Thursday, July 13, 2006

What I Miss About Summer in Aveyron -- and Don't

c

For six years, I have been spending most of the summer in my home town -- Olympia, Washington.
So my two-month teacher's vacation happens away from "home" -- or "back home" , in another sense.

I miss the summer activity in Rodez. It's the only time we see many tourists around, and they add a festive note. I don't get to go to the summer music festivals, like Estivada, a fun weekend of music and other performing arts which focuses on Occitan and other traditional languages and culture.

There are also great classical music festivals in Conques and Sylvanes which I would love to go to someday -- and if you're in Aveyron this summer, think about getting tickets!

I don't miss, though, the increasingly searing heat Aveyron experiences in July and August. Although Rodez and my village are at an elevation of about 2,000 feet and don't get as horribly hot as Albi and Toulouse, residents still suffer. This summer is looking especially dry, although we may not be in for the canicule of 2003 -- which I fortunately didn't experience as I was in the cool Pacific Northwest!

3 comments:

Annie said...

How lovely that you are enjoying some comfortable temperatures even while the rest of the world is searingly hot. I love Washington State for the weather, the rain, the mists, the cool weather, the beautiful trees and flowers.

Pardon My French said...

I think I am just about at the end of my tolerance level of life without a fan! Darty, here I come...

We are heading down south soon so we may be able to hit one of the music festivals you mentioned. I'm not sure how far we'll be from your neck of the woods, but I'll check.

Wilf James said...

It is getting hot Betty and so far there is no let up, but we still have the fields of sunflowers for now. What lovely comments you have left on Réal PB - thank you.