What happened to february???

The Roamers stay home

Well, first of all, it rained. A lot. This has been the rainiest winter since we arrived in France–which only made us appreciate the beautiful days even more! Our friend Margi shared this gorgeous double rainbow photo taken from her terrace.

What an image!!!

One fun thing to do on rainy, cold winter days is to reflect on the fun we’ve had. Our friend Shelia sent this photo taken by our host at le Pat’ Daniels, the restaurant where we celebrated Shelia’s birthday last month. Pat insisted that we all give him the finger, so we did. Well, perhaps not ALL of us. . .

Hilarious fun being had

I didn’t get out much in February, due to the rain and also staying home for six days fighting off (successfully!) a respiratory bug, but I did make it to almost all of my French lessons (two private, one-hour lessons and two 1.5-hour conversation classes per week). There is a cute shop featuring handmade items on my route, and one day I had to stop to take a photo of the sewing doll in the window. Such creativity!

I especially like her spool-of-thread chapeau!

Phil has been painting almost every day. He keeps getting better and better, and since our visas don’t allow us to work in France, instead of selling his paintings he has been giving them to close friends. Linda and Brecka have created a “Phil Shroyer Gallery” in their beautiful apartment, featuring two of his works.

Linda and Brecka’s Phil Shroyer wall

After six days without leaving our apartment, I was a bit stir crazy and announced to Phil we were going on an outing (it’s winter school holidays here, so no French lessons for a week). We decided on a mini-road trip in Pic Saint-Loup, our local mountain. First stop was les Matelles, for lunch at Brasserie le Donjon. Les Matelles is a charming village by Le Lirou, a small river that feeds into the Lez, which runs through Montpellier near our apartment. 

Walking along the Lirou in Les Matelles

We wandered the tiny, steep streets, admiring the ancient stone houses in this medieval village, until the restaurant opened. I had to take a photo of a hilarious sign at a closed restaurant. 

The sign says, “On leave. Tired. Reopening March 6.”

Those of you who know me well may remember that one of my dearest friends, Gwyn Harwell, who died in 2007 at the age of 81, returned to me in a dream after her death, as a dragonfly. She had promised me that if it was possible to communicate after she died, she would, and ever since that dream, when I see a dragonfly I believe it’s Gwyn saying hello.

My friend Gwyn, saying hello via someone’s street number sign

We loved Brasserie le Donjon, not only for the delicious food, but also for the warm welcome. After lunch, it was on to our first winery visit: Domaine de l’Hortus, where we sampled several wines (they have so many, ranging from about $15 to over $100) and bought two bottles (the more modestly priced ones). Our second stop, at Chateau La Roque, was in a gorgeous setting with such a kind guide (her English is even worse than my French, so we spoke Franglish), and I fell a bit in love with one of their rosés. We also bought a bottle of their olive oil. 

Chateau La Roque

And that brought February to and end. Oh, but I did work a lovely puzzle that daughter Amelia gave me for Christmas. It was SO much more fun than that map of Montpellier! And now we’re in March, with the promise of spring! I’m grateful.

Such a fun puzzle to work on rainy winter days!