Oh Mon Dieu!

Well that sounds more French than OMG doesnt it? We are now in Liebvillers having completed the cross country trek from La Verrie. The plumber didnt come as promised, the truck was almost bottoming out and we had to leave plenty behind for Manon and Eric to collect on their next visit.But we are here and today is now Saturday!

Let me recoup the last few days! We had Tuesday off! As a special treat, we met up with some cousins and went to a theme park. Not your usual, mes amis, Oh no! This has been given the World's Best title and there is not a Mickey Mouse to be seen. The place is called Puy du Fou and the website www.puydufou.com gives some idea. I dont know how many times I found myself using "Wow!" but it is cerainly spectacular! All historical tableaus even a Colloseum replica which "entertained" with Christians v Romans, chariot races (4 chariots each with 4 horses!) racing around the arena and a poor Christian martyr girl tied to a stake while EIGHT freaking huge lions roamed around her! Everything is done wirh such professionalism and incredible mechanisation of the enormous props (including a full sized Chateau). Enough, I know, but how lucky was I to be treated. We shot home (half an hour to La Verrie) for dinner of delicious crepes and back to the Parc for the equally spectacular night show ON and IN the lake! Fire and fountains, ballet and wonderful classical music. So special, thank you Manon and Eric for such a wonderful and generous treat!

Wednesday was back to old clothes and cleaning cloths as the huge truck was loaded and the trailer also readied for the journey east. We all arrived here in the most beautiful Heidi country by evening on Thursday, met by Manons father (Papi Michel) to drive the last few kilometres. I have been communicating haltingly with my petit peu French but surprisingly I can make myself understood! Today Papi Michel shouted us all to the big bbq in the village community hall (a beautifully restored and renovated barn) with the main event being a sanglier shot by a local hunter. These wild boars do dreadful damage to agricultural enterprises and this one weighed 40 kilos. I had a discussion with the hunter (all in French with much gesticulating!) about how pig hunters get their beast in NZ. They dont use dogs here, they just shoot the pig. So many in the forests apparently and quite delicious too!

Time to explain about the French approach to meals! Today we started with an aperatif (bubbles with Cassis if preferred) and olives and crisps, When we were called "a table" we were served salads eg cucumber, beetroot, carrot, tabouleh, then when we had been plied with plenty of that and wines to accompany, the bbq'd wild pork came out, and kept coming and coming. More salads were added, and pasta and the ever present bread to wipe plates clean between courses. We spent heaps of time imbibing and chatting at the long table and then the green salad appeared with the cheese course! Beautiful rounds of Camembert (cost around $6 only) . More wine (you will be pleased to know, David, that I alternated with Perrier water) and onto what I thought was dessert but it was the melon preceding the gateaux for dessert  proper and coffee to follow and if one had room, beer to top it all off that had been home brewed. We started at 12 and finished at 5.The format of the courses is pretty typical of the meal at home, just not quite as lengthy.
Anyone game to help me host a French lunch back home?And while I think about it, following on from the last posting, French Fries arent even a French invention!

I am lying down now to recover.

Ooh La La

Manon kindly updated the look of the blog for me and you will see that it is now more aptly named BlaBlaBlack. It takes me all my time to get the words down without the fancy stuff but we now have photos added to the old posts too so check that out!
Yesterday a cupboard was opened that I didn't know existed and lo and behold another collection! Le Creuset cookware in all shapes and sizes. Yes, it is used, mostly in winter for slow cooking and yes it is expensive here in France too but wily Eric seeks out garage sales, clever man, and nabs the bargains!
We are eating this elephant efficiently and I am astonished at the networks available to hook into here. There is a thriving System d'Echange Locale which is a Green Dollars scheme and folk have been coming to pack over the past couple of days. It looks also as though I am going to get a ride from Liebvillers to near my next assignment on Monday week via Covoiturage which is a shared ride system. Drivers get ratings from passengers who have travelled with them so is quite transparent and reassuring. I have looked it up and we also do it in NZ! Well, who knew that?! For €44 I get to ride 700km in a red Alpha Romeo with a young man and his girlfriend. They can drop me in Rio Maggiori which is part of the Cinque Terra where I was keen to visit.
For those who know them, David's 42nd cousin, Grant Fickling and Robyn, his wife, are to be in the area of Northern Tuscany at the same time as I am, so I am working on an Italian Family catchup. Smacks a bit of the Sopranos? No violin cases to be seen though.
I get ahead of myself however! Today I frenchplaited Coline's hair and that took me back a bit! It has dawned on me how many "French" references we use. Not just the plaits, but French bread, (which my hosts found very funny as it is just bread here!), French toast, French Provincial furniture (which is ridiculous really as it is just any old furniture which is worn and/or rusty), French blue, and of course the letters? What the.....?!
I also picked the raspberries, gooseberries and mulberries today and made a kind of "fool" for dessert tonight. We are trying to eat the supplies so there is less to pack and transport so it is making for interesting meals. I think Jamie Oliver would be impressed with our inventiveness. Having been given many oversized zucchini we have tried zucchini gazpacho, Ratatouile and tonight the not so popular stuffed alternative,
Enough, enough! Tomorrow the plumber comes early and Eric will want to get on with the last bits of building. Best we all get some sleep!
Bon nuit.

