For those of you playing along at home, today marks six months to the day since we moved out here. As you may have inferred from our previous two entries, we couldn’t be happier with our decision.
So far, we have commemorated this auspicious event in two ways. Last night, we went out with Sharon to the bar in Mareuil. This is the one owned by a gay couple although they weren’t in attendance last night. For that matter, neither was anyone else so we had a quick drink there and left. We wandered over to L’Olive Noire, the Brit-owned restaurant where we ate with Chuck and Marilyn on their first night here. We had another drink and each had a pizza. Although they weren’t as good as the ones from Le Vieux Four in Brantôme (our usual place), they were very good and certainly better than their mains.
Today, 1st May, is a major holiday in France. Historically, it was the King’s Day but that was changed after the revolution to Worker’s Day. For us non-worker types, mainly it means that everything is closed or so we thought until we got to Brantôme where they’re having a Spring Fair today and tomorrow. We were ready to make do without our pain quotidian (daily bread) but were pleasantly surprised to find an open boulangerie.
We weren’t sure what to expect at the fair so were pleased to discover it was a mishmash of vendors selling a wide range of items from homes and cars to chocolates and booze. We visited Jean-Michel in his store and he mentioned that there was a guy there selling really good and inexpensive champagne last year. In fact, the champagne had been so good that JM ha been “unable” to return to work that day. Good job he runs his own shop! So our first stop was a stall selling Bordeaux wines, red and rosé. We only sampled one variety, a lovely 2006 red at a mere €4 per bottle, and ended up with six bottles. Afterward, we tracked down the champagne man, tasted a couple of varieties and bought a couple of bottles of that too.
As we left the fair, we made a vow to do our best to ensure that we’re here for the same event next year as permanent residents. We’ve always viewed our year here as a trial period and I’m glad to report that France has passed the test and we’re ready to settle here. Now if we can only find a way to make some money, we’d be all set. We’re both working on various ways to make that happen and we have at least another six months to pull something together so we remain hopeful.
Next year in France!