Where It All Began

I just got back from a three-day trip through my earliest expat memories.

My husband and I got married in July 1990 at the Mairie in the tiny village of Cestayrols , population 459, located in the Tarn department. A few months later we moved from Lincarque, the even tinier hamlet where we had been renting a gîte, to Albi, where we lived from 1990-1992. My first daughter was born there, in the now defunct Clinique Escudié.

I adored Albi and when we left it for professional reasons in 1992, I thought my heart would break. Place nostalgia overwhelmed me every time I thought about the town's red brick houses, its covered market and its warm atmosphere.

After a three-year stint near Tours, we moved back to the Southwest -- to Aveyron -- and swore we would get back to Albi and the Tarn often.

But of course we don't. There have been the occasional trips to show American visitors la ville rouge, and a few stops on our way to Toulouse. But for the most part, we rarely return to the area we loved so much.

Until this spring break. Our stay in the Tarn was short, but brought back a multitude of memories -- and a lot of blogging material.

I hope you'll be reading La France Profonde in April -- because we'll be taking a trip to the Tarn.

Polnareff Concert

Aveyron does have a lot of cultural opportunities, but it wasn't on the list for Michel Polnareff's concert tour. That didn't stop my family from crossing snowy mountain passes on a school night last week to see him play in the Zénith concert hall in Clermont-Ferrand -- a two-hour drive from our house.

If you're interested, I've done a major post on it next door at And So Forth.

But you may not be. Most of our friends were underwhelmed by our decision to go. It's all a matter of taste...

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco...

(Click on photo to enlarge)

...at least it was fooling around, in a way. The French Foreign Legion was in Rodez last week, carrying out a military exercise entitled "Etex 2007." Their highly visible presence caused consternation to some, and intrigued many.

The scenario was to liberate Rodez from a possible takeover by "rebel forces." I'm not quite sure who those rebel forces might be in Aveyron, but obviously someone somewhere believes you can never be too careful.

Life during wartime...???

(Photos courtesy of photographer par excellence Thomas Smith-Vaniz. Check out his Postcards from the Aveyron.)

On the way to school, I saw....

(Click on photo to enlarge -- it's worth it!)

Ken of Living the Life in St. Aignan just blogged about a list of reasons "Why we travel to France" that he had found on a forum.

Some aspects of France will never make the list. But doesn't this photo still have a certain je-ne-sais-quoi?

(Photo taken in the Corrèze department by Thierry Jouanneteau.)

Culture is Alive and Well in Aveyron

It is de bon ton for newcomers to Rodez, especially those arriving from big cities, to relentlessly criticize the lack of cultural offerings in the area. "There's nothing to do," they complain. "There's just no culture."

What do I say to these people? "YOU ARE WRONG!" Or as a friend of mine put it: "If there isn't much to do, I don't know why I can't find the time to do even a quarter of it."

Sure, if you want to listen to jazz every night or go to the opera all year, Rodez may be a disappointment. But if you're open-minded about what you see and flexible with dates, you will find plenty to do in and around Rodez. Many pop and rock stars make their way to Aveyron. In the fall, my daughters and I saw Corneille at ACA in Onet-le Château, and last year we were bowled over by Cali at Rodez's "Amphithéâtre." We were even able to catch Renaud a few years back.

Saturday we went to see a fun yet emotional show by Pierre Perret (lower left above) celebrating the 50th anniversary of his singing career. And we can't wait to see Le Quatuor (lower right above) for the second time in two years.

In the meantime, the cinema selection is apparently better than in Albi -- at least that's what I've heard, comments are welcome! -- and as you can see from the poster-covered door above left, at any given time, there are numerous and varied events to go to. We miss out on so much...

One final word: going out in Rodez is also easy: no parking problems, no traffic jams, no unspoken dress codes. Just come as you are, and have a great time!

Rodez Hospital, the New

If you've been following my series about the closing of the old Combarel hospital in Rodez, you may be wondering what the new hospital looks like. I may still have been wondering myself if my daughter hadn't had a surprise appendectomy performed there in early January.

Photos weren't the first thing on our minds during her four-day stay, but my husband and I did manage to take a few. Above you can see l'hôpital du XXIme siècle, as it has been called in the press, by night-- this could be the only such photo on Internet at the moment, so make sure to take a close look!

