Every day life in the South

There is something very charming about our quiet life in Limoux. After seeing the bright lights of the big cities of London and Paris, we have come to enjoy the simplicity of our life here as we go about our somewhat normal routine.

The picturesque streets of Limoux

The fact that we are actually living in France is not lost on us as we go day to day; we are reminded every day as we walk out our door into temperatures just above freezing, and when we struggle with conversation with anyone that we come in contact with, or when we walk through the narrow cobblestone roads on our way into the town square.

As with life anywhere, we do have a routine here, it's just that everything we do has a little French flavour added to it.

As expected, our daily and weekly activities revolve around the football schedule: gym sessions, training sessions, meetings, games, celebrations/commiserations. But an average week for us goes a little bit like this...

Mondays are our lazy day, usually spent sleeping off the day/night before. The only football requirement on this day for Marty is a rehabilitation session in the hot pools in the afternoon.

I use this day to clean the house, put on the laundry, and do the grocery shopping; all quiet normal and boring tasks. The French adventure in them comes from the house being a quaint little cottage, the laundry being an outdoor room that floods after each load, and the groceries, well...

A trip through a grocery store here is an adventure in itself. We usually go to E.Leclerc (pronounced 'le-claire'), a large French supermarket and department store chain. This shop is like Woolworths and Big W rolled into one, with every food, household and electronic item you could possibly want, and then some. The deli is vast, the butchery has items I have never even imagined exist (and have so far managed to avoid), the bakery is amazing, and there is, of course, an in-house fromagery.

I manage to buy what I need by looking at the pictures on the packaging. The international section has become a favourite, however it is lacking Vegemite and Milo. It took us a couple of visits to come to terms with the alcohol section as well; a wine cellar with bottles from as low as 4Euro, and every type of alcohol you could imagine...all just part of the weekly shop.

Marty geared up for training in the cold

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are quite similar. We have the mornings free to do as we please, which sometimes involves a short drive somewhere new, a wander into the town square, or a trip to the shop to top up on groceries. Footy-wise, Marty has a gym session with the other 'foreign' players in the afternoons, and then a nightly training session with the team.

After three months of eating French pastries, I have been going along to the afternoon sessions to run along the running track around the field, but Marty is on his own for the night sessions. Usually about an hour and a half in duration, the team trains in any temperature, rain, hail or clear skies...quite literally; this week he was hailed on during a session, and often brings the mud home with him.

We have Wednesday mornings free as well, then the afternoons require Marty to attend training session with young children. As there is no school in France on Wednesdays, a number of the town's children attend these coaching sessions, again with the foreign players, however for Marty it is more like childcare, as he can't communicate with them, and they are too young to understand the concept of sharing the ball with a teammate. It seems to be an interesting experience for him though, and he often comes home with new words in his French vocabulary, courtesy of the kids.

Thursday nights once a fortnight the team gets together for dinner following the training session, and I often tag along. They rotate around the restaurants in town to share around their custom, and we pay 15Euro for a three-course meal and wine. It is a great opportunity to socialise with the other players and get a good taste of French cuisine.

Friday mornings I often go into the town square to the weekly farmers markets. No matter what the weather, they are a bustling little event where you can buy any kind of fresh produce, meat, cheese, bakery items and olives...lots of olives. I load up on farm-fresh eggs here, as they taste much better than the grocery store eggs.

Saturdays are our only completely free day of the week, but by this day we are usually happy to stay in and relax. We do sometimes plan a day trip to a nearby town or castle, or venture into town for a coffee at a local cafe. Sometimes we use this day to meet up with Aussie friends living in other towns, which is a great opportunity to explore somewhere new.

Sundays are usually game days, which means an early start. If the game is in Limoux, the morning is quite relaxed before we head to the field, and if the game is in another town, then Marty has an early bus to catch to get there. The team always has lunch together no matter where they are; shared meals are a big part of French culture, and it provides an opportunity to bond as a team before the game.

Our house in winter

The town usually turns out for the game, with the grandstand divided into two sections: Grizzlies supporters, and fans of the visiting team. The Grizzlies fans don't lack heart, with 'allez Limoux' being screamed from the stand throughout the game. And win or lose, the party moves into the town square where celebrations or commiserations continue into the night (hence the Monday morning sleep-ins).

Throughout our daily routines we have gladly embraced some of the quirky French customs, while holding on to some of our own habits. For example, we stroll to the local boulangery every morning to buy our fresh bread, as the French do, however we eat it with a big breakfast, as the Aussies do.

We have lived this lifestyle for coming on four months now, and are looking forward to making the most of the time we have left. The only change we'd really like to see is on the thermometer!