Au Revoir Thézan

We forgot our camera last night when we saw John and Pat for dinner, so John suggested we come back this morning at 11 for coffee. Thus we've started our last Saturday in Thézan with photos of places and people who have been part of our lives the past 2 months.

John and Pat have a 16th century house in the oldest part of Thézan. The house is two rooms wide and one room deep but has 4 1/2 levels.



It had been modernized before John and Pat bought it 10 years ago and recently they have redone the kitchen. From its deceptive outside, you would never expect the spaciousness, light and airiness of the interior. Most fun is the roof-top terrace with a view of the Mairie, the rooftops of Thézan and the hills and fields off in the distance.

rooftop view with Mairie (town hall) in background

(However, it's not all roses up here. John is currently engaged in an investigation about how to keep the neighborhood cats off the terrace at night. The story involves night-time time-lapse photography with an iPod, electric fencing, and coming soon, motion-detector water spray. Did I mention that John is both techy and determined?)

We have so enjoyed getting to know John and Pat; besides our similar interests that include learning about each others cultures, they are warm and gracious and have been more than willing to help us manage living here in Languedoc. John has been schooling us in wine as he has an abiding interest and knowledge of local, regional, and more distant wine-growing regions. Pat has shared with me her passion for the local foods and regional produce. There's no better way to absorb a new culture than from people who are living it and can also appreciate your newness to it. (And it doesn't hurt that English is our common language!)

After coffee and photos on the terrace, John and Pat lead us through alleyways to find the new village trompe-l'oeil in process of being painted. We had heard that a new one was planned but weren't aware that it was being painted.



After saying our good-byes we walked back through town taking photos of doors and buildings on our way. We stopped at the butcher shop and Natalie was gracious about letting us take photos of her and the shop.







Luckily these strolls didn't take much effort or time as it's looking like I have some sort of ankle sprain. My ankle is rather bruised looking today and still quite sore. But a sprain is easier to deal with than tendonitis or a stress fracture.

(Doors of Thézan coming later.)