It’s Mother’s Day and Marie gives me a rose! She is the greatest!
Marie is VERY upset that the groomer we booked has called and cancelled. I cannot understand everything that she says but I think she told him her “client” was counting on this appointment but then I guess he says “tant pis” which means “too bad.” She’s pretty mad but I say “Pas grave”–it’s not important. We look at listing in the phone book and Marie finds a place and books an appointment in her town, about 20 minutes away.
We take Sheri and Gene to St. Guillem le Desert, one of the certified most beautiful villages of France. And it is! We have been here more than once before but today the weather is gorgeous and the village seems more beautiful than we’ve ever seen it.
The drive up the mountain is challenging and stressful. The roads are incredibly narrow with lots of switchbacks and the French drivers are not prone to caution. But I make the journey without marring the car’s finish–I am amazed it is so!
We find a parking space–what luck! We arrive in the village at the square next to the abbey. A huge, ancient plane tree anchors the square. There are several restaurants with outdoor seating circling that massive and incredible tree.
We decide to have lunch right away; I’m concerned that the restaurants will fill up quickly. The place we choose has cassoulet (which Howard had been looking for) and savory crepes (which Sheri has been looking for). The guys have the cassoulet and the gals have crepes. Dessert for Howard is a colonel; a sugar and lemon crepe for me; and the Kohlmanns share a caramel gelato sunday. Wow! It is a great meal in a beautiful place surrounded by perfect weather.
We take a long leisurely walk through the alleyways
of the village and are amazed at every turn how lovely this is. There is a photo opportunity at every corner.
On the way back down the mountain, I want to show Gene and Sheri the amazing gorge that has been cut by the Herault River. It is not easy to find a place to park so that the Kohlmanns can walk across the bridge over the river. I nearly get myself locked into a driveway to a small parking lot but I quickly back up and out before anyone hems me in. Gene and Sheri say they are satisfied as I very slowly drive across the bridge.