Tres difficile!

Well yesterday has to be one of the most difficult days I have had for a while!

I was taken to the bus stop in plenty of time but the bus from Maureillas to Perpignan was late as everyone is on the road enjoying holidays! I had half an hour up my sleeve to collect my train ticket in Perpignan, however..., (and I should have known there would have been one of those), there were building works at the station so not easy to follow the directions. Very nice young man spoke a little English and was catching the same train so he helped me and we made it with 5 minutes to spare. I had a connection to make en route to Marseille so it was onto the platform and my standard line "Does anyone have any English?" is trotted out. Much easier than trying to figure out the French when in a hurry! So far, with much arm waving and thrusting tickets under people's noses, I have had success and so it was that I arrived safely in Marseille! I had spent some of the journey reading my ebook "Driving over Lemons" (which is about the Alpujarra valley where I had just been in Spain), so the Frog had died and I couldnt remember the name of the hotel I was staying at overnight. Hey, Voila! there was a nifty pedalling arrangement for recharging cell phones etc at the train station. Picture this: a now 63 year old woman with a back pack on, sitting on a bicycle, pedalling furiously while trying to read her Samsung screen which faded when the pedalling slowed. Got a few strange looks but maybe that was more about the red face, yellow and orange hat, pink shirt and grey shorts?

At last I was on the airport shuttle bus which dropped me at Marseille airport just in time to connect with the hotel shuttle! It was one of  those days when the stars thankfully aligned again and I collapsed exhausted into crisp sheets for a great sleep. I have just read my notebook and I have written "This is NOT fun!"  Following morning I was at the Ryanair counter way too early to drop my bag but it felt good to have time on my side for a change!  The view from my window seat on the flight to Nantes was spectacular and I now realise why Marseille roof tiles are so named. Duuh. they are all over the roofs in Marseille! I could even see the Millau bridge, which is an architectural marvel and looked huge even from on high. It cuts the journey  from Paris to the Cote d'azure short, which is a boon for the Parisiens but a thorn in the side of others who live in the "empty centre" of France and feel neglected while all major roads lead out of Paris! I feel as though I have seen a lot of France already and much more to come as we prepare to travel 800 kilometres across the country next Wednesday.

Drama at the airport at Nantes when we landed as we were asked to remain seated while the gendarmes came to "assist" an unhappy passenger. 4 policemen and 3 pompelliers (firemen) later and a good half hour on the tarmac before we disembarked, to find my next Helpx host, Manon and her 2 small children there to greet me. The 50 minute drive down to their town was very pretty and we were greeted by Eric who was plastering the recently renovated kitchen in the house. The bathroom upstairs has just been added and is not yet completed, there is painting to be finished, the close on 300 board games (I kid you not!) need to be packed and there are about a million books of every conceivable genre. In complete sets too! We will eat this elephant one bite at a time and Wednesday will see us on the road to Liebvillers with a loaded truck and trailer.

 A bientot mes Amis

More letters from France

What a pretty town! I have arrived at a very good time here as today is Quatorze Juillet which for those who did not take French at school is the day the Bastille in Paris was stormed and Freedom, Equality and Fraternity was won. Alons enfants de la .....etc ! If you have seen Les  Miserables you will understand (apart from Russell Crowe cant sing!)
However the tricolor is out today and bunting in the square, dancing the Sardane outside the Mayors office topped off with fireworks tonight.

Muriel, my host is a gentle and very kind lady and she has taken me to the market in a nearby town yesterday to do her weekly shopping. We opted not to stay for the Corrida (running of the bulls), way too cruel and of course there is always the possibility that the bulls may run raster than moi? Muriel made me Pain Perdue yesterday which translates as "lost bread" because it uses up the stale bits. We call it French Toast!