Below is the view FROM the new hospital site -- the old hospital was located just below the cathedral on the right:

A lengthy walkway leads to the hospital entrance, giving people something to complain about -- how quickly they forget that it was practically impossible to park anywhere near the old site!

Once inside, you know you're not in Kansas anymore:

Those who find the new site "cold," though, should spend some time in the new "family rooms" -- lounges where family members weary of spending hours in the actual hospital rooms can take a break, read a magazine, or play games. I spent a few hours there correcting papers while my daughter was resting and found the atmosphere most relaxing:

Old or new, funky or ultra-modern, downtown or in the new Bourran business area, one thing hasn't changed: the kindness and skills of the Rodez hospital staff. I thank them for all of the support they've given our family during a few difficult times, and wish them luck as they adjust to their new surroundings.

French Husband, American Wife...

This is a little late for Valentine's Day, but I know a lot of my readers are American women married to French men. If you have love on your mind at the moment, you might be intrigued by the release of a new book by Polly Platt due out in September 2007. Entitled "Love à la française, The Supreme French Exception", it deals with marriages between French men and American women.

The first three tips for success, according to an advance article about the book on Expatica, are:

"— First and foremost, learn the language.
— Learn to cook. 'It's not essential, but it helps.'
— Learn to get along with your mother-in-law. 'Have every Sunday lunch if you have to!'"

Does this advice seem pertinent to you? What do you think of the whole list of ten tips which can be found in the article? They seem rather stereotypical and old-fashioned to me, but perhaps they'll ring true to some of you....

(Image courtesy of Hugh Macleod from gapingvoid -- and do check out his great blog of "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards.")

Combarel Hospital, the Incongruous

I have learned at least one factoid by writing this series on the old Rodez hospital: why its location was called the "site Combarel." In 1871, the writer Denis Combarel left 300,000 gold francs to the city to improve the existing hospices. Would he have been pleased with the changes the next 136 years would bring to the site?

He probably would have been surprised yet impressed by the architecture of the pediatrics ward, built in 1947. It is a registered historical monument, recognized for its Art Deco style:

Most of the 20th century wards, however, showed a distinct lack of style, making Combarel a place where old met new in an incongruous hodgepodge...

... yet where beauty could usually be found somewhere in the middle of all the concrete:

A few parts of the site, though, were hopelessly uninspiring. I wonder why and how anyone could build this type of construction just a few meters from historic center of the hospital campus -- yet someone did:

Then again, a few of the hospital's "horrors" intrigued me. What was the original purpose of the building below? And how was it being used -- if at all -- in 2006?

The Combarel hospital site was typical of the Rodez I discovered twelve years ago: historical yet funky, and somehow a little off-kilter. The new hospital in the modern business area of Bourran presents a striking contrast. Read about it in next weekend's post...

Combarel Hospital, the Old

Come take a peek at some of the beautiful old parts of the now nearly-empty Combarel Hospital in the center of Rodez...

I wish I had the time to do some real book research about this site -- information on the Internet is quite thin. I have learned that in the XIVth century, Rodez had 13 hospitals. If I understand the cryptic historical article I found on the Web, the Combarel site was officially formed in 1696 by combining three existing hospitals, Sainte-Marthe, Notre Dame du Pas et Sainte Croix.

Fortunately, the oldest and most beautiful parts of the hospital site are on the register of classified historical monuments, and will be protected in any future projects.

There was no getting around the cars for these photos! One of the big disadvantages of the former site was the lack of parking space.

In case there is any confusion, the Rodez hospital has been public and secular for many years. But traces of its religious past -- I think virtually all French hospitals started as religious institutions -- are still present, as you can see above on the left and, more obviously, below.

Please feel free to add or correct any information about the old Combarel hospital site. This post may be updated as I find time to research the subject more.

Good-bye, My Hospital

It may seem strange to write a hospital series, but the construction of le nouvel hôpital in the "New Rodez," Bourran, is yet another major change in the local landscape.

