Now We're Legal!

Yes, we have permission to stay in France for another year.

 

There is a ritual we must go through every year: request permission to stay for another 12 months. Today we submitted our documents, and were told we’ll have our Carte de Séjour in a month or so. Yah! To celebrate we went to one of our favorite Places in Montpellier, Place de la Conourgue, and had a glass of Prosecco.

 

The newly-renovated Place de la Canourgue on a quiet weekday

This annual ritual can be quite stressful. The worst part is setting up the appointment, which can only be made on-line. Appointments are doled out in a rare and seemingly random fashion, so snagging one requires checking often. Not so hard, until the weeks slip away with no available appointments as the expiration date of our visa approaches.

 

It wasn’t bad this time around, and we moved to the next step, collecting documents. Financial records, proof of residency including our rental contract, copies of various official documents. Exactly what will be required is a bit of a mystery, and the fear is always that something will be required that we don’t have!

 

The appointment itself is sort of a cross between going to the DMV and visiting the dentist: dull bureaucracy mixed with fear of what might be found.

 

But this time all went well. We’d been in the building for a total of about 25 minutes (half of that spent waiting) before we were out with door with our récépissé, the receipt that will serve until our cards are ready.

The slightly famous unicorn statue in La Place de la Conourge

             Our Night at the Opera

And that night we furthered the celebration at the Concert de rentrée, marking the end of the summer and the return, or rentée, to “normal” (i.e., post-vacation) life. Traditionally, everyone in France goes on vacation in August. These days there’s quite a bit of vacation action in June and July, as well. But come the first week of September, folks are back, the kids are in school, and the routine begins again.

The Opéra Comédie/Berlioz in Montpellier

 

So this concert was a sort of tip o’ the hat to the September return, and the first event of the season. This concert was held at the old opera building, and I must say we went not so much for the music as for the chance to see the inside of the opera. It is a mainstay of Montpellier, holding down one end of the city’s main plaza, the Comédie, but we’d never been past the foyer.

 

Just for comparison, the somewhat more ornate Palais Garnier in Paris (image from Google Images)

Built in 1888 (according to the date over the stage), the building has an almost-opulence that shows a good effort with limited funds. Once over the initial amazement at the rich interior, our first thought, as we took our seats on this warm September afternoon, was that air conditioning had not been invented in 1888. It was quite warm inside! But we were thrilled to be there as the seats slowly filled, the musicians came on stage and tuned up, and the conductor’s baton fell.

 

Interior of the Montpellier Opéra Comédie

 

The fabulous ceiling and chandelier of the opera building

                    

                    Around Town

COVID is still big news here, as it is everywhere. A few months back Emmanuel Macron, président de la République française, announced that cafes, restaurants, museums, concerts, and other events would open again, but no one would be allowed entry without a pass sanitaire, a health passport, showing they were either vaccinated, or had a negative result on a COVID test no more than 72 hours ago. Over 114,000 people immediately took to the streets to protest; nearly a million more signed up to be vaccinated.

 

 The protests are on-going; before COVID the Gillet jaune protestors had Saturday afternoons reserved for their increasingly-violent protests against new taxes and things in general. The lockdowns shut off those protests, but these days they are back, now full of anti-vaxxers and anti-maskers. In fact, we get weekly emails from the US Embassy in Paris warning us of potentially-violent manifestations (demonstrations) all over France.

 

It makes France seem like a violent place, but as we learned in Paris during the COP21 talks in 2015, street protests are a sort of national sport in France. We just avoid the appointed spot for the manifestation around the stated kick-off time and go about our business.

Meanwhile, we noticed a line forming outside one of the tents set up for COVID testing; mostly young people. And I realized the strategy: if you can't or won't get vaccinated, just get a test before going out for the night: a negative result, and you're allowed in! Starting October, through, the tests will no longer be free. So the test will add another $30 to a night out. Vaccination, on the other hand, is free...

 

A COVID test tent on a main street in Montpellier

 

 

The weather is still warm, but cooling, with no danger of the feared canicule (heat wave). But summer is clearly ending, with shorter days and quicker twilights. The leaves haven’t started to change yet, but some trees are looking rather tired. And the calendar of events here in Montpellier, both musical and cultural, is filling up.

 

There is an upcoming guitar festival, lasting a month with venues both here in Montpellier and in surrounding communities; next weekend is Les Journées des Patrimoine, a celebration all over France of culture and heritage. Many municipal and some private sites that are not normally open will have a sort of public open house, inviting us common folk in to admire gardens and architecturally significant buildings that normally are closed off. We have a map of some 30 or more places; we’ll have to select them carefully, as there certainly won’t be time to visit them all.

