Just Around the Next Bend: I Love Thursday Mornings!

     Thursday mornings in the lovely 2000 year old town of Eauze there is a wonderful market. It draws everyone from surrounding towns and is well worth the visit! 2000 years, you ask? Well, originally (predating the Romans), this was the capital of a Celtic tribe called the Elusatii. It continued to be important through Roman and Merovingian times before being trashed by those dang Vikings! The church there dates from the 15th century as does a half-timbered house where the mother of King Henry IV lived (unfortunately that's about all that she's known for, poor woman!).
    But, back to the market . . . One can pretty much outfit one's entire home from the vendors that set up here from 6:00am until around noon every Thursday. Besides all the fresh fruits and vegetables and other foods such as meats, cheeses, breads, pastries, honey, jams, wines and the local brandy called Armagnac, you can also buy linens and clothing, shoes, baskets, soaps and lotions, toys, books, glassware and pottery. It's amazing! I've been twice now and can't imagine a Thursday morning that I wouldn't go to this market.
    To get there I have to drive about 15 minutes along little winding narrow hardly-room-for-two-cars roads. There are no shoulders on these roadways so if a car is coming from the other direction you just hope that it will pull over to the far side of the road while you pull over to the far side on your side and grit your teeth and don't close your eyes! If I weren't so keen on watching for oncoming traffic I could really enjoy the beauty of the surrounding countryside. It's all farmland - mostly vineyards and fields of sunflowers. So quintessentially French that I have to smile the entire way to Eauze!
     There are some things to get used to: All shops are closed beween 12:30pm and 2:30pm to allow for everyone to go have a nice leisurely lunch. So forget running any errands during those hours. Nothing is open: not the bank, or the post office, or the pharmacy, or the grocery stores, or the gas stations, you get the idea.
     One of the local supermarkets likes my US debit card and the other one does not. I don't know if their machines are different, but my card doesn't work at the Intermarche, but does work at the Carrefour! I have tried not to use my US debit card because of the transaction fees, but I don't have a French bank account yet. That happens tomorrow, hopefully! Keep your fingers crossed. Once I have a French bank account, then I can get a French phone and then I can buy a used car (I have found some RAV4s nearby), then I can start looking for a French home to buy! Whew!
     Besides the market trips I have ventured into the mountains going both SW and SE. The Pyrenees are south, but that's a long stretch of mountains. They are the border between France and Spain. I can't decide which views I like the best. So I think many more visits are needed! :-)
     Here are a number of photos that I have taken in the past two weeks since my arrival at the cottage. Thank you for being with me on this journey. The road goes ever on . . . Merci!