Today we woke up and decided to go to this Salon des animaux thing, that we saw advertised on a poster in Aix. These are basically like small county fairs, but just with animals, no rides or games. Yann and I love visiting farms and seeing the animals. We get all excited, like kids, when we get the chance to feed a cow or hold a baby lamb. So, we have been to about 3 of these 'Salons'. The one today was about an hour away on these little country roads. It was a beautiful drive and much of it was along the shore of this huge lake. The exposition itself was not as impressive as the others I've been to here, because normally on a pretty day like today, they hold them outdoors on a farm. Today's was inside this big building and was just so-so. We got to hold some adorable but very expensive Belgium Shepard puppies and included in the ticket price was free food, but the real high point was the cat showcase. Remember the hairless cat of Dr. Evil in Austin Powers? Well, his little twin was there at this thing today and we had to touch it because it's skin looks so weird. We got told NOT to touch the hairless cat, because as we could plainly see it was a major prize winning specimen. It had about 50 First place ribbons hanging all over it's cage. It felt and looked totally bizarre.
After leaving that, we decided to stop off at this beautiful looking ancient village we had passed on our drive. The city is called Saint Chamas and it is right on the shore of this huge lake named Etang De Berre. What I love about France is that if you simply drive around the country side for a while and just let yourself become lost, you can find the most amazing little villages. They won't be listed in a Lonely Planet guide because they don't have anything major to attract tourists. They are just little, old, villages that people still are living and working in. It's just such a charming area around the South of France, because you see very ancient farmhouses still in use with horses grazing in the fields and people planting their garden beds for the season. I love so much the rural parts of France so much more than the big cities. I just feel like it's where you see the real France and meet just normal, nice people. So, we wondered up to the top of this town and took some pics using Yann's iphone. So, sorry about the quality. Here, at home, we have like 3 really nice cameras, but we never manage to remember them!! At the top of the town was a little grove of olive trees, that were very well cared for. I guess the people from the town all hike up there to take care of the trees. This made me want to see how olives are harvested and processed for oil and for eating. Yann and I are lovers of all kinds of olives, so I think it's a field trip we need to make some summer day. God knows there are plenty of olive farms around here; that is what they grow here: olives and wine.
So, now we are home and enjoying the afternoon. We cooked vegetable soup for lunch and now we are about to head up to the massive natural park above our village for some more R&R. The views up there are amazing; this time I will not forget my camera!! I think we are packing books and blankets too for some sunbathing time.
Yann leaves tomorrow but just for 3 days and when he comes back we are flying up to see his parents in Paimpol, France for five days. I love going up there because it means we get to be lazy because his parents always take such good care of us. They cook lots of yummy, fresh seafood that his dad catches locally. And his father promised me that he'd save some lobster for me! Don't hate me! :)
I hope you are enjoying your start of spring too!
1 comment:
Post a Comment