 

 

 

Beyond that, towards the end of the month we’ll be going to Nice (the French city over on the Italian boarder) to see our expat friends Mark and Mary, who are considering moving there after several years in Paris. We were going to take the train down, but we’re hatching another plan: rent a car, and after Nice, keep going east to Italy… and Venice. Maybe stop in at the lakes (Lago Maggiore), re-visit the Dolomites? Plans are forming, stay tuned!

 

Expect to see some changes in the blog! We will be changing our hosting from Blogger to WordPress, which I expect (hope?) to give more flexibility in formatting and presentation. The good news is, we expect to see some interesting changes; bad news is, transitions are always hard! 

Stick with us though, and we’ll work through it.

 

From France to California... and Back

 

Looking across the Elfin Forest and the Back Bay to Morro Rock in the far distance.

Yes, we are now back in France. Perhaps we will be seeing these blogs more regularly! 

Our visit to California was full and rewarding. We got some stuff done, we saw family and friends. We reconnected to this place where we’ve lived for so many years. 

And I was struck, all over again, by the physical beauty of the Central Coast—the open space; the view across the Back Bay; the rocky peaks, both close and far. And the “golden” (which is to say, brown) hills, empty of human-made structures, rolling off into the distance, fronted by the vast expanse of the Pacific, with its rocky shores and extensive beaches. 

Montana de Oro State Park

And all this just a short walk from our house! 

While in Los Osos—the small town where we’ve lived for a dozen years—we stay in the apartment on the ground floor. In the past we’ve had this apartment rented out, but now with the house on a long-term lease we keep it for family and friends. And for us. It gives us flexibility in our comings and goings.

We wanted to keep a low profile for our first few days back—COVID, for one. Jet lag, for another. And, to get some things done around the house. One task was to reduce our extensive collection of old photos. We filled the trash with old prints and negatives, and endless slides (remember those, a bit of 35mm film in a cardboard frame?). And I thought, However good a photographer I am now, I was much worse then… what are all these pictures, anyway??. 

Shortly after we arrived, though, was the annual Great Salmon Sale. A local fish market brought in tons of salmon from Monterey Bay and sold it in the parking lot on Sunday morning, $10 a pound, cut as you liked it. We waited, in a line stretching around the block, for almost an hour.

 

Waiting in line gave us  a chance to reconnect with this part of Morro Bay, with its small commercial fishing fleet tied along the dock, the sailboats moored out in the middle, and the massive, iconic Morro Rock in the near distance, mostly obscured, as it often is, by the fog lying lightly on the bay.

 

And it tasted as good as it looks...

Indeed, this fog—or, rather, the cool weather which brings it—was a prime reason we’d come back in July and August. Montpellier tends to be hot, with the so-called canicule (heat wave) driving the temps into the 90s for days at a time, with little cooling at night.

But in Los Osos we didn’t have that problem! Normal highs were 68° (20°C), and cooler at night. Humid, but cool. For sun we needed only to drive a few miles inland. In fact, after a few hours in the “big city” of San Luis Obispo, we were glad to head back to the coast, and always celebrated as we drove into the fog bank (technically, the “marine layer”), leaving the heat behind.

Mostly, we stayed home, working on the tasks we’d set for ourselves, and catching up with friends. Paula’s brother Mark stayed with us for a week, and we drove up the coast to Big Sur… but not very far, as the road is closed, again. (It washes out every couple of years, in spite of all the major improvements constantly being done by the State). 

We stopped at Ragged Point Inn for lunch, where our meal was accompanied by a band playing outdoors. It was wonderful, being the first live music we’d heard for, what, two years? And we reveled in the beauty of the rolling California coastal hills, fronted by the gorgeous rugged coastline.

Mark  and Paula enjoying the music at Ragged Point Inn

 

The start of the rugged Big Sur coast.

A few weeks later we had another visit from some long-time friends and travel companions, Sue and Alan. We headed to the south part of the county, to the Oceano Dunes, with its sand dunes stretching for miles. I think to get the real impact it’s necessary to arrive in the morning and spend all day. But we were there for only an hour or two, climbing and sliding, enjoying the sun on the warm sand. To the north we could see civilization: the encroaching suburbs; to the south it was empty to the horizon.

The Oceano Dunes stretching to the Pacific Ocean

Paula with friends Sue and Alan in the dunes; like a day at the beach but without the water!

We slowly make our way home...

We spent a few days in the city of San Luis Obispo, and I began to see it as another place to explore and appreciate, like so many other cities we’d visited on our travels. I was glad to see many restaurants had added outdoor seating. One of the joys of meeting and eating in Europe is the outdoor lifestyle. Of course, COVID has moved a lot of things outdoors, but perhaps this is one trend that will continue on after the pandemic.

 

Where it all began: Mission San Luis Obispo, established1772; one of the many missions in the chain started by Father Junípero Serra.

Much of downtown SLO retains the charm of its 19th century origins.

