolling green fields dotted with livestock and old stone farm houses. Although the village is only about ninety miles north of Toulouse, it seems like a million years away.  Here's where we're hanging out...a cottage that overlooks the Lot River. It's pretty cold here today, and we've had rain off and on. We walked to dinner this evening, and hard a hearty, hot cassoulet, which was just perfect!

More photos of the village tomorrow.  Until then.

Day One - France

Bonsoir!

As I always say, traveling isn't for sissies. I left DFW on Thursday evening...my 5:50 p.m. flight was over an hour late taking off, but other than that, it was uneventful. I managed to sleep about four hours before the flight attendants starting serving breakfast. We landed in Madrid a little after 11 a.m., where I had a four hour layover before flying on to Toulouse. Isadora devoured a jambon sandwich while we were waiting.

Toulouse is known as the "pink city," and as you land, it's easy to see why.

My friends, Nancy and John, flew in from Seattle via Amsterdam, arriving a few hours before me. We were happy to meet up at the hotel, and walk a little around the city center before having an early dinner. The first night is always the worst for me when it comes to jet lag, but a good night's sleep, and I'll be good to go in the morning.

So, on that note, I'm signing off and sleeping in a real bed tonight. We pick up our rental car in the morning, and drive about ninety minutes north to a house we have rented in the little village of Saint Cirq-Lapopie.