Canet, France
October 10
This Old House 

We’re getting settled into Canet and into this old house at 52 Brd, Herriot.  It is quiet here now, with all of our guests of last week resuming their lives back in Germany,

where it is cold and wet, with snow down to 2000 feet in the Bavarian Alps.  We are snug and cozy here in our new pajamas and slippers, our recently-purchased space heater taking the chill off the cooler evenings and warming us in the mornings while we have our coffee and freshly-baked croissants and baguettes from the boulangerie a few blocks away.

Yes, we grimace as we call the furniture “relics of the French revolution” and groan as we try to open or close a drawer. (I’ve taken to leaving my sock-and-panties drawer open—it’s much easier.) But it all grows on one—the mismatched French wallpaper and squares of linoleum--all faded now--the high ceilings painted a glossy off-white, the hodgepodge of photos on the walls, ranging from portraits of children in oil to romping horses on posterboard to colorful ducks in needlepoint.  We have even adapted to the strange bath that remarkably serviced seven guests last week!  (Yes, one bathroom for four bedrooms, complete with an unmounted hand shower that trickles ever so slowly.  But is does have a bidet; this is France!)

Last night we simply turned on the hot water, and waited patiently for an hour or so, sipping vin rouge, while our bath water warmed itself through the pipes and slowly filled the big cast iron tub. For our next bath, we may even add bubble bath crystals.  As Gunter says, “Life’s looking up!”

We’ve added some high tech.  We now have cords and adapter plugs all over the place, connected to our US 110-volt appliances, computer, printer and accessories.   There is little intrusive noise here.  It is nice and quiet here without a TV, with only our worldwide shortwave radio to keep us company; it is a perfect place to write, to read, and to contemplate our coming adventure.

Last night, we unpacked the books we had shipped for our Pacific Bliss library.  We thoughtfully fingered the pages of the old books we had purchased last summer from a used bookstore in Ojai, California.  One of these books, “The Incredible Voyage, a Personal Odyssey” is autographed by Tristan Jones himself.  This one’s a keeper.  Most of these books, however, will be read by us, then traded with other yachties in two-foot bundles.  For now, lined up on the massive dining room buffet, they give our house some character and comfort. 

As I work on the Log & Journal section of our website, I’m printing out my favorite photos of our travels throughout the south of France, temporarily taping them to the walls in our “great room” to add some life and personality. Eventually, I’ll download these photos to a CD, and ship them to our Webmaster, so that you, our readers, can share them with us.


 

journal6.html
Log and Journal