Now this is new: outdoor dining! A traffic lane has been given over to restaurant customers. I hope this idea carries on past the pandemic!

Then there was the family reunion. We hadn’t seen my many brothers and sisters for… well, a couple of years, at least. We’d agreed to meet in Phoenix, never my first choice of where to be in August. But our brother who lives there just couldn’t get away, so Phoenix it was. 

Yeah, it was hot, but not as overwhelming as we’d imagined. A few minutes outside was actually a relief from the over-refrigerated restaurants. Then we got in the air conditioned car and went back to the air conditioned hotel, to float around in the pool and chat!

 We survived, and were glad to leave the massive hubbub of Phoenix's Sky Harbor for the quiet tranquility of San Luis' own tiny airport, where we were off the plane and out to street in a minute and a half!

Social Distancing at the San Luis airport, explained in terms folks from the Central Coast can understand: the size of a wine barrel, the length of a surfboard...

And yes, we’re back in France now, and mostly recovered from our long flight. But more on that later….

 

How come I Never Heard of This? The Eurovision Song Contest

 

We’re only now learning about this long-lived exercise in fun, frivolity, and community that has been part of pop culture here in France, and all over Europe, for over 60 years. 

The Eurovision Song Contest got its start in 1956 with seven countries. It was a way of unifying the countries of Europe, still devastated by the World War. 

What is it, anyway? Each participating country develops an original song (encouraged, but not required, to be in their language) no more than three minutes long. The song is generally accompanied by some kind of show, with perhaps back-up singers, dancers, and pyrotechnics (consisting of lasers, flames, and perhaps an explosion or three). While the music, and sometimes the backup, is pre-recorded, the singer is required to actually sing during the performance. 

There are several run-offs spread over a week before the finals. At the end, professional musicians and critics in each country vote for their favorite entries, as do the general public. All the votes are combined in some way that is obscure to me to determine the year’s winner, which will then host the next year’s event. 

This year we caught the second round of semi-finals, and certainly had our favorites! But we didn’t see all 40 performances until the final event, which happened Saturday night, May 22. We were in the French city of Albi, near the end of a three-day car trip. (More on that on a soon-to-come blog.) But the TV in our rental apartment worked fine, and we were riveted for the whole three hours! 

Italy won—542 points—with a hard-rock entry by some guys (and a gal) in funny pants. (No, I was not a fan.) We all would have much, much preferred if France had won. As it was it came in second, with 499 points. Barbara Pravi, the sole performer, did a fantastic job with her song “Voilà.” 

And at the very bottom, with nul points, was the UK, 0 points (and not underserved, I’d say!). 

One thing I found surprising: no less an American institution than the New York Times had live coverage, with a couple of reporters at the event sending out text updates after every act. (We’d subscribed to the NYT recently to keep up with the news, and we could read the updates in the app on our phones.) 

I expect we’re going to be hearing more about the Eurovision Song Contest in the coming months, even in the far, dark wilds of the United States of America.

Words fail me in describing these acts, so you’ll just have to see for yourselves. Here’s some (of many) noteworthy performances. Follow the links to videos of the three-minute performances….

 France

          Slim, simple, elegant, beautiful—Barbara evokes “French” and the French chanson. It was no surprise that during her performance on Saturday night "Edith Piaf" was trending heavily on Twitter.

    Voilà by Barbara Pravi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kiyXRhIXWU

 Russia

Reportedly this singer is not well liked in parts of Russian society—she’s not Russian, and she’s singing about freedom for women. Watch that exquisite classically Russian-decorated remote-control dress she’s wearing—or rather, enclosed in. When she steps out, she’s wearing worker’s coveralls--a subtle commentary!

    Russian Woman by Manizha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Di9A28e5E&t=189s

 

Azerbaijan

One of our favorites! Powerful, mysterious, and with a vicious cobra (or an image of one). A rich, amazing setting.

 Mata Hari by Efendi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTQ22S5YC7Q&t=6s

Lithuania

I really like these egg-yolk yellow suits! And the dancers’ moves against the optical background.

 Discoteque by The Roop

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGsjtJn4aAo

 

 Norway

Gorgeously beautiful white angle wings, chained to and surrounded by black winged demons. The angelic singer TIX has Tourette’s Syndrome, and uses the dark glasses to hide his ticks.

    Fallen Angel by TIX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp2kfhuv8ZU

And how about an American entry in the ESC? That’s unlikely, but scheduled on NBC for summer of 2022 is the American Song Contest, in which all 50 states plus five territories plus DC will compete for Best Original Song. Not in competition but in parallel with the ESC. Should be interesting!

On the Road Again, Part 2b—The Chaos de Montpellier & that Viaduct

 

This is the third and final part of our trip to the causses and the Viaduct of Millau.

