Monday, May 25, 2009

Au revoir France!

It doesn't seem possible that my trip is over and I leave for the States tomorrow. I am totally in love with this part of France and love my wonderful hosts Randy and JM who took me all over the place, cooked my meals, gave me all kinds of historical info and were both the nicest people you can meet. I will surely miss them, France and Shmoo! I am getting teary eyed just writing this post. I hope everyone enjoyed my pics as much as I enjoyed taking them.

4 comments:

LC said...

Have LOVED seeing your pics and reading your posts. What a fabulous trip this has been. You will need to take a month off from work to work on your photo album! :-) See you soon!

LC

Pam Koper said...

Don't say,"au revoir." Say, "a bientot." Means see you soon. :0) I have loved reading about your trip and seeing your photos!
Pam K

Anonymous said...

Than you Cheryl, you were the ideal guest!

JM & Randy

Anonymous said...

Cheryl,

I've been following your excellent adventure in southwest France, and appreciating your wonderful photos.

Back in January 2007, I popped in on Jean-Marie and Randy, and they were gracious hosts and a lot of fun to chat with.

I was on a skiing holiday in the Pyrenees, based in Ax-les-Thermes, and had contacted them beforehand via e-mail (after reading about their expat experiences at Daily Kos) about a possible visit.

One rainy day, I called them in the morning and asked if I could come over that day.

They said oui.

Randy prepared an excellent lunch on short notice, JM gave a quick tour of Chalabre and a less-quick, but more interesting, tour of their house and its renovations, and we walked the dogs (Shmoo and another whose name I forget, sorry).

I've been to SW France five times, and my visit with JM and Randy in Chalabre ranks up there as one of the highlights overall.

And that includes finding a parking place in Collioure (in May, a decade ago), taking a dip in the Med there, and dining outdoors with a spendid view of the harbor and the fort afterwards.

And climbing to the top of Montsegur. (I was breathing quite hard on the walk from the car park to the plaz des cremats, but my companion was determined to summit, so we did, slowly.)

I spent a few hours with JM and Randy; you had a week.

Lucky you!

Thanks for the vicarious thrills.

Dev Tobin