Blogs from Sommieres, Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Europe

Much is made of the 100 Mile Diet in North America. Frankly, it has always seemed to be more trouble than it is worth. Doing it right would preclude a lot of the things we have come to rely upon like bananas or olives. But here in France, you could probably say "thanks for the 100 miles, but I will give you 80 of those back to you as I won't be using them. Thirty kilometres is more than ample." We get asparagus in November at home. That is just plain wrong. When I first arrived in Sommieres, the white asparagus was newly out. Gradually, as each market week progressed, less of the white was seen and then more of the green. And then, none. The early strawberries disappeared but were eventually replaced by fraises de ... read more

When you don't have a pet, inanimate objects can be ascribed personalities. How often do you hear of people who have a name for their car? In France, I have created personalities for two very favorite inanimate objects. Or, one could argue, they have defined their personalities for themselves. The first is lovely Oscar. Oscar is a rather willful pool robot who goes where he wants, when he wants. He scours the bottom of the pool just as my old Roomba vaccuum did the carpets at home (before a chronic battery problem sent Roomba off to the next dimension). And by just the same, I mean in some random, peculiar pattern that seems to insist on going over some ground repeatedly and some never at all. The theory is one drops gently Oscar into the shallow ... read more

It's hard to type when you can't stop pinching yourself. This blog is long overdue as I have now been settled in what is to be my home for the next while for two weeks now. I am feeling immensely lucky as each perfect day blends into the next. I am also feeling a bit sheepish, assuming that the audience for this blog is still ensconced in the never-ending cold of a Canadian "winter" that refuses to let go and a spring that seems reluctant to turn warm. Getting into a rhythm has been interesting as a variety of guests has come and gone. My quiet time is early morning when the house has been waking up gently. I paddle downstairs, originally in slippers to combat the cold tiles and now in bare feet as the ... read more

The long-anticipated morning (very early morning) arrived last Thursday. David drove me to the airport at 5:15am, in plenty of time to make my 7am flight to Toronto. Uneventful flight to Toronto, where I had a fast 2 hour turnaround to make my flight to Rome...and I had to change terminals. I learned it can be a bit of a test, getting from Terminal 3 to the new Terminal 1 in Toronto...long walk to the elevator after getting my luggage; after 6 minutes waiting for the elevator, I informed an airport official neither lift was working and, along with another lady catching the same flight to Rome, ran back to the escalator which took us to the next floor, made a very fast walk across that floor to another escalator - and finally arrived at the ... read more