Rodez se réveilleEven though I drove my eldest daughter to her high school on the outskirts of Rodez every morning for two years, and I've driven myself to my job in Rodez's new business district for many more, I've never really gotten a feel for downtown Rodez in the early morning.
I love how the few open shops stand out as the sun risesNow that my eldest daughter has an apartment in the hyper-centre, and my youngest goes to a high school that is also right in town, I'm led at times to come into town quite early, around 7:15 or so.
It's a different Rodez, one with many free parking spaces, subtile shades of light -- and residents! Living outside of town, I usually thought of downtown more as a place to shop and not so much a place to live.
Sure, I saw that above every shop were apartments, but the notion of people living up there was abstract -- after all, when I was in town these town center inhabitants always mixed in with the crowd.
Now I see them scurrying about: employees rushing to catch the shuttle bus to go to work in Bourran, where I work, and schoolkids hulking their huge backpacks through the pedestrian district. On Mondays and Fridays, when the internes (boarders) arrive and leave, a number of students are also dragging suitcases.
It's a different Rodez, one with many free parking spaces, subtile shades of light -- and residents! Living outside of town, I usually thought of downtown more as a place to shop and not so much a place to live.
Sure, I saw that above every shop were apartments, but the notion of people living up there was abstract -- after all, when I was in town these town center inhabitants always mixed in with the crowd.
Now I see them scurrying about: employees rushing to catch the shuttle bus to go to work in Bourran, where I work, and schoolkids hulking their huge backpacks through the pedestrian district. On Mondays and Fridays, when the internes (boarders) arrive and leave, a number of students are also dragging suitcases.
Looking up from where I park on early-morning apartment runs
This year is a different life, and Rodez has become a different world to me.
20 comments:
Oh, mon Dieux! How wonderful.
Since I am an early waker, I do tend to see most of the cities I am in that way. Bakeries and cafès glowing in the dark and later still people walking their dogs before the first rush of the day. There are so few of them about when I first step out that it sometimes feel like I am owning the place...
That's exactly what I loved about inner-city Paris early in the morning. People really live in all those touristy areas!
Incredible to find the real life in your city.
I love the shop glowing in the early morning hours. How lovely. Especially knowing what is going on inside the bakeries. Ummmmmmm...wonderful buttery croissants.
Pierce, yes, after dropping the girl/s off I sometimes stop by there and pick up a brioche, which are rather hard to find in Rodez.
Congratulations on not having had to go far to have this entirely new and highly intimate experience of an old friend, Betty C.
Your photos are very nice and give a wonderful sense of what you are encountering.
Amitiés,
Glad you like the photos Fram. I've actually stopped cropping and brushing them up before posting -- it's getting harder to blog with other pursuits taking over, and that process was holding me back to some extent. Call it "photo vérité."
What a great post! I've not seen that many places at 7:15 AM, as I'm usually still in bed. I bet London too looks different to what I'm used to ;-)
London is fabulous in the early morning, even I can attest to that! I like cities right before they start to "open up" and right as they're starting to "shut down."
Groovy shots, one of the best side effects of having less daylight.
I love viewing villages so early in the morning-how fortunate you are that you get to see this so many times!
What a lovely post, Betty! I have noticed the same thing in Cahors. Ooh, how I miss La Belle France.
Mimi -- How lovely to hear from you again! I am really out of the loop in the blogging department. I do try to keep FP up but even that is becoming difficult, not to mention how much time it takes to read other blogs. But it is nice to hear from old blogging buddies! I'll stop in and see what you've been up to...
Is it nice to live in Rodez or in the area? Are there enough activities for kids (currently in ecole maternelle)?
Is it sunny during the year? Is there a lot of wind or rain?
How about people? Are they nice to foreigners, are they open or rather shut?
I am considering different options to relocate, and Rodez was just added to the list of possible destinations..
d3sp -- Thank you for your comment, but it is really something I would rather answer by email. You can find my email address on my Blogger profile page. I'm looking forward to answering your questions!
Betty good morning :)
I sent you an email yesterday, but since it's still unanswered I suspect that it went directly to your spam box...So here it is s.avine AT gmail DOT com
Looking forward to hear from you!
No, I did get it, I've just been very busy in between trips for work (Germany then France.) I will answer you soon, possibly from Paris today (I'll have some computer time,) possibly this weekend.
Bye for now,
Betty
Good Lord!
Sorry for persistence :)
Have a good trip!
Glad I found your blog. I worked in the Rodez area for about a total of 4 months over 3 years. The project ended in 2008, but i find myself missing Averyon these days. I was especially fond of the Rodez on market days in the morning so it was nice to be reminded of it.
mark -- Thanks for your comment. What sort of project were you working from and where are you from? Feel free to send me this info in an email if you prefer. I always like to know what brings people to Rodez.
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