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| The Great Hall Artist's Residence and Betsy Buying Cheeze at a Rolling Cheeze Market Next to Social Center, Las Cabannes |
We spent hours at the Centre Social plugged into their computer connection and got to download all the emails for the last week. Merci beaucoup to each one of you for all your support and interest. It is gratifying to see how many people are checking in with us. We love your comments even from those who want to murder us in our bed for our undeserved luck.
When we left the Centre, we found the Wednesday market winding down. There were bread and cakes and cookies under a bright red awning, and 2 slick white trucks whose sides opened up into beautiful glass shelves, one of cheese (shown) and one of meat. These people definitely know how to live.
Some information you might be interested in. Our patron, Charles wrote that some of the best wine around is from Chateau Bourguet, a stone’s throw up the road and that the Dutch woman at the farm we see from here on the other side, makes great cheese and speaks English. As he said, it is nice to see the grapevines we are drinking from and the cows whose cheese we are eating. We stopped at the winery last night and went through tasting a number of years before picking out 2 bottles of tasty 2007 rouge receiver of 2 medals, then we tried the Rose with 4 medals. Ay Carambas! Que Bueno!! 2 more bottles of that. Christine says that the cheese maker is none other than the Ferme Bio I pass every day on my walk. Tomorrow I’ll try to rouse someone, pay them for all the cherries I’ve been snitching toute les jours and get some cheese. Later: I just met her. They only sell cheese at the Saturday market in Cordes. She won’t take $$ for the cherries, but I have some pottery waves one of which is wild cherry and will leave one with her and continue snitching…
Charles also said this place predates the 1222 walled city of Cordes Sur Ciel. There is a column supporting a beam under the apartment we’re in that dates back to Roman times. The rest of the place is more modern… Evidently service in the Roman army was for 20 years. And a very common practice was that retiring soldiers were given land in occupied areas as their pension. He thinks this might well have been one of those retirement places granted to a Roman Centurion some time 2000 years ago, we’re guessing. It is thrilling to touch that very simple column. The Visigoths followed them. In the Middle Ages this was a feudal lord’s house, 1100AD or so. We had thought this mighty room (photo) now the studio, might have once been a barn, but it was a manor house at one time, a school some other time. It is 52’long, 17’ wide and 16’high, 20’ at the end peaks. Eleanor of Aquitaine was due west of here by the Atlantic, Henry II, Richard Lionheart! Hannibal to the south east of us, Richelieu came down here to suppress religious revolt, Neanderthals everywhere, people painting in caves a little northwest of here. HOLY SMOKES! The head spins. We sit with our wine and look out across the valley and wonder when the last time was that people watched this direction fearing some group showing up to kill them. I think the inquisition started in this general area too, to say nothing of Matisse and the Fauvists down on the coast just before you get to Spain.
Picture of truck with open side showing cheese. And the Great Hall.
Great Hall 52’ by 17’ walls16’ walls with 20’ peak.
Betsy, I see a future play reading here. "Artist and lover murdered in bed by jealous Americans"
ReplyDeleteI love that you are bartering pottery for cherries, if you could get few more pieces shipped you could add cheese and wine as well. You daily outings just make me smile and John's postings and pictures are wonderful as well. I wish I could slow time down for you both.
Kathleen