After congratulating ourselves for spending the night (first night away from home in over a year!) we discussed our plans over breakfast. I was keen on seeing a formation called Le Chaos de Montpellier-le-Vieux, not the least because it bore the name of our adopted home town. But the description of a natural area of rocky pinnacles was certainly appealing.

 

A view of Millau and the Viaduct from half-way up the causse.

Ah, Spring! Green hills and fields around Millau.

Our route led us across the Tarn and up—and up and up—onto the adjacent causse. We stopped often on the way to take in the incredible scenery: the town, the viaduct (not so distant now!), and the ever-so-green hills. Eventually the road leveled out and we drove among mature pines, with the occasional lush meadow stretching into the distance, dense with tiny yellow flowers.

 

Kate gets up close and personal with the meadow flowers.

And, so do we!

After about a half-hour we reached our objective, only to find it closed. Well, rather, with newly-installed gates across the road. It seems that, probably this year for the first time, a fee will be charged to access the car park further on. Whatever. We left the car on the edge of the road (there were few other cars on this Sunday morning) and started hiking.

 

The rather uninspiring parking lot (now closed, soon to be open for a fee).

The very unexpected view from that uninspiring parking lot! See that cliff jutting out mid-right? That's the lookout point we hiked to.

The parking lot proper was on the edge of a cliff with great views out over the Chaos. But poking around we soon realized that this was only the beginning: the area below, the Chaos itself, is a labyrinth of hiking trails! We certainly were not prepared for a day of hiking in a labyrinth, but we thought we’d at least get a little taste. So, we started down the trail.

 

A rock formation know as The Camel, for some reason.

View of the Chaos from the overlook.

It was fantastic. Wide, open paths between massive natural stone walls infused with brush and trees. We wound along the path and eventually made it to a high, prominent overlook. And I realized the guide book description of the chaos was ‘way understated! We quickly understood how these columns of rock rising from the trees and bushes may well have appeared as a ruined city (the origin of the title “Chaos”) to the Midlevel shepherds who brought their flocks here. And, clearly, it could well be the home of the Devil, as they suspected.

 

Paula, on the trail.

Another view from the lookout.

Clearly, this was a whole day’s adventure, for which we were not prepared! Perhaps another time we will come with a more serious intent; but we’d seen enough for now, and once more headed back to the car, passing several more groups of people arriving to hike.

 

Our intention was to explore the causse more fully by driving on the windy roads leading east from Millau. Soon, though, we passed a sign with a dire warning about narrow turns, not suitable for trailers or trucks! We kept going, but I was eyeing the fuel gauge—we’d failed to get gas in Millau, and I was very aware of my own internal fuel gauge: lunchtime was once more approaching, as it does, and once more we were not prepared!

 

A final shot of the Chaos of Montpellier-le-Vieux.

The road was narrow enough to make a U-turn difficult, even with no fear of on-coming traffic. But we were glad we’d made the effort as we wound up the road, and back to Millau. We re-fueled at a station attached to a major supermarket, but by the time we were ready to get some food, the market was closed. Dang! We always forget, stuff is closed here on Sunday! Well, we can survive on low fuel better than the car, so with a comfortably full tank we headed off to the east, on the road passing right under that fabulous viaduct. 

And just outside of town there was a huge boulangerie, right on the side of the road! We gratefully stopped and loaded up on some small quiches, hot coffee, pastries for dessert, and, of course, some bread. Then we drove a few kilometers further and stopped at the overlook directly under the bridge.

 

Driving under the Viaduct.

The wind was howling outside, so we were content to dine in the car, gazing across the wide valley with the tall, narrow bridge pylons reaching to the sky, topped by the roadbed far, far above.

 

The Viaduct, from down bleow.

After getting our fill of both lunch and the view we continued on the wide thoroughfare for a few minutes before turning off on yet another narrow winding road that climbed to the town of Roquefort, home of the famous cheese. 

I’d often heard of the limestone caves in the town from which the soft cheese, made of ewe’s milk and veined with a mold that gives it its distinctive flavor, takes its name. Each round of cheese spends several months aging in these caves under the town, as has been done for hundreds of years. The town itself was not much. Deserted on a Sunday (of course!), its huge stone buildings looked like industrial warehouses from the 1800s (which, I assume, they were!). 

We continued up to yet another causse, this one flat and rather bleak except for the small green meadows broken by the rugged gray stone outcroppings. Pleasant now in the spring, I bet this place is miserable, hot and dry, in the summer (and, of course, cold and windy in the winter). 

But we’d had enough of driving, and stopping, and looking, and were happy to get on the high-speed Autoroute and blast home. 

While it had been threating to rain all day, we felt nary a drop. We left the car at the rental return, and walked the short distance home. That night, though… the heavens opened! Thunder, lightning, wind, and buckets of rain. We were ever so grateful to be tucked into our own beds, warm and dry!

We're off on another adventure. You'll hear all about it soon!