Hello Everyone
Well I have been here for 2 weeks and am loving it. If there is a complaint it is this keyboard. It seems the French have decided that it needed rearranging so that typing is a long labour intensive exercise with searching for the A, E, W, Q, M, all symbols, etc. To do an apostrophy one must use three keys and the priod is a shift character as are all the numbers. Every symbol is on a different key too. It is aggravating so please ignore any typos.
My first week here was quite nice. I relaxed a lot and slept in every morning. The house is common to this area but quite unique to my past experience. It is 4 stories high, narrow (about 5 or 6 metres wide) and each level is a different depth, getting deeper the higher you go. This is because the house is actually built right into the mountain side. The ground/first level is mainly storage and quite small... mostly cavern-like. The second level is large with a living/dining area. The dining area is in a cave and you step up to the kitchen which is further into the cave. Most of the walls and ceilings have been plastered over but the accoustics and the vaulted ceilings are just 2 clues to the cave's identity and location. In the far back end of the kitchen the cave is fully visible with lichens growing in a few nooks in the rock and a floor drain for the rain run-off. The rock walls are quite pretty when the 'star' lights are on or candles are in there. The angles of the rocks make perfect wine storage. The livingroom has a fireplace that works a charm and the most charming Victorian leather setee I've seen in a long time. There are ancient nooks from the past everywhere and speculating as to their original uses is fun. The house is entirely built of rock and mortor including the first two staircases and the interior walls. The third floor has two bedrooms and a full bathroom. Each room is unique in it's design. There is one window on each of the second and third floors facing the street. The fourth level is a loft over the back bedroom of the third level which is accessed by a new pine staircase. Off this is the roof top terrace.
The terrace is where I spend most of my time when at home. The clotheslines are up there, I sit there to read, write, etc and that is my dining table and napping lounge. The view is stunningly gorgeous. It looks down upon the village and out over the valley, Vis gorge and mountains. The terrace faces south with the mountains up behind to the north and the sun shining on the terrace all day as it traverses the sky.
There has been on dreary day and one rainy day since I've been here: Bart's first and second day here. I was tempted to send him home but his company is too good.
Bart arrived late in the evening last Saturday. It was a complete surprise to me as I had not yet been to an internet access point for e-mail. He had written to say he was coming but I had not seen the message. I was so excited to see him... what a wonderful treat. He has been great company and he was my first contact with english in a week. Oh, except a 10 minute conversation on the street with the housekeeper who is married to a Scotsman.
We spent a day in Ganges together (mostly) doing errands, shopping and eating. We were able to easily hitch a ride back to St. Laurent le Minier (took the Tuesday bus in) with all our grocery bags. There were no cars available to hire and the price was 58? per day. Very expensive.
Yesterday we hitched 2 rides to Le Circque de Navacelle. This, we thought, would be a nice thing to visit and then go to the grotte Desmoiselles after. Did we get a shock. It was huge, monstrous. Much more than expected and we had lunch at the restaurant (5star) overlooking it from the plateau. Bart leaves tomorrow to spend a couple of days in Montpellier before returning to Ottawa.
I am here for another 2 weeks. I have found an art supply shop in Ganges and will start painting after Bart departs. I have several sketches and photos ready for the purpose.
Got to run or I'll miss my bus back to St Laurent le Minier.
Posted by gailene at September 26, 2003 04:15 PM