A few years ago, I had the unfortunate experience of being hospitalized for a month in the "old hospital," on the "site Combarel" -- in this very ward, in fact. Strangely, I look back at that period with some nostalgia. Even though I was very ill, I knew -- most of the time -- that I wasn't suffering from anything life-threatening. Time stood still, and I learned that my family could function without me and that life went on at work, even in my absence.

My memories also revolve around the gradual discovery of the funky old Combarel hospital, which was a campus-style establishment nestled in the center of town. A total mishmash of incongruent architectural styles, it has been replaced by a state-of-the-art facility that I got to know recently during my daughter's bout with appendicitis.

La France Profonde will be taking a look at the old and the new over the next few posts, which will be a bit more frequent as I have a number of photos to share with you. In my opinion, nothing better represents the huge modifications going on in Rodez.

For Music Lovers Only

OK, I promise that I'm not going to use La France Profonde to relentlessly promote my incipient, just-for-fun blog, And So Forth. But I'm making an exception for a recent post about the greatest influences in American pop and rock music. If this subject beats your drum, click on over and give your opinion...

January Snow -- A Look Back

It's already been over two weeks since our snow episode, so before spring I thought I'd share a few images of Rodez under January 23rd's light blanket of white. I wasn't lucky enough to take pictures of the city during last year's huge snow cover, but this year braved going into town for a lunch the day we got hit.

Had I known what was awaiting me that evening, I probably wouldn't have gone to that lunch! After going home for a few hours at around 2pm, I went back to Rodez for a 5:30 appointment; by the time it was over at 6:30, the local streets were "une patinoire," or ice-skating rink. I took 50 minutes as compared to the usual 15 to drive back to my village on a surreal, wind-swept veneer of ice and snow.

Gritting my teeth and driving at about 15 miles per hour -- as was everyone else, for once -- I finally made it to my village, but not up the hill to my house as the roads were sheer ice. I joined a few abandoned cars in a farmer's field and my husband walked down to save me by putting chains on. Total time to get home: one hour and forty-five minutes!

The Bride Wore White

There was quite a wedding taking place in Rodez last week. The bride wore white...

...but her father couldn't hide his disapproval of the match:

He had preferred her angelic but spurned lover who was weeping from a distance:

All this high drama didn't stop the guests from having a good time, though, and this one apparently drank a few too many at the reception!

(Photos courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)

New Site for Expat Women

I am happy to announce the launch of a new website, Expat Women.

Its purpose is to help expatriate women all over the globe link up and share advice.

Although I have plenty on my plate, I was pleased to be invited to participate in this new venture as a mentor. I know first-hand how great it would have been to have access to this type of service when I arrived in France in 1990! Life felt pretty lonely sometimes, and it would have been most helpful to be able to contact fellow English-speaking women who were making their lives in France.

Some expat women, usually young newcomers to France, have found me through my blogs and I am always happy to answer their questions and give my advice, for what its worth. This site will make that function official, and contains a lot of great information too.

Check out the newly-launched site and spread the word!

Windows to a French World

It's strange, but until I started blogging, I never really noticed the beautiful and typically French details surrounding me. Life consisted of Peugeot, boulot, dodo : I only woke up to the beauty around me when I took trips outside of Aveyron, because I was on vacation.

Digital photography freed me up too. It's such a joy to snap away, knowing whatever I don't like can be tossed and what I do can be posted, or at least saved.

I am, however, piling up a lot of photos that I would like to share on this blog, but my photo montage techniques aren't up to snuff. For example, I would have liked to do a quadruple montage of four window photos for this blog, but got frustrated roaming around Flickr and Picasa. For you photography buffs out there, are those good places to do simple photo montage? Or do I need special software or to use some other site?

Any and all advice is appreciated. In the meantime, I like this window on its own too...

Going, going...

It's official. The razing of the Hall Charles in Rodez starts this week. Built about forty years ago for an exhibition, Totem radio reported yesterday that the building was never meant to be kept up permanently. But stay it did, hosting innumerable shows, exhibitions and trade fairs over the past years.

You will probably agree that it is looking down in the tooth, yet it is -- or was -- another funky old part of Rodez that I am happy to be able to capture in this blog. New plans for the Foirail area should make this part of town much more dynamic and attractive.

In the meantime, Ruthénois can look forward to observing plenty of grands travaux -- not just here, but also in other parts of town.

