Mon Jardin

I’ve worked a few days on my garden, and mostly finished yesterday.  I took out the plastic border that I installed last summer, and put in a border of local stones.  I’m happy with the results!

Photos from Ferme Cazaux

Papa and I discovered Ferme Cazaux last summer, because they were on the list of local farms hosting summer dinners. We went to two dinners last summer and had a wonderful time! This summer, we’ve made reservations for all eight dinners, held once every two weeks. Different friends join us each week, and we’ve made new friends at the dinners. I’ve also become friends with the propriétaire of Ferme Cazaux, Coralie. I asked her if I could take photographs on the Ferme, and she invited me Friday morning. 

We arrived early on a very cloudy morning. I walked around the ferme for four hours, having a wonderful time and taking photos of life on Ferme Cazaux. I rode on the trailer with Andre, to pick melons. The farmhouse and barns are centuries old, and have been in Coralie's family for generations. They have dairy cattle and produce veal and cheeses. They grow Lectoure melons, tomatoes, zucchini, watermelons, and more. Coralie treated Papa and me to lunch of fresh melon and tomato with mozzarella. Ferme Cazaux is a lot to manage and I had an incredible day!

Lundi Nuits

We invited Caroline and Glyn and Susan and Chip for dinner this evening.  We sat on our 4th floor balcony just after they arrived, to have a glass of wine together, and then we had dinner.  We left the house b 8:45 to go up to rue Nationale, and we were greeted by the sounds of a marching band from Fleurance walking down the street.  We walked a bit on rue Nationale, then sat at Chez Yann’s for a glass of bubbly.  We had a good time!

The National Orchestra du Capitole de Toulouse

On Sunday evening, we went to hear the National Orchestra du Capitole de Toulouse at Lectoure’s Saint-Gervais Cathédrale.   They are considered one of the most prestigious ensembles in the world and have played in Lectoure’s Cathédrale every summer for several decades.  They played French music from several different periods of time.  We had terrific seats in the third row.  

Romain and Dominique walked home with us and came for dinner - we had planned in advance.  We played games after dinner, laughing until after 11.

Festival Musique en Chemin

We’ve had a busy few days, topped with two of the last three evenings attending the Festival Musique en Chemin in La Romieu.  The Festival Program:

“The Festival Musique en Chemin, in La Romieu in the Gers, offers concerts, conferences, workshops around repertoire and creative music, echoing the other arts, spirituality, ecology, and social issues.  

It is a suspended moment during which knowledge and artistic sensibility com together.  It is an ephemeral space, co-constructed and poetic Gers utopia where knowledge, artistic sensitivity and intelligence of the heart come together. 

By inviting all these artists and thinkers from diverse backgrounds to our territory, we want to honor the power of the collective!”

We attended Thursday night’s concert, The Prophecies of the Sybils, Ensemble La Main Harmonique Choir Ambrosia.  A friend is in the choir and she invited us to come.  Everyone entered the concert through the ancient cloisters.  As the concert began, the choir walked single file down the main aisle of Collegiale Saint-Pierre, built in 1312-1318.  They walked around the front platform to form a circle and sang accappella the first half of the program, and then with ancient instruments.  The performance was superb.  Afterward, everyone went out into the village plaza for a glass of wine and conversation.  We enjoyed talking with the 17 year old son of our friend, preparing for university.

Last evening, we went to our friends Rachel and Sid’s farmhouse for an early dinner in their garden.  After dinner, we went to La Romieu to another Chemin concert together, this one was a piano and marimba concert of Bach, played under the cloister porches.  The musicians were joyful through the program and gave two encores to an enchanted audience.  Afterward, we again went out into the plaza for a glass of wine with our friends, and listened to a three piece band playing under the stars.  The music was terrific, with just 200-300 people, in an historic venue.  We’ve had an amazing few days of music and experiences!

Lundi Nuit

Lectoure’s Lundi Nuits began on Monday, 17 juillet. We invited our friends, Lesley and Andy, to have dinner with us. We had wine on our balcony, then a light dinner at 8. We went up to rue Nationale at 9 and were greeted with a band playing and a couple dancing. The street was festive, lined with tables set up by vendors - artists, jewelry, food.  We had a glacé and I bought a piece of art from my friend, Louise. We had fun!

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are in various stages in the Gers, from buds to full blooms.  In some areas, they were knocked to the ground by storms that rumbled through the Gers in the past three weeks.  Even those knocked down are struggling to stand up and turn to the sun.  Fields of yellow are almost always in sight, regardless of where we go.  Beautiful!

This photo taken from our breakfast room window.

Chapels and Lunch

We made lunch reservations for today, at Les Caprices Lagraulet, one of our favorite restaurants in the Gers.  With over 900 favorite places on my Google map, I try to plan our drives so that we see something that I've spent time ticking as a favorite.  Before lunch, we visited Chapelle Sainte-Germaine du Baradieu.   According to legend, Sainte-Germaine was beheaded here in the 9th century by the Normans within the confines of her monastery.  In the 12th century, the saint's family had the monastery rebuilt.  The entrance to the enclosure is through a semicircular portal bearing the date of 1730, the date the church would have been enlarged.  The country setting is quite beautiful.

Next we visited Eglise Saint-Martin-de-Heux. In the middle of the 13th century, the Abbot of Condom ordered a fortified tower to be built.  The lower part of the tower still exists with 1.5m thick walls.  The church was built at the same time, with walls just as thick.  The church played an important part in the life of the inhabitants of the village of Heux, because they could store provisions in it and take refuge inside during periods of danger.  In 1926, a community of nuns installed the painted ceiling.  This church sits on a hill surrounded by agricultural fields, mostly of wine grapes.  

We had a wonderful 2.5 hour lunch at Les Caprices LaGraulet.  The menu is set each day by the chef/owner, and that's what we had.  First course was spiced peach puree with roasted duck and crouton, next was a Brazilian soup, the main course was papillote of fruits du mer with potato casserole round, and apricot dessert of ice cream with tart.  Délicieux!

We picked up our friend Lesley at 3:45, and drove to Sainte-Marie Madeleine, to meet her friends and sculptors, Christine and Fabrizio.  They sculpt sacred art for churches in Europe.  About 25 years ago, they bought Sainte-Marie Madeleine in ruins, and they have completely renovated it, using the original beams and stones.  You can see photos of the ruin they bought and how it looks today, at https://www.crivelli.fr/CRONISTORIA_FOTO_1.htm.  It was an enjoyable visit for us, learning about the techniques they use to produce their sculptures.