Printing, Then and Now

Imprimerie Colomb, what did you print? What was your first job 132 years ago? Newspapers? Notices? Postcards?

You must have been proud of your new, modern printing machinery -- just like I'm proud of the fancy new equipment in my office.

Imprimerie Colomb, what would you think of the technology I've used to print this short text about you?

Rodez International!

It is absolutely smashing -- as my British readers would put it -- to be able to take the plane directly from Rodez to London Stansted. Here's a shadowy glimpse of Rodez International and eager Aveyronnais tourists off for a long weekend in the big city.

The contrast between Rodez International and Stansted is striking. I often wonder how it feels for British visitors to arrive from the sprawling Ryanair hub to our tiny but welcoming airport.

I know, at least, that tourists from across the Channel will immediately be introduced to our "brilliant" -- as my British readers would put it -- local food products:

So now you know -- I just traded in a week of Roquefort, Marcillac wine, aligot and country-style bread for Starbucks iced mochas, Italian and Australian wine, Japanese food, and club sandwiches. And I'm certainly none the worse off for it!

New Neighbors

These are our new neighbors. They just moved in last week. So far, they're a little noisy but otherwise we're getting along quite well.

In fact, I think we've seen them before. Do they ring a bell to you?

They invited me over for cookies and milk this weekend, but I'll be leaving Thursday on a big-city adventure and won't be back until next Tuesday, so I can't make it. I moo hope they won't be offended.

If you're curious where I'm going, I've left a few hints over on And So Forth...

The Road Not Taken

"I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

Local Election Results

If you don't know what to do on the Internet this morning, especially if you live in France where you're enjoying a day off to commemorate the Allied victory in World War II, you might want to peruse your favorite French towns' election results in Le Monde's "Edition Spéciale."

For example, you can see that Rodez, Aveyron's main city, voted this way, whereas Laguiole, a smaller town in very rural North Aveyron voted that way -- and how!

Aveyron gave the majority to Nicolas Sarkozy, but not overwhelmingly despite the department's conservative reputation.

Enjoy the function while it lasts, because Le Monde's features are only available free for a week or two.

(Related post on And So Forth)

Train Tripping to Tours

La Gare de Rodez

6:40 AM, Saturday April 28th 2007

I bet a lot of you first hopped around France by train.

Europasses, anyone?

"Limoges, Limoges, trois minutes d'arrêt. Correspondances pour...."

NE PAS OUBLIER DE COMPOSTER VOTRE BILLET!

On my first trips to France, it seems like I spent about half of my time in trains. Now I seldom travel that way -- I think the last time was in 2000. And I rarely travel alone. But in late April I went up to the Tours area, sans famille, to see an old friend who is moving back to the States next summer.

I won't blog about Tours as much as I did for the Tarn, but expect a few posts about my trip hither and thither. And definitely a few more train shots.

Google Bayrou, Find Sarkozy?

I was just writing to my parents in the USA about the French presidential race, and I wanted to send them the name of the new party François Bayrou is forming. I couldn't remember if it was "le mouvement démocratique" or "démocrate", so I did a Google search for Bayrou, and this is what came up at the top of the page, the day before the election between Sarkozy and Royal:

Sarkozy-Royal au 2nd tour www.europe1.fr/presidentielle-2007 Réactions, interviews, commentaires Suivez l'événement sur Europe1
Le Vrai Sarkozy www.sarkopeur.com Ce que vous ne savez pas de Sarkozy Son expérience et son talent

All right, Bayrou isn't in the race anymore, so maybe the first link is legitimate. But how did this extremely pro-Sarkozy YouTube video come up in second place on a search for "Bayrou" the day before the election? Well, first I suppose I should point out that it's a commercial link. But doesn't it seem a little wrong for Google to sell space for that link under searches for Bayrou?

By the way, by not removing the actual links above, I am not in any way trying to work as a secret force for Sarkozy! I'm just "showing it like it is."

In a country where equal media time for the candidates is controlled to the second, it's interesting to see how the world's biggest search engine has been harnessed in a last minute attempt to reach out to Bayrou's voters.

She's Always There Somewhere

I wasn't looking for her the other day, but she just peeked out at me.

What would Rodez be without its cathedral? And why is it not that well-known?

Personally, I'll take it over any French cathedral I've ever visited. Of course I can't pretend to have seen them all! You probably have your own favorite and I'd love to hear about it.

My Michelin guide gives the town of Rodez itself only one star ("Intéressant") but the cathedral rates two stars ("Mérite un détour") out of the maximum three.

I have news for the Michelin writers -- you can't dissociate the two.

Albi Afterthought

I think it's time to face up to the facts: my previous post, an Albi guessing game, was just a little too difficult to get much of a response. Does that mean I'm going to give you the answers?

No -- because one of these days some Albigeois or Albigeoise might stumble upon my site and have fun identifying the pictures.

I could write more about Albi, but I promised myself to limit La France Profonde's trip to the Tarn to the month of April. One month of blogging for a two nights' stay! And so many memories...

Thank you again to our hosts for this special weekend, Nathalie and David Bolton of La Peyrecout gîte. They are also the publishers of French-Entrée Tarn & Aveyron, a complete portal site for anyone interested in a move or trip to the Tarn or Aveyron area.

Oh yes, as for the above photo -- Albi's beautiful covered market where I used to do twice-weekly shopping is undergoing a serious facelift. There are a lot of changes going on in Aveyron too, especially in Rodez. I hope to share some of them with you in May.

Albi Treasure Hunt

La France Profonde is continuing its trip through the Tarn department, where I started my life in France. My goal was to finish "the Tarn series" by the end of April, but with an upcoming three-day trip to Tours - where I also used to live -- this project might spill over into May!

