Nos trois premiers mois

Today marks three months since we landed in France to begin our adventure. The time has gone so quickly, but we have had so many wonderful experiences and made great memories from our time so far.

To mark this date, I thought I would share with you some photos and stories that haven't made it into other blogs for various reasons...

In our first week here we discovered the game of Pétanque being played by men all around town. 

A version of boules, the game is played in dry dirt parks, with this one taking place just behind our house. 

We enjoyed walking past and watching the game, which stopped being played when the weather turned cold and wet.

Left-hand drive on the right side of the road took some getting used to, and still catches us out on occasion.

Going around round-abouts, changing gears with the right hand, and turning on the windscreen wipers instead of the lights all prove a challenge

 (for me anyway)!

I took a quick break from trying to give directions to take this pic of Marty cruising through the streets of Barcelona.

In my quest to try various forms of chocolate throughout Europe, I couldn't resist this amazing chocolate-covered fruit kabab!

It was delicious and warming as we wondered through Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, London.

Of all the things at London Tower to get a photo of, I was excited by these old Beefeaters posing for pics with tourists.

They look thrilled, don't they?

Day one in Paris was spent at the Palace of Versailles, and needless to say I wore Marty out with all the walking! 

This was on the train on the way home. 

As I took this pic and had a little chuckle to myself, the French lady sitting next to me laughed too and said her husband can sleep anywhere as well!

This is Marty at work in our kitchenette making a jambon, fromage, tomate and épinard baguette (ham, cheese, tomato and spinach sandwich). 

This has become a staple lunch for Marty here, as he just can't go past the fresh bread we buy daily.

I couldn't believe that Marty managed to find a vending machine!

We were on an afternoon trip to Rennes-le-Château, not far from Limoux. The village is very small, and perched on top of a hill surrounded by mountains and rolling landscape.

Somehow there was a working vending machine tucked around the corner of a building, and Marty found it.

Continuing my quest...this was the most amazing chocolat chaud I have ever had. It was literally like drinking melted chocolate; so thick and delicious.

I found this at the Christmas markets in Toulouse, and have been searching for it, unsuccessfully, ever since.

The first day we saw ice on our car...happened to be a training day for Marty. 

I admit that I felt guilty going back inside our warm house after taking this pic, as Marty went off - covered from head to toe - to training. 

I can only imagine what he is thinking at this moment...

I have been trying to get a pic of Marty in his 'noir et rouge' playing gear for some time, with no luck...

It took a cold and rainy day with a wet and muddy field to get a pic of Marty, with his teammate Phil, in their playing gear.

Unfortunately, they send the whole kit (minus the jersey) home with the players to be washed...so I earned my keep that week too.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I LOVE this time of year.

I love the joy in the air. I love the time spent with family and friends. I love the giving and receiving of thoughtful gifts. I love how Christmas brings people together. I love the traditions that are unique to every family and every culture.

Europe is an amazing place to be at Christmas. From November all the way through until January, the towns come alive with lights and markets and Christmas festivities.

The big blue Christmas tree in Limoux
sparkles at night

The frozen fountain in the middle of the
ice skating rink in Carcassonne

Since November, Limoux has been slowly decorated in anticipation of Christmas. Lights have gone up on every light post in town, all over trees down the main street and in the town square, and a big, blue Christmas tree has been put up on the main round-about through town.

As if by tradition, all of these lights were turned on on December 1, and every night since they light up this little town with Christmas joy. The big blue tree, which happens to be just a short stroll from our front door, lights up and sparkles. Boxes wrapped as gifts have appeared under the tree just this week, and the street behind the tree welcomes people to town with an illuminated 'Bienvenue' sign.

Preparations for local festivities have begun in the town square, with an old traditional-style merry-go-round being installed in the centre, surrounded by brightly-lit trees and small wooden chalets that convert to gift stalls. 

Almost every tree along the side of the roads has had colourful ribbons tied on their branches, and a big illuminated '2013' sign hangs prominently on the way into town.

While Limoux's efforts at Christmas cheer are welcoming and charming, they are modest compared to the larger centres.

Carcassonne has installed an ice-skating rink in their town square, complete with a 'frozen fountain' and electric light display. The impressively-sized rink is surrounded by stalls selling mulled wine, hot chocolate, churros and crepes. A few streets over in another open area, a Ferris Wheel provides a backdrop to a carnival-style display, with stall vendors selling Christmas wares from little chalets.

Christmas markets in Toulouse

Christmas markets in Barcelona

Festive lights adorn the streets of
every town, including Barcelona

We also ventured up to Toulouse, and wandered around their markets, which were comprised of unique and often hand-made gifts, with everything from jewellery to beanies and scarves, kids toys, and home-made sweet treats. There were also a number of food and drink outlets serving the crowds of people with mulled wine, hot chocolate (which was pure liquid chocolate - I know, I tried it!), and potato cooked in a variety of ways (filled spud, mash, chips, etc).

Even in Barcelona at the end of November, we walked through the Christmas markets, which were filled with stalls selling small nativity scene characters and all kinds of Christmas tree decorations. Christmas lights hung across every street - big and small - as we walked through the old town.

