Years ago there was an advertising campaign about walking a mile for a particular product except that today for us it was a mile and a half each way. Ah, what we do for free delivery! To do that, as you might expect, it would have to do with either food or drink. From the photo of the box it looks as if it could be both. Continue reading “I’d walk a mile”
We used to live in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania where waterfalls abound as do the tales associated with them. When the owner of one of those mini-Niagaras closest to our house hoped to entice ticket-paying tourists to his attraction, he revived the Legend of Winona. The story goes that when a Native American princess fell in love with a Dutch army officer who was later summoned back to the Netherlands, they jumped/fell to their eternity together from a mountainside to the river below. At least the legend of Charlemagne’s fountain has a happier ending. Continue reading “Charlemagne’s fountain”
Last Monday the city put a sign on both ends of our rue reminding the residents that the street would be closed on Friday from 7 PM until 2 AM for the Fête des Voisins or Neighbors’ Day Festival. For one night a year at the end of May, cities, towns, and villages across the country shut down neighborhood roads to create one giant outdoor party with the official goal being to “break isolation…and give a sense of belonging”. Thanks to the friendly people who surround us, we’ve been there since our first week here. Continue reading “Is it pork or paëlla?”
I always think/thought of the French as being especially health minded when it comes to their diet. After all they are the ones who can eat can eat all that bread, cheese, and foie gras that’s washed down with glasses of red wine and still have low rates of heart disease. Even the newly-crowned Miss Fitness Europe 2016 is from right here in Carcassonne. So how come we can’t find brown rice? Continue reading “Where’s the brown rice?”
If you look at an online map of Carcassonne you might think that the downtown streets would be overrun with students of higher learning. As you zoom in on the hexagonal area called the bastide that was once surrounded by city walls you’ll see the names of 4 colleges pop up. It would seem unusual to have that many of these institutions for a population of 50,000 and you might be amazed at the ages of the students: 11 to 14 years old. Precocious? Continue reading “College town”
As you probably know, wine holds an important role in the culture and economy of France. We live in the middle of the world’s largest wine-growing region and in March attended the wine fair hosted by the high school not far down the road from where we live. Not to be outdone by their comrades, the students at the high school for those who want to enter the restaurant profession organized their own Salon Cité Vins wine tasting and guess who was there when it opened at 10 AM? Continue reading “A day at the tastings”
In the US we never spent money. I carried around the same five 20 dollar bills in my wallet for years, literally. So how did we exist? With credit cards, of course. At one point I think we had 7 of them. Now before you call Credit Counseling Anonymous for us, I should say that we used them for convenience and paid everything off at the end of each month. It was just difficult to resist the offer of 50,000 air miles or 400 dollars rebate after the first use, for example, on a card that was free and you could then cancel a year later without penalty. That’s now all changed…or more correctly, change. Continue reading “Change to change”
Let's Live In France 