Albi is a popular tourist destination, and plenty of visitors pile in throughout the summer to see its imposing cathedral and the recently remodeled Toulouse-Lautrec museum. Maybe you have even visited these sites.

But do you really know Albi? Let's go on a little treasure hunt: four photos, four questions.

1. What hidden treasure of Albi's downtown area can be accessed from here?



2. What Albi landmark can be seen at the end of this street?


3. Where was this photo taken from?


4. Name two albigeois specialties that were sold in this long-famous and now-defunct Albi bakery:

Feel free to comment whether or not you know the answers! All of these photos also represent places that were favorites of mine when I lived in Albi...

Great Deal in Gaillac -- "Cassis" Restaurant

After a morning visit to Cordes-sur-Ciel, our next stop during our weekend in the Tarn department was Gaillac, a colorful small town known for the eponymous wine produced in the surroundings.

We stopped in Gaillac for just one reason: to eat lunch. Our hosts Nathalie and David Bolton of La Peyrecout had recommended that we try out "Cassis," a former café located on the main square. " Chef Justin Winstanley has turned the site into a charming restaurant.

For our meal, we chose the daily lunch special. The starter was a "salade gourmande." I must admit I am not always bowled over by salads bearing that name, as they are often smothered with greasy lardons and slathered in slimy store-bought salad dressing. (Mais oui! In the land of delicious vinaigrettes!)

The Cassis take on a salade gourmande was much lighter: cooked beets with red onions, steamed cauliflower, roasted red peppers, céleri remoulade with walnuts, an avocado purée and a few salad greens: a true feast for the eyes and the palate!



The main course, simple yet convincing, was a boneless pork chop, hot and crispy frites, and a delicious Swiss chard gratin.


To finish up, a classic dessert: tarte aux pommes normande.

All of the above can be enjoyed for a very reasonable 9.50 euros (about $13.00 or £6.50,) although more elaborate menus are available.

If you're looking for a tasty and affordable lunch or dinner in the area, I couldn't recommend Cassis more.

To finish, I must give a special mention for the fact that my teenage "kids" were allowed to order the menu d'enfants -- which is not always the case in France, where the cut-off age is usually ten, and enforced. Unlike many French kids' menus, virtually identical all over the country, it was as original and appealing as the adult choices.

Cassis Restaurant

80 Place de la Libération

81600 Gaillac, France

(0)5 63 57 62 67

Cordes for Sale?

Abandoned houses in Cordes intrigued me even more than the many lovely renovated buildings. The one above sparkled with brilliant blue, but apparently no one comes home through its cheery door.

I've always been one who likes to take a gander through old windows into empty rooms, but sometimes this wasn't possible:

Overall, we were amazed by the number of houses for sale in Cordes sur Ciel. I didn't do any research into this subject, but we must have seen dozens of homes à vendre, leaving us to assume that prices are out of sight and/or that potential buyers are not so enthusiastic about homes with lots of charm, but little or no garden, or just a patio with a view of thousands of tourists all summer.
Some owners might do better to change their "for sale" sign so it's more in keeping with the village's atmosphere:

We also saw plenty of homes that were apparently inhabited, but in need of some good renovation work:


But for some, it's too late!

I was interested to note that all of the charming properties in the Cordes area haven't been bought up already. Seriously, most places don't look like the one above! If you're interested a home in the Cordes area, take a look here.

Cordes sur Ciel 1 -- Bits of Blue in lieu of Blue Sky

Cordes sur Ciel is one of the jewels of Tarn tourism. It's easy to see why when the sun is out, and the village looks like this or this. But we visited it on a grayish and windy day, and the view of the village was a little more like this -- which definitely changed the village's atmosphere, and explains why we didn't bother to stop at the viewpoint to take the "typical" photo of Cordes.

The lower village, with its grocery stores and bakeries, was bustling. But we were there on a Monday - -when smaller shops are closed -- and just barely at the start of tourist season to boot. Factor in the blustery weather, and the upper village was practically deserted.

Frankly, I liked it that way. It was pleasant not to be distracted by the many shops and the multi-lingual throng of tourists which swarms into the village during the peak season.

We were able to focus on details...

...and appreciate the colorful decorations on the homes and other buildings, because our sky was definitely lacking in blue on the morning we visited "Cordes sur Ciel...Gris."

La Peyrecout: Chez Nathalie et David (Comments Enabled)

Before telling you more about our stay in the Tarn, I definitely want to mention that the whole idea of the weekend there stemmed from the kind hospitality of Nathalie and David Bolton, owners of La Peyrecout gîtes, located near Cordes. I met them through their new Internet site project, FrenchEntrée.com Tarn & Aveyron, which syndicates some of my posts from La France Profonde.

Nathalie and David were kind enough to invite us to stay in their beautifully restored La Grange gîte, which I highly recommend for a weekend getaway -- or more. We only stayed two nights but it was such a relaxing break that it seemed like a week!

(PS: I originally posted this a few days back and just noticed that once again, comments were not enabled on the post. This is a new problem I've had two or three times now with Blogger. Any suggestions, other than of course checking that the comment link comes up on every post? )

A Word About Stats and statcounter.com

I just noticed that my Statcounter set-up is showing stats at the bottom of the page, which reminds me that some time back, La France Profonde racked up its 15,000th visit!

I had promised myself I would watch for the event, but the fact is I don't go to statcounter very often, so I missed it by about 400!

Enquiring minds may want to know why the Statcounter at the bottom of this blog says only "2,767" as I write. Well, when I moved over to "new Blogger" I forgot to take Statcounter with me. The quickest solution I found to the problem was recreating a "project" -- so I'll always need to add 13,000 odd visits from my "old Blogger blog" to what I see below...I guess...

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!