From what we have seen and experienced here so far, Christmas is more than just a time for family in Europe; it is a real community event, where people of the town celebrate and enjoy each other's company in the most festive ways.

While we won't be sharing Christmas with our families this year, nor will our gift giving and receiving be anything significant, we will certainly experience and thoroughly enjoy the joy in the air, the way that Christmas brings people together, and the unique traditions of this culture.

Joyeux Noël!

Road Trip to Barcelona

After four weeks of games on weekends, Marty had a bye, which meant that we could go site-seeing beyond a day trip. So, we packed our small travel bags, put them in the back of our little European car and took off down the motorway for Spain.

To me Barcelona has always been a city that I knew of and people talked about, but I couldn't have named any attractions or told you what it was known for, other than having a successful football team and hosting an Olympic Games in our lifetime (trust us to know the city's sporting achievements). But, when you're living in the south of France and Barcelona is only a three hour drive south, the city is all of a sudden a must-see.

We were only in Barcelona for a brief but memorable 48 hours, but this was sufficient time for us to learn a thing or two about this amazing city. Here are the top five things we discovered about Barcelona...

The beautiful beach on the Mediterranean

One: Barcelona is a city of contrasts

With a population of just over 1.6 million people, we expected Barcelona to be big. Driving toward the city was like following a maze of highways and overpasses, with suburbs sprawled as far as you could see up to the mountains. But as we came into the centre of the city, the buildings became more condensed and the roads narrowed.

The old city or Gothic Quarter, with early ties to Roman colonisation, sits just a few hundred metres from the buildings constructed as the Olympic Village for the 1992 Games. The journey between the two areas is like a look through time, as buildings of varying age and style were built up.

Then there is the contrast between the city and the stunning Mediterranean beach and harbour that border one side. With original and ancient buildings constructed about one hundred metres back from the water's edge all the way along, the area in between has been put to great use and effectively developed for the enjoyment of locals and tourists alike.

Marty crusing around Barcelona on bike

Two: The best way to see Barcelona is by bicycle

We had discussed taking a touristic bus tour, or hiring Vespas and cruising around the streets, but it didn't take us long to see that the best way to explore Barcelona would be by bicycle. There were ramps and pathways made for bikes going in both directions; there were bike hire shops in the most convenient locations; and everyone was doing it!

We stopped into a bike hire shop and signed up for a bike each for four hours. At a cost of 9Euro each, we thought this was a bargain! We were given a map, and off we went. I have to admit that I hadn't ridden a bike in about 10 years, so the crowded, cobblestone footpaths of Barcelona was a challenging place to get back on a bike!

But the experience was worth it. We were able to ride around any and every part of the city that we wanted. We cruised along the beachfront, along the harbour, through the narrow streets of the old town and on the specially constructed bike pathways in the middle of the major roads.

The Arc de Trimof in Barcelona

We rode up to and through the Arc de Triomf, past Las Ramblas, and through el Gotic. We saw buildings that were hundreds of years old, and buildings that were new and modern. Barcelona on bike was an amazing experience.

Three: Spanish food is better in Spain

In the multicultural country that is Australia, we have all tried some form of Spanish food: various types of tapas, paella, churros, sangria. But to eat and drink these delights in their country of origin is a great experience.

After wandering the small but busy alleyways off the main strip, we came across a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant that looked like a great place to get our Spanish on. We ordered up on the tapas and sangria, and enjoyed the most amazing flavours of the croquettes, chorizo, and various cooking styles of potato.

A busy cafe along the footpath

The next night I was determined to try some traditional paella, and I wasn't disappointed. I love the concept of paella, traditionally being a servants' or workers' dish made with varying ingredients; each dish is as different as the cook preparing it. I enjoyed a great big pot of seafood paella, with my only regret being that my stomach wasn't big enough to eat it all! Yum.

Four: A weekend in Barcelona can be as cheap as chips!

While we have come to terms with the exchange rate, and the general cost of things in France, we were pleasantly surprised to find that, while still in Euro, things seemed to be cheaper in Barcelona. I, of course, took full advantage of this, buying up on new jeans and long sleeve tops, scoring two complete outfits for around 50Euro. Food was very well priced, and our accommodation - a modern room in a lovely hotel in a big old building - cost us around 100Euro for two nights.

The one cost that we didn't anticipate was the cost to use a toilet in a shopping centre. With no other 'free' options in sight, we each paid 50Euro cents to use the cleanest, freshest, loveliest public toilets we have ever seen. We didn't complain, and agreed it was money well spent!

And Five: everyone is happy in Barcelona, and why wouldn't they be?

The final thing that we both noticed almost immediately, and for the duration of our stay, was that everyone in Barcelona was so happy and friendly. And why wouldn't they be, with the beautiful city that they live in, amazing food and great outdoor lifestyle?

Everyone that we came in contact with was cheerful; a waitress at a cafe was interested that we were Australian; the man at the bike hire shop chatted to us about living in France; and a street vendor gave me a free (and amazingly delicious) muffin because I bought a pastry from her, and returned later for more!

We were blown away by the hospitality of the city and the people who live there, and were certainly made to feel welcome.

The view from our hotel window

Even though we left feeling like we had seen and experienced a lot, at just a three hour drive south, I will keep Barcelona in mind for another weekend trip away.