Sadly, the next morning we said our goodbyes, Laurant & Corinne heading off to work, the girls to school, and us in our little car heading off north.
We decided to make a slight detour to the historic town of Arles, with its Roman ruins, including an amphitheatre and theatre. What we didn’t realize was that both are currently used for performances. It was good to see that these were not just monuments but part of the living culture of the city. Like many before, the old town was very picturesque, with many interesting small details that are missing from modern buildings. We also crossed the Rhone river here, another famous river in addition to the Rhine and Mosel. On our way north we’ll also cross the Loire.
Rather than use the main Autoroute, we headed through the mountains towards Mende. Although it took longer the deviation was worthwhile because we saw more interssting country than we would otherwise have seen. Contrary to what we thought there is still a lot of wild country that shows little sign of human habitation, as most of the settlement is on the flatter and more fertile plains. There were parts that seemed little different from New South Wales, except for the type vegetation of course.
In the afternoon we arrived at Le-Breuil-Sur-Couze the small town in the Lembron val d’Allier district to meet Serge and Ada, Frances’ cousin. They live in a large manoir ( Manor huse)) dating back more than 250 years, shared by Serge’s brother and sister who live in their own sections of the huge building. It’s part of a farming estate bought by his parents. The land is now suffering because of the long dry spell, although it looks quite green to us, the land requires a lot of watering just to make it productive because of the different type of agriculture.
I was great to catch up with Ada and Serge, who had visited us in Australia in 2005. There was a lot of family news to catch up on, and the communication was carried out in a mixture of French, Dutch and English. In the evening Vincent, one of their three children arrived from Bretagne (Brittany) where he’s currently working.
After an excellent diner prepared by Ada, and more than a glass of wine, and more talk, we all crashed for the night.
Pics to come when I have time.
We decided to make a slight detour to the historic town of Arles, with its Roman ruins, including an amphitheatre and theatre. What we didn’t realize was that both are currently used for performances. It was good to see that these were not just monuments but part of the living culture of the city. Like many before, the old town was very picturesque, with many interesting small details that are missing from modern buildings. We also crossed the Rhone river here, another famous river in addition to the Rhine and Mosel. On our way north we’ll also cross the Loire.
Rather than use the main Autoroute, we headed through the mountains towards Mende. Although it took longer the deviation was worthwhile because we saw more interssting country than we would otherwise have seen. Contrary to what we thought there is still a lot of wild country that shows little sign of human habitation, as most of the settlement is on the flatter and more fertile plains. There were parts that seemed little different from New South Wales, except for the type vegetation of course.
In the afternoon we arrived at Le-Breuil-Sur-Couze the small town in the Lembron val d’Allier district to meet Serge and Ada, Frances’ cousin. They live in a large manoir ( Manor huse)) dating back more than 250 years, shared by Serge’s brother and sister who live in their own sections of the huge building. It’s part of a farming estate bought by his parents. The land is now suffering because of the long dry spell, although it looks quite green to us, the land requires a lot of watering just to make it productive because of the different type of agriculture.
I was great to catch up with Ada and Serge, who had visited us in Australia in 2005. There was a lot of family news to catch up on, and the communication was carried out in a mixture of French, Dutch and English. In the evening Vincent, one of their three children arrived from Bretagne (Brittany) where he’s currently working.
After an excellent diner prepared by Ada, and more than a glass of wine, and more talk, we all crashed for the night.
Pics to come when I have time.
