French Tuscany, Everything's Cheaper in Spain, and Where's My Bankcard

     The region of France where I live is called the Gers.  I saw the similarity between here and Tuscany (where I spent two weeks this time last year) even before I realized that it is nicknamed "The Tuscany of France."  Rolling green forested hills, vineyards large and small, fields of sunflowers and wild flowers, tree-lined drives, vegetable and flower gardens beside the golden stoned farmhouses, narrow winding roads leading from one little village to the next sometimes barely wide enough for two cars to pass.  It's delightful!

     I never tire of driving around in this area and visiting yet unexplored villages and sights.  In fact, I don't tire of visiting already explored villages.  This morning I decided to revisit Condom where I had my birthday lunch.  I love the little crèpe restaurant that's adjacent to the cathedral.  You have to walk up the stone stairs to get to the eating area.  I was quite impressed to see an elderly lady make the effort today.  Many places in Europe are not handicap accessible, but they are so old that there's really no way to make them so.

My view at lunch today

     I had a repeat of last time - the ham and cheese galette (like a crèpe but made with buckwheat flour), a small side salad with balsamic vinaigrette, a Coke and a crèpe au chocolat!  Mmmmm . . .
And a wonderful view of the cathedral as I ate.  They were as busy today as on the 18th with three waiters bustling around to take orders and pick up plates and deliver meals.  French waiters will never hurry you from one course to the next.  They don't hover like many American waiters do.  In fact you may have to ask for what you want next as they believe in eating slowly and enjoying what you eat.  A meal is an event to be cherished.
     Speaking of meals, I had some wonderful ones on my foray into Spain on Friday.  And that brings me to the second part of the today's title - Everything's Cheaper in Spain.  When I told my landlady that I was planning a drive across the border, she asked if I might be willing to bring her back some shower gel and shampoo.  She said these items (and many more) are significantly cheaper in Spain than those same items would be in France.  I assured her I'd be happy to find a market and pick up what she wanted.  She printed off the labels and gave me some money.  I'll come back to that in a moment.
     So, Friday morning, CoCo and I hopped in the car and headed south.  I find myself doing the same thing on the road towards the Pyrenées that I used to do driving from Kansas back into Colorado.  I look for that first sign of a mountain.  It doesn't take long from here to see them in the distance - maybe about an hour and then, of course, they grow!  It's magical!  It's a national highway all the way so it was an easy drive through the mountains, and more than once I found myself thinking how much like Colorado this area is.

     Just across the border, the Spaniards had the brilliant idea of putting in a large market just for all the French that come there to buy everything that is cheaper - in some cases less than 1/3 the cost of the same product in France.  It was a really nice, modern shopping center complete with a perfume shop, a large liquor area, a regular grocery store - even a clothing store and a restaurant.  I easily found what Hélène wanted and then headed into the little town of Bossost for lunch.
     The town runs along the banks of the Garonne River which is a major river in France, but begins as a little mountain stream in the Spanish Pyrenes before gaining speed and size and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at Bordeaux.  It's a lovely little mountain village and I was out of it before I realized it!  So once I found a round about to make a u-turn, I came back to a little terrace cafe I had seen on my way through.  We (CoCo and I) stopped here and ate on their patio.  They had a typical "prix fixe" menu meaning that for a set price you had a choice of appetizer, main dish and dessert as well as a drink.  So for 13 euros (That's about $14) I had paté with toasted bread and a salad with lettuce and chopped green and black olives with balsamic vinaigrette.  Then for a main dish I chose the grilled chicken which had a marvelous spicy crisp skin served with roasted potatoes and peppers.  For dessert I had to go with the flan!  Mmmmm.  And I had a glass of rosé.  One of the best meals I've ever had for under $15 all inclusive!  And a view of the mountains and the river as well.

The Garonne River looking south

The Garonne River looking north

My view at lunch

     I took a different route returning into France.  It is a road often used in the Tour de France because of its twists and turns and dramatic vistas.  I did not like it in my manual shift car!  I can't imagine doing those hairpin curves on a cycle going 50 mph and then having to slow way down to take the bends.  Oh my!

     Later that afternoon we arrived at Marianne and Brian's BnB near the tiny little village of Loudet (back in France).  Marianne and I became facebook friends a few years ago and I was really excited to meet her and see her lovely property - Pyrenées Gites de Fournil.  Brian is a cycling enthusiast and he wanted to have a place that was near all the famous climbs to appeal to other cyclists.  They have a wonderful panoramic view of the mountains.  And they have two absolutely lovable dogs.
     It took some time but CoCo finally was ok with them being near her.  Fortunately, both Maddie and Monty are very docile and friendly - at least with other dogs.  I hear they also are not fans of cats!  So they had that in common! ha!  I had planned on going back out later and picking up some dinner, but they said there was nothing close by and I was welcome to share some of their dinner with them.  It was a lovely evening so we sat outside and enjoyed three different cheeses, a loaf of perfect French bread, a mushroom spread, a mixture of olives, a bowl of fresh tomatoes, an impressive view, and wonderful company!

The view from their garden

The view from my room

    The room and bathroom were so beautifully decorated I felt like I was in a five star hotel!  Had it been warmer I could have enjoyed a dip in their pool.  And the next morning, breakfast was just as wonderful as dinner the night before.  And all too soon we were headed back home.  It was a great visit and I hope to do it again before too much longer.  Merci Marianne et Brian! (Et Maddie et Monty aussi!)
     I still do not have a bankcard!  Hélène has been keeping an eye on the post everyday for me.  We were sure I would have it by last Monday.  So Tuesday morning she spoke to the bank lady who was as baffled as we were.  She checked her computer and someone (at the national level of the bank) had put a question mark next to my nationality!  What????  How could they question that I'm an American?!  What more do I need to show them?  They have copies of my passport, my visa and even my birth certificate (which I'm very glad I decided to bring as they needed proof of my maiden name).  Is there something about me that looks un-American?  The bank lady assured Hélène that she would see to it that my card came by this next week.  We'll see . . .  I'm now starting to get a little nervous as I have to have a bank account in order to be able to transfer money and get a check to buy a car - which has to be done by the end of this month as that is when my car lease is up.  I was warned that this would not be easy!  So, fingers crossed - or "les droigts croisés" (sounds like "lay dwah cwahzay") as the French say.
     Oh those sneaky bends in the road!  I have experienced them both literally and figuratively this past week.  Thanks for coming along with me.  It makes everything better knowing that you are here.  Merci!