Hot Air Balloons

The annual last weekend of August Balloon Festival has happened once more in Lectoure. There were balloons in the air on Saturday morning, Saturday evening, and again on Sunday morning. We have a nice spot to watch them take off and fly about below the village, and then fly up and over us. The joker balloon is particularly colorful! Always fun to watch!

Our neighbor took this photo of us on our balcony, watching balloons over the village.

This past week was another week of preparing meals for friends and entertaining. Demelza and Darek came for dinner on Wednesday evening. We see Demelza every week when she comes to help us in the house, and we enjoy conversations with Darek, a photographer from Poland. They are very well traveled and full of fun stories. On Thursday I had coffee with friends Abby and Pirrko, and Abby’s daughter visiting from Australia. Abby has been in Lectoure about 10 years and was in France 10+ years before that. She immigrated from the UK and Pirrko is from Finland, but lived in Kenya and other places in Africa for about 30 years. 

Friday is market day in Lectoure, so I shopped and visited with friends along the way. Caroline came for lunch and a nice visit with just the two of us. Papa went to Toulouse on Friday morning at 8, with our friends Chip and Andy, to visit Aeroscopia Musee Aeronatique. They had a very interesting day and Papa returned home by 6 pm, just in time for dinner guests arriving at 7. Friend Annie moved to Paris last fall and was in town for a short visit. She came for dinner with her friend Pascal and Cristina. We had a simple dinner and went up to the balcony for dessert. It was a beautiful evening!

On Saturday, we had new friends for lunch on the terrace, Jessica and Paul. Jessica is French and Paul is English. They moved to Lectoure last year. We enjoyed getting to know each other. In the evening, we met friends Susan and Anling on Rue Nationale for dinner at Mazzanetto, a local charcuterie and butcher shop. It was their last evening open for dinner this summer. We ate outside on their street cafe, and saw several other friends also dining there. 

Every day is a good day! 

Monday Morning Hike

I hiked with my friend Solenge this morning. We met in Bastion Park and walked through the fields in a big circle from Lectoure. It was a beautiful morning, with the sun shining on the clouds. Magnificent!

Dinner Parties

Over the past week, we’ve had several dinner parties. Last Saturday, we had Christine and Maurice, Katrin and Andreas. They all live south of Lectoure, 20 minutes away for Christine and Maurice, and an hour for Katrin and Andreas. It was a hot evening, so we ate in our garden room and talked for hours. Earlier in the day on Saturday, I went to an artisans exhibition at Saint Joseph’s School, and in the afternoon we went to Bastion Park to see the soapbox cars that were competing in Carriolades. 

The next day, we were guests of Rachel and Sid for lunch, along with their friend Natasha, and their son, Alexander. Rachel prepared a delicious meal. On Sunday evening, we hosted a dinner party at our house for Deirdre, Anma, Sylvie, Ria, and Kate. Anma and Ria are new to Lectoure this summer, and we all enjoyed getting to know each other better. After dinner, we sat on our balcony and enjoyed watching the moon rise and the changing sky just after sunset. 

On Monday morning, Deirdre and I went to Jean Francois property to look at his fruit trees. Deirdre agreed to assist him over the coming winter to trim his orchard. That evening, we went to Rue Nationale for Lundi Nuit and a walkabout to hear the band. On Tuesday morning Papa had coffee with Nelson. I went to Fleurance to the Tuesday market and to my friend Claire’s brocante shop. She gifted me a beautiful leather bag that I admired the last time I visited her shop. I love it! Papa and I met Jean Francois, Marianne, and Emmanuelle (Jean Francois sister) for lunch on Tuesday, at O Badiu. Lunch was delicious as usual, and I enjoyed meeting Emmanuelle, who has been active in Garden Associations in France for 50 years. After lunch, Papa and I visited the Archive office at the Mairie to ask for historic information about our house.

On Wednesday evening, we hosted dinner for Lesley and Andy, Susan and Chip, Rachel and Sid, and Jay and Dominique. It was a nice evening and we ate on our terrace.

We drove to Pujaudran for lunch with Rebecca on Thursday at Le Puits Saint Jacques, a Michelin recommended restaurant. We enjoyed a multicourse lunch and conversation. We don’t see Rebecca often, so there is always lots to catch up on. In the evening, Romain and Dominique came over to play many games of rummy. We are all competitive and always have fun. 

I went to Friday market but it started to rain, so I cut my shopping short. We had lunch at O Badiu again on Friday, with Deirdre and Abby. We love going there not only because the food is good, but also the chef and his assistant are so happy.

On Saturday morning, we did some repairs and clean up at home. Papa repaired the door to the summer kitchen and the awning on our breakfast room window. I washed and ironed the guest room sheets and remade the bed for guests expected in a few days. In the afternoon, I picked figs with friends Susan and Anling. In the evening, we went to a piano concert at Chateau Lacassagne. Dating to the 15th century, the chateau’s Salle des Chevaliers de Malta. The painted room was done between 1620 and 1640 as a replica of the grand council hall of the Knights of St. John of Malta. Among the pictures are copies of paintings representing the attack on Valletta by the Turks in 1565. The originals were in the council chamber of the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta, Malta and were destroyed by Napoleon in 1798. Chateau Lacassagne has been listed as a monument historique since 1980. We had several friends attending the piano concert, and we enjoyed a glass of wine together afterward.

Throughout the week, I went on my daily walks around the village. The views are so beautiful, I can’t believe we live here!

Smoke in the Air

Just before falling asleep on Thursday evening, I smelled smoke. Papa closed all the windows in the house. We got up Friday morning with smoke in the air, and there is still smoke in the air today, Saturday. We have our windows closed, but I’m wearing a mask in the house today. There is a wildfire about 80 miles west of Lectoure.

Last evening, we went to a Terropera event, One Nuit à Broadway, performed in the Chateau de Terraube courtyard. There was a breeze with no smoke in the air in Terraube. We sat with friends and saw more friends after the concert. It was a beautiful evening!

The Eclipse

We invited friends to watch the eclipse with us. We had four eclipse glasses for five people, so we constantly shared. We experienced the best eclipse of our lives! The view through the eclipse glasses was of a dark black background with the sun as a ball of orange. As the sun and moon slowly aligned, the covered part of the sun blackened. Our cameras were not up to the task of photographing eclipses. We did our best! The eclipse continued as the sun set. Magnificent!