Happy New Blog plus Health Update

First, I want to thank all of you who have sent messages of support and best wishes after my daughter's hospitalization. She has been home all week and we are seeing the doctor tonight to find about when she can get back to school. Although she has a only a small scar, her surgery was done traditionally and so it will take a while for the incision pain to go away.

In the meantime, I have found nothing better to do than create a new blog. Just what I needed!

This new effort, "And So Forth," is going to be my 'just for fun" blog. La France Profonde and Cuisine Quotidienne have very focused subjects, so I wanted a place where I could blog about some of my other areas of interest. Look forward to posts on a highly irregular basis!

Hospital Trip

My daughter was just hospitalized for an appendicitis attack, and my parents remarked on the great differences between health care in the USA and health care in France.

At 7:30 am, I realized my daughter was very ill and that perhaps it wasn't just the stomach flu. I called my family doctor at home to see if she was working. Her husband told me she was already out on house calls before her 9:00 shift at the office.

I called her on her cell phone and she was at our house within 20 minutes. She examined my daughter and said that a case of appendicitis couldn't be ruled out and that I should take her to the hospital. She told me to make sure to call her during the day to tell her how things
turned out.

At emergency, my daughter was in her own room by 9:00. She was examined, tests were done, and by noon she was in a private room in the intestinal surgery department, and operated on at 4:00. She will be staying at least three nights, maybe four, and a free roll-in bed is provided for parents.

To compare, my niece had a kidney removed last year in the USA and stayed one night only. My 91-year-old grandmother took a fall this winter and fractured her ankle, and my family had to fight for her to stay one night in the hospital.

There's definitely a difference.

Bonne année 2007!

May 2007 be a year of hope, happiness and health for all of my family, friends and readers.

Je souhaite une très bonne année 2007 à toute ma famille, et tous mes amis, lecteurs et lectrices!

Here's a Blogger tip for the New Year:

Did you know that by clicking on Blogger photos you can enlarge them to full size? I just learned this a few months ago, and then found out that I'm not the only one who wasn't aware of this possibility.

I'm including the information in this post because today's photo of a sunrise in the Corrèze countryside is worth the click...


(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)

Christmas on the Causse

It's difficult to believe it's been nearly a month since I started a series of posts about the Christmas season in Aveyron. I have even more Christmas material to share, but am forced to accept that Christmas is old news. So I'll leave you with one last holiday shot -- the view from our living room window on Christmas morning 2006.

Festivities continue, of course, with preparations for the New Year's Eve réveillon well underway. This year we'll be celebrating at home, en famille, which will be a nice change from the huge meals of the past few years. And I will certainly have some blog-related New Year's resolutions to share -- so don't forget to click by in 2007!

Merry Christmas from Aveyron

Here's a sneak look at the Préfecture's Christmas tree in Rodez. Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël or Happy Holidays to all!

No Christmas Spirit in France? No Way!

I've noticed a lot of expat blogs are full of sadness -- I won't say whining -- about the supposed lack of Christmas spirit in France. Yesterday I spent a lovely afternoon in Rodez, getting my Christmas shopping done -- finally. And I can assure you that Christmas spirit was everywhere, starting with these two high school students who were perched on a bench in Rodez's public park, le Jardin du Foirail, displaying their version of Christmas spirit.

When I asked if I could take their photo and explained that a lot of Americans and Brits felt there wasn't enough "esprit de Noël" around -- for lack of a better translation -- they vehemently denied it: "Mais si, mais si." So yes there is -- and they are living proof of it. Joyeux Noël, guys.

Are you doing Sunday Christmas shopping?

Noël is fast approaching, and with French school holidays starting on Saturday the 23rd, everybody I talk to is in a rush. Fortunately most shops are open today and will also be open on Sunday the 24th. This is controversial, though, as is the subject of Sunday shopping in general.

Legally, only small food shops can do business on Sundays, and just in the morning. Other shops can open a certain number of Sundays per year -- I think this depends on the département. Sundays before Christmas are of course among the most popular choices.

Some retailers flaunt the law and open on more Sundays than allowed, then pay the fine. And superstores such as IKEA are dying to get permission to open on Sundays, yet employees and their unions resist. Despite France's low rate of church attendance, Sunday remains sacred as far as shopping is concerned.