 The area is near the French Pyrenees, called North Catalan, and is obviously popular with campers! Campgrounds everywhere and families relaxing together as it is school holidays here. The place is very busy and the fireworks were phenomenal. Brought back memories of the fabulous night in Hanover with H and Cob.

Getting to sleep here is interesting as the windows and shutters are open to keep cool, but the frogs make a hell of a racket all night. I guess they have to entertain themselves somehow as they possibly dont have legs here?

Tomorrow off to Marseille by bus and train ready to fly to Nantes for my next assignment helping a family shift from west to east across France to near the Swiss border. Just need a boat ride to complete the old folk song. Now I wonder if I can wangle a ferry trip somewhere?

Letters from France

Firstly I need to correct the spelling of the Almazara Experimental! Apologies Fernando and colleagues.

I also forgot to put in the last posting that the drinks with friends on the first Friday was not the end of the evening! Oh no! The bar wanted to close at 11pm so we were asked to move on which totally confounded my hosts! Fancy being booted out at only 11?! On our way to the car we heard blues music playing loudly from another bar (called coincidentally Almazara which translates as Oil Press) with a lovely garden and lights in the trees etc etc. Balmy evening so we joined the rest of the expat British community domiciled in Orgiva and enjoyed the music until 1am. The convivial atmosphere is infectious in Spain and it is so good to be a part of family fun until all hours-small children sitting with Grannies and parents all enjoying the same events until all hours. Seems to work for them and the rhythm of life here is sure a powerful beat!

Our journey north was uneventful on Wednesday apart from the unexpected thunder and lightening show and RAIN! We stopped for the night in Valencia where driver Sue Hodlin had booked a room, and cracked on the next morning via Barcelona and the French Border to the town Maureillas las Illes. Interesting seeing the country changing fron dry, rocky, olives, olives everywhere to citrus groves and glimpses of the Med from the motorway. An amazing system the motorway, certainly an efficient method of moving around Europe!

Maureillas is such a pretty town and the house I am being hosted at is a French shade of pink, with boxes of petunias on the balconies. I am painting here to help Muriel who has not been well and is a charming host. Market on Saturday, Fiesta on Sunday and off to Marseille on Tuesday for the flight north to Nante.

Tres bon et bon soir mes amis

Orgiva lovely Orgiva

What a ride! I found my way to Orgiva (google Sierra Navada, Spain) via 2 buses and no Spanish language! Mr Grumpy bus driver was not much help but I got here. Windey road and narrow but as we were going from Granada to Orgiva around the end of the mountains that I guess is to be expected!
The drive from Seville to Granada changed from dry, flattish and olives, olives to more productive looking country with greater variety of crops so was interesting to see. And then.... the mighty Sierra Navada! Still snow in patches and this I have learnt is the reason for the cropping abundance. Extremely hot in Granada again and I just had time to purchase my next ticket from the machine at the Estacion de Autobus (yes Vinnie, cion DOES go on the end of a load of words!) and buy a second pair of cheap shorts and a hat (brought mine all the way from NZ and left it in Edinburgh), before catching the Orgiva bus.
Not one to do things simply, I had elected to not go into Seville centre the last night to top up my phone as I had  a walk in the dark to my lodgings! Smart move, Morag, keeping  yourself safe! See children, I am more streetwise than you thought! So....  no cellphone to phone Bernie and Kay on arrival and no wifi available at bus station or Orgiva. Very luckily for me, on enquiring re any local English speaker I was directed to a gent who turned out to be from Sunderland in England and was as p.....sed as a newt. However he helped with the vaguaries of a Spanish public telephone box and I connected with Bernie who came down in the landrover to rescue me.
This is the Alpujarra valley squished between the Nevada and the Lujar range over which is the Alboran sea! Ha! how many thought it was the Med? I did, but no, there are many other seas and the Med officially starts after the Alboran sea. So failing geography at 15 I have finally learnt something of use! Anyhoo, the reason for the growth here is the Moors apparently and on Las Chimineas land (Kay and Bernies property) there is a system of acequia which are irrigation channels built by the Moors before Queen Isabella turfed them out back to Morocco and made Spain totally Catholic. This cooperative system of watering uses the snow melt for water and boy does it work well!
The Byrnes are very welcoming and my duties have been mostly weeding and planting in the vege garden. We work early 7.30am until breakfast at 10.30 ish then on until lunch which is around 2.30. Lunch is the main meal and we have eaten indoors then as the house is very cool due to the shutters having been closed all day. Breakfast is outdoors under the pergola in the garden and involves fresh fruit or eggs from Kays chickens, maybe home baked bread and delicious olive oil of course. This has been absolutely the best beginning for a Helpx novice with a very fair exchange of labour for keep.
On the first evening Kay and Bernard took me to meet friends for a drink and tapas in a local bar and the most amazingly serendipitous thing happened! I had been very unsure about my transport to the next destination just over the French border. An 18 hour journey by bus, I was told! I was prepared to look at all options when the lady next to me was saying she was driving to the ferry for UK via the south coast of Spain and into France. To make this quick, the unbelievable coincidence was that her route took her almost directly through the town of my next assignment! Unbelievable! as David would say! And, she was going on the same day as I needed to go!And this was the first time she had taken that route, usually goes straight up through Spain So, here I am, lucky old me, delivered right to the door in comfort.
You see, if you throw enough things in the air, they just might come down in the correct order!

