Well, I won’t even bother mentioning the time we got up today. However, it was another gorgeous day and everyone was excited to get outside. After doing a bit of morning work on the computer the kids had a small Easter Egg hunt in the backyard of the Gites. I was worried the heat outside would melt the chocolate but it went pretty fast. Anyway, we had lots of chocolate and lots of fun to start the morning off.
Diane’s sister Monique arrived in the early afternoon and we took off to the nearby town of Bessiéres. This town reminded me of Lavaur with huge knotted trees lining their town centre and all the shops in old buildings, closely packed and all closed of course. We came here because of the fête Omelette Pascale (Easter Omelette Festival). Close to the centre of the town there was a small carnival with rides for the kids, games to win prizes and many people selling various food, clothing, jewellery and crafts. It was interesting for awhile but there were too many people and too much dog poop everywhere. After some playtime for the kids we decided to head out for a drink somewhere else, it was afterall 27 deg. Celcius!
Monique led us to another small town called Paulhac. It was again a very quaint town with a beautiful church in the centre, many old buildings and some areas with cobblestone streets. We stopped around the church and Monique asked a small group of people if there was a nearby place to have a drink. One person who lived across the church asked us what were we looking for because there was really nothing in the town. When we said we were hoping for a cafe that serves juice and water he invited us to have a drink on his front door step! His friends helped him roll out his front door awening and bring out a small table. He then proceeded to bring out orange juice, grenadine and several glasses. We were all flabbergasted! Who does this sort of thing! Just to be clear, it was a busy part of town right across from the church in open public on his front doorstep so there was clearly no safety issue.
We chatted with them while we had our drink and found out that he (his name is Lack) was born in Algeria and came to France when he was 4 or 5 years old. He is much older now of course. He now makes bread in his home for those who order the night before. His friend’s names were Dalphina and Sebastian. It was very pleasant and something we won’t forget and a great example of French hospitality. When French people aren’t behind the wheel of a vehicle they seem to be very warm, kind people.
After going home we scarfed down a bunch of wine, cheese, wonderful bread from the fair and the kids had a tasty pizza. Have I mentioned that I love the food here?
Tomorrow, let’s see if IBM France shows up.