Going, going...

When we moved to Aveyron in 1995, Rodez had just been through a series of grands travaux, with a fairly new -- and lovely -- public media library, town hall, and departmental archives building. Eleven years later, the city is going through more changes, some of them major and most of them controversial.

Living outside of Rodez, I'm not really up on the advantages and drawbacks of the projects that some say will transform Rodez as never before. One is to change the Ilôt Bonald, a rather rundown area behind the Place de la Cité , into an underground parking lot crowned by other urban renewal projects.

Many city dwellers are worked up about the loss of a fascinating -- I won't go so far as to say charming -- part of the town. Others feel the neighborhood needs, quite literally, a good cleaning up and some nice new apartments to get more people living in town. Shopkeepers reeling from the recent opening of a new galerie marchande, or mall, on the outskirts of the city will likely be pleased with any measure that makes it easier to park in the centre ville.

I don't really have a position on these plans, but am glad I got a picture of this huge old house, just a few steps away from the town center, because it will apparently be going down when the new project goes up.

Christmas Comes to Rodez -- in Trucks and Tractors

Aveyron is starting to get dressed up for Christmas, and I was lucky enough to catch the decidedly unglamorous arrival of these sapins de Noël which now deck the Place d'Armes in front of Notre Dame de Rodez.

I can't help but feel Our Lady would suffice as the most beautiful Christmas decoration possible -- especially at night -- but I do generally enjoy the town's efforts to light up the holiday season.

More and more Aveyronnais are decorating their houses inside and out à l'américaine, and despite a certain ambivalence about this trend, Christmas decorations usually bring a smile to my face -- wherever they are.

Horizons, New and Old

Was this the last gorgeous autumn sunset visible in Aveyron? Is Christmas shopping time already in full swing? Where does time go?

Maybe a few of you have noticed that I haven't been posting to this blog nor Cuisine Quotidienne as frequently as before. (How can I write a cooking blog when I don't have time to cook?)

Blogging and I haven't fallen out -- but life is very full. My teaching job excites and enthuses me as much as ever, and it is in full swing: new classes with company clients, tests for my college students, activities to supervise, papers to correct...it never ends.

Also, there are new horizons opening up to me: professional business blogging , the fun of writing about wine for a great site with a fantastic editor, and also doing a bit of educational writing for an ESL publishing company in Taiwan. So you'll forgive me if La France Profonde is not updated as much as before. It all depends on what else is going on in my life...and right now, there's a lot!

Le Gaillac Nouveau est Arrivé

All over France, Beaujolais nouveau is in the news. But local "new" wines have made significant inroads into the vin nouveau market. The proof is in the product. When I stopped off after work today to buy a bottle or two of Beaujolais nouveau, the fresh food market I shop at had a choice -- and tasting -- of three Gaillac primeurs and just one Beaujolais. Hats off to Gaillac wine producers for making their new wine a commercial success. I would say that here in Aveyron it has almost dethroned Beaujolais nouveau.

Well Fed Gets Even Better

As you may know, I also write for the Well Fed Network, and the site has just gotten a spiffy face-lift. Check out some of the new sub-sites: Just Baking, Cook Smarter and Kid's Cuisine look especially promising.

I used to contribute to Growers and Grocers, but have recently switched over to Wine Sediments, edited by Andrew Barrow of the excellent wine blog Spittoon. Andrew just took over editor's duties for Paper Palate too, and I hope to find a little time to write for this site which deals with cookbooks and the culinary press.

If you like France, you probably love cooking, so I hope you'll take a look at some of the above sites. And if you stop by, don't hesitate to leave a comment!

Halloween on the Wane in France

You wouldn't have known it from the thirteen thirteen-year-old French witches partying it up at our house on Tuesday night, but Halloween may be on its way out in France. Forbes.com has announced the demise of the holiday, quoting several French newspapers -- and check out their great photo.

"Halloween was a marketing gimmick aimed mainly at children. It's a big festival of consumption selling outfits, masks, gadgets and it couldn't last forever," declared former "Non à Halloween" president Arnaud Guyot-Jeanninin to Reuters. His group has disbanded, its mission accomplished.

