Makine Memories in Miripoix

MAKING MEMORIES IN MIREPOIX, FRANCE
Saturday, September 15, 2007

This is the first of what I hope will be the first delightful message I will share with you all in the next month. As we sit on the patio of our wonderful bed and breakfast the panoramic view scans the hillside farms, the evening church bells of a neighboring village are ringing and the sun is setting over a field of sunflowers which are about to be harvested. Pat and Winn are enjoying a glass of wine and I am having water. I have had my wine limit until I have had dinner.

Our trip on Thursday/Friday was o.k. with only a few glitches. Arrived in Atlanta on time and welcomed the hurricane to Georgia. The rains and winds were just as I remember light hurricanes of the past. The Atlanta airport was shut down because of the winds, rain and lightening. We departed 2 hours plus late for the flight across the great pond. Having been delayed in leaving we missed our connecting flight from Paris to Toulouse. That would have been O.K. except it took us the entire two hours plus to transport Pat in a wheelchair from one gate to the other. The ground attendants evidently only worked specific zones because one would take her to a certain point, have her get out of the chair and off they would go. I finally went to an Air France desk on a lower level to seek assistance and was told she would have to come down to that area to get assistance. I tried to explain that she was unable to come down stairs and was unable to walk that that far to the desk but was told repeatedly that she would have to come to them, they would not go to her. She was finally able to get to the Air France desk and requested assistance to our next flight. We now had only a short time to get to the gate.
Long story short, an attendant came an hour later. In the mean time, several other people came also waiting for assistance….one being a typical rude American. Not to make any further scene, the attendant took her. Now you must understand, there were 11 Air France employees sitting behind a desk doing NOTHING. Everytime a wheelcair attendant came they looked at our boarding passes and looked to the information desk employees. Some brief chatter and they took another client. We finally got Pat in a chair and headed away. This attendant took us outside the terminal (which meant another trip through security, dropped us curbside and told us a shuttle bns would be along shortly.
The departure of our flight was fast approaching. A shuttle finally arrived and dropped
us off at another terminal. Again, no wheelchair. We arrived at our departure gate; I went to the desk to be certain we were checked in …oh, yes if you have seat assignment you are checked in. We get to the the gate and are told we need new boarding passes.
After two more attempts we were finally seated. We finally arrived in Toulouse only to find our friend Winn would be 4 hours late arriving. We had lots of time to explore the airport and find out how expensive a bottle of water would be.

A late afternoon road trip brought us the end of the first leg of our journey, Aubrege du Baliste just out of the beautiful little village of Mirepoix. We stopped at the U Store for essentials: wine, cheese, bread and fruit. Finally arrived at the Aubrege, exhausted and
hungry. Our host and hostess welcomed us and showed us to our room which is delightful. We are on the first level which is good for the Girls in France. We have two bedrooms and a bath. One of the bedrooms has a window that opens on to the courtyard and the other bedroom has a window which overlooks the rolling hills. After we a quick
snack and a shower, we called it a night……..35 hours after I got up to begin the trip. I slept the sleep of the dead for 12 hours.

This afternoon we spent our time at a fall fete in Mirepoix. It was a bit like our parish fairs or festivals with lots of food booths and exhibits. The local artisans exhibit their work and child ride an old fashioned merry go round. The wine and pastries were delicious. Just what a diabetic needs but my blood sugar has stayed in a safe range.
We picked up some fruits and cheeses to have tomorrow for a picnic. Tonight we had dinner at the B&B. Here is the menu for the three of us. Of course we all had to get som,ething different so we could taste around. I had a salad of fresh butter lettuce
walnuts,, warm goat cheese topped with honey and a light vinegarette, beef bourganine
potatoes and some root vegetables. Dessert was profetiroles with a heavenly warm chocolate sauce and chantilly cream. Pat enjoyed: Sa lad greens with cured ham and melon, roasted potatoes, Pork Provencal and dessert crème’ brulee. Winn’ dinner included Egg baked in cream wirh foiie grax, Grilled Tuna steak with Roquerfort sauce,roasted potatoes, sautéed zuchinni strips ,Raspberry Torte with vanilla ice cream and chantilly cream.

Needless to say we rolled in to bed. Hope you have enjoyed tales of our first day.

Bon soir
Judy

A LOVELY FIRST DAY…

We woke after 12+ hours at noon and slowly prepared ourselves to spend the rest of the day in the charming village of Miripoix. It was perfect for tired, worn travelers. We had a b’fast of our cheese, pate, fruit and bread left from the picnic dinner we had the night before looking at lovely views out in the back of the aurgerge. Then, into the 4x$ which we had rentedf. Off to Miripoix which it’s lovely half-timbered buildings and small ancient city square. We shopped and poked around, finding an ATM which was a major need since all we had was our change from our $40 US which I had changed at the airport. The water there cost us 3.50 Euros, so we now measure our conversion for all costs. The wine was only 1/2 bottle of water for example, and other things were two bottles of water. What a fun way to realize values! It’s going to make everything more fun for this trip. There was a small fete with children’s rides going on in the city centre and families were all about. Winn speaks to all and that is such a blessing as she photographs all sorts of interesting things. She got some dynamite pics of some lovely children and we spoke with a young Scotch couple and found that they had moved here from Glasgow and both worked part time for British Airways and so were able to work and rear their children in the wonderful climate. Their children attend French schools and they say their life is so different.