Encore Seville

I cant begin to tell you all how well I have been treated here! Fermando of the Almazira Experimental Research facility here in Seville had set up a series of meetings with Directors, researchers and his colleagues to allow me to ask my many questions about the olive industry both here and as it relates to the rest of the world. I have met with researchers in green and black olives (as well as other types of food), recovery of the by products of oil pressing using mechanical methods rather than chemical (very interested in Guillermos work there), the refining process of seed oils and of olive pomace (if you dont want chemicals used in the production of food dont use seed oils, stick with Extra Virgin Olive Oil) I have had 2 sessions of oil tasting, defining the good and bad properties in oil and today Fernando and a  collegue drove me an hour and a half both ways to Cordoba where I had a couple of hours with the head of research into diseases of the olive tree. He also knew about the growing and general cultivation of the tree which was so interesting. A huge privilege and I am reeling with the kindness and generosity in sharing of everyone I have met.
Last evening 9pm, Fernando and  his wife collected me to go for Tapas (real tapas) in the city with some workmates and Miguel, Fernandos brother. We drove theough the narrowest streets imagineable and some of the most beautiful buildings in the centre. Had a fab time and enjoyed life in Seville as a local rather than a tourist. Fernando, Miriam, Maria-jose, Eugenia, Miguel, thank you for sharing a wonderful evening of laughter and good companionship with me! Undia me gustaria devolver el favor!

Off to near Granada tomorrow to meet my first Helpx hosts, Kay and Bernie Byrne for a few days. Up until 1am this morning with half of Seville including children so time for a Siesta.
Adios Amigos.
mx

Seville

I managed to walk to the bus station in the morning and purchased my ticket for noon to Seville. Not much English spoken here and I wasn't prepared for the aloneness that creates! Very weird not having another soul to share feelings with.The bus journey was great, vey comfortable and with air conditioning. I can recommend midday as a good time ro be travelling and therefore out of the heat! Got over my wobbles with the language and as Kj suggested, Charades is the way forward.
Tip for the initiated as well as the greenhorns- dont believe the photos of accommodation in any publication, online or glossy! After braving the not very informative information service at the bus station I took the advice of a local (picture much gesticulating and trying not to shout!) and got in the general direction of my accommodation. This, I will say was booked on the recommendation of trip advisor or some thing similar and was done on price as well as a little experience. University accommodation I have been in before but fhis must be a left over from some military barracks! Never mind, it is clean, has air conditioning and an integral bathroom and is well controlled at the entrance. I will try and post a photo. Pretty basic and as I had yet another bum steer from the bus driver, I had walked for half an hour with my pack etc in the mid afternoon heat (only mad dogs and Englishmen), I was pretty pleased to see any room!

Note to self and everyone, dont arrive in a new place in Spain on a Sunday! And dont do it also on the Sunday before the BIG SALES start on Monday as the shops dont open on Monday until 10! The SIM card and adaptor for the chargers had to wait until evening. Now I am used to instant communications it felt as though I was cut off from the world!

After a false start and  crossed wires, Fernando and I met up and the olive adventure began. Having seen the number of trees, groves and related industries, on the way from Malaga, it is easy to understand why this is the largest producer of EVOO in the world. It is now Tuesday and I have met some very influential people in the olive world. In short, the Almazara Experimental, of the Instituto de la Grasa is producing research and standards in olives, oil, and production innovations for the world. Everyone has been very acommodating of my lack of their language and I have already learnt heaps.

Tomorrow more of the same and a supper with Fernando and his family somewhere that does Tapas. Plenty of tourist food places but will be good to go where the locals go! They dont eat until 9ish so I may snack on my nuts and seeds which have been a staple for me. No wonder the mediterranean diet works! All I feel like doing is drinking water. I actually have ro remember to eat, it is very dehydrating in 40○.

Next chapter soon.
M