As an American expat, I have always had mixed feelings about the importation of Halloween to France. Although I was happy that my children could celebrate it with their friends -- and one daughter especially loves the holiday -- I can understand the consternation of French people who don't want to adopt a celebration that is foreign to them, despite its Celtic origins.

And then there is the uncomfortable cohabitation between Halloween and All Saint's Day, or la Toussaint, on November 1st. The latter is a national holiday and serves as the French family Memorial Day; traditionally, it is the time to decorate family members' graves with flowers. The idea of whooping it up in ghoulish costumes the night before visiting the family cemetery legitimately represents a disconnect for many.

What do you think? Has le Halloween come and gone?

How Long Will This Butcher's Survive?

When we first moved to the Rodez area in 1995, the downtown boasted three cheese shops and two fishmongers'. Eleven years later, there is only one cheese shop and one fishmonger left. I haven't kept track of butchers' , although I remember that one of the town's finest shut down over five years ago. All in all, though, they seem to be hanging in there a little better than other types of specialty food shops in this meat-loving region.

Derrick Schneider of An Obsession with Food recently expressed amazement at the variety and quality of meats available in "France's Wal-Mart-like hypermarchés," and it's true that one can find just about all types of meat in a Géant or an Auchan. I shop quite a bit at the hypermarchés, so I can't play holier-than-vous, but I do try to buy most of my meat at the local butcher shops...so that they will still be around in ten more years.

Aveyronnais at work in Toulouse

It's always fun to identify an Aveyronnais business far from home. Once when visiting Paris, we drove by a café called "Au Trou de Bozouls." Since we live quite near this geographical landmark (le trou) as well as the village of Bozouls, we got quite a kick out of seeing a little piece of Aveyron in the capital.

I just got back from a few days in Toulouse, and was tickled to find a trace of Aveyron there in this hotel, named after the Rodez cathedral tower.

Indeed, the diligent Aveyronnais made -- and are still making -- a fortune in the hotel and café business in Paris, and they seem to have left a trace in Toulouse too.

Deliver la lettre, the sooner the better...

I don't hear many Ruthénois wax eloquently about the city's main post office, but it is one of the local buildings I enjoy taking a look at, especially on a sunny day. I imagine it was built in the 40s or 50s and that the deep red stone, not especially common in Rodez itself, was brought in from the Marcillac valley. I was unable to find any information about the building on the Web or in my books about the area -- maybe one of my readers knows more than I do?

Time of the Signs

The rue Béteille is the main road up to what the locals call the piton, or the top part of Rodez. Years of traffic have left the street dingy and depressing, and the town hall has embarked on a major project to cheer up this gloomy part of town. I was lucky enough to be on the rue Béteille AND to have my camera with me one day when they had just torn down a building, revealing this old advertisement for "overactive" Castrol motor oil.

The next time I walked down the street, new construction had gone up. The sign, having made a brief reappearance after decades of reclusion, was once again hidden between walls. Who knows when it will be visible again?

I Will Live to See the Day!

I love my French home, and this blog was created to praise it. But after 16 years of living in France, I figure I have the right to a few issues. And one is getting particularly under -- or on -- my skin. It's a good thing the French government is finally gearing up for a true ban on smoking in public places, because I'm not sure how much more I can take.

Already I avoid the staff room at my job because I hate to go into class smelling like Gitanes . This problem should be cleared up soon because the decree banning smoking in offices, stores, schools and hospitals will take effect in February 2007.

I also must admit I go out less than before because smoke in restaurants and cafés annoys me more than in my insouciant youth. I'll have to wait a little on that front -- cafés, bars and restaurants have been granted until January 2008 to comply with the smoking ban. But at least there is hope on the horizon...I know I will live to see the day when I can enjoy a meal out in France without worrying about smoke puffing over from the next table.

(Photo extract from the Macon Daily, "France to Impose Smoking Ban")

We have our castles too

Aveyron is definitely a land of surprises. Just when you've started getting used to wild and rustic, you're struck by something chic and showy. Although we can't compete with the Loire Valley, there are a number of châteaux about, often hidden behind trees and huge iron gates.

(Photo courtesy of Thierry Jouanneteau)