Back from Spain, and...?

Montpellier and the river Lez on a winter afternoon.

Regular readers of this blog will note that it has been anything but regular; it’s been a goodly while since the last post. In our defense, I will note that this is a travel blog, and we have not actually been travelling. So there!

What have we been doing since our return from Spain at the end of January? Well, as usual after traveling internationally these days, we thought it wise to lay low for a while, engage in a bit of self-isolation. We were just getting back out into the world when a good friend of our came down with COVID. Oops! We had been with her just a few days earlier, so maybe we should lie low for a while longer… Then we went through a round of non-COVID illnesses, and… it just got real easy to stay home!

 

But somehow, in the midst of all that… We bought a car! This wasn't spontaneous; we’ve been going back and forth on it for months. Oh, we very much appreciate the freedom of not needing a car here; what with the excellent tram system (free to persons of a certain age…), and the close proximity of most of the things we do, a car is really only useful for getting out of town. Which is why we want one!

There are endless interesting, even compelling places to go around Montpellier, and we have rented cars many times. But renting has its downsides: waiting for the agency to open in the morning, anxious for an early start; never sure vehicle we’ll end up with; the mystery of a high-tech vehicle with lots of useful features and no idea how to access them; the pain of putting a scratch on the car and the uncertainty of how it will be judged by the rental company… All that goes away when we have our own car. Plus, I’ve found that even with all the hours I’ve put into learning to drive here, it’s a “use it or lose it” thing: after months pass between driving trips, I get anxious when it’s time to drive again. With our own car, I can practice when I want.

Actually getting the car seemed to just happen once we were back in France. We’d visited the dealer months earlier, we’d talked to the salesman; we knew the make and model we wanted. We returned to the dealer, determined to buy, and there was our car sitting on the lot!

 

So, done deal. Then came two weeks of paperwork (this is France, of course!), during which time we found “our” salesman was working from home, because he’d come down with COVID.

 

We saw him one last time when we came to pick up the car—he was doing fine. But of course, his illness did not encourage us to get out and about more; quite the opposite!

 

Here's the little beauty, with and without me. It's a Peugeot 2008 (the SUV version of the 208),
model year 2017.

 Meanwhile, spring is on its way to Montpellier. The early bloomers are, well, blooming, although there are still many bare branches. And rain! Oh my, we just came through a wicked weekend windstorm that had us keep the shutters closed and locked. Not much wind damage apparent, but we got about 4 inches of rain in three days! That will get the sap flowing and the grass growing

 

The car in our parking lot, with the vehicle of the local mobile plumber. Makes me wonder--do we really need a car??

So what do we do while cowering indoors with the wind howling around the building? Why, plan future trips, of course! We’re looking at Brittany this summer; it will be decidedly cooler than here in the south. We’ve already got all of our lodgings booked. And, just getting there will be a two-day road trip across much of France.

 

Then, in the Fall, it will be back to Corsica, the French island tucked into the corner between France and Italy. We visited two years ago (read about that trip here and here) and loved the warm water and beautiful beaches. This time we’ll take the ferry, and bring our own car!

 

And well before that, we can go to the beach here in Montpellier. Oddly enough, the otherwise great tram system does not go to the beach; but the roads do! And as soon as the stores start carrying all the summertime paraphernalia—like beach umbrellas and blankets, and those large plastic pétanque balls that work in the sand—we’ll load up the back of the car and just store them there. (They’ll even come to Corsica with us!)

 

AND, while Paula has been trip planning I’ve been cooking… well, preparing food. For several years I’ve been obsessed with the idea of using a mortar and pestle. Now that I’ve finally got one, I’ve been working on making aïoli, a sort of mayonnaise made by pounding garlic cloves with olive oil. When done properly, the result is an amazing, creamy emulsion of the juice from the garlic and the oil from the olive.

 

Thick, creamy aïoli; fun to make, and what's more, it's good!

Aïoli originated in Provence, and much as we discovered with our preparation of brandade de morue, the traditional dish with fish and mashed potatoes, here the food is not just about the flavor, but it is tied deeply into the history and culture of the region.

 

In fact, as I found in the preface to a scholarly work on the culture and language of Provence:

"…the aïoli also symbolizes the Provencal identity for the Provencaux themselves.  Aïoli is therefore the metaphor of the living, convivial, integrating, popular, and Mediterranean identity of Provence, even in its name, which comes from the Provencal language and is written in French. And what's more, it's good!”

                   --From LA METAPHORE DE L’AÏOLI by Philippe BLANCHET

 

What am I getting myself into…?

Next up: we'll try pounding these basil leaves and pine nuts into a thick pesto sauce...