Aniane cuts loose

Well, that's it, carnaval is over, but what a time it was.

Yesterday the school kids took to the streets in costume, armed with confetti and a variety of whistles, tooters and other noise-makers. Instructed to make as much noise as possible and given free rein with a bag of confetti each, they had a wonderful time, parading through the streets.

Nothing could have prepared us for todays parade though. Wow. Four bands, numerous
floats and just about everyone in the village dressed up. More confetti, lots of noise and colour, dancing girls, Elvises, princesses, Charlie Chaplins and Marilyn Monroes, lots of guys in drag, anyone who wanted to dress up could be in the parade. It seemed like everyone in the village was dressed up. We stood on our balcony to watch it go by, waving to people we knew, and people we didn't. One of the guys dressed up as a condom shouted 'protegez-vous' (protect yourself) and threw me a condom ... good to know he thought I was likely to need it! After watching it all go by, we felt like a bit more, so we joined them in the street for a while, then headed home, tired and hoarse.

Reveil Lodevois et ses Pompom girls!



Hardly anyone watching from the footpath - they're all in the parade!



Lous Porcs Negres de St Andre de Sangonis (the black pigs of St Andre!)



The parade continues down our street



Protegez-vous!

Branle des chemises

It's carnival time in Aniane, so we all got dressed up in our nighties and went for a walk through the village ... actually we did, it's called the branle des chemises (the dancing nightshirts). Not only that, but one of our neighbours blacked our faces with a burnt wine cork, and we carried paper lanterns with candles inside. A group of a couple of hundred villagers rendezvoused at the village hall (the salle de fetes)at 9.30pm, picked up our lanterns, and to the accompaniment of 'Les Malaiges d'or' (a bit like a mariachi band without the guitars and fancy outfits) we followed the 'grand flambeau' (big lantern) through the streets, dancing around traffic islands, hooting and yahooing through the narrow streets, for about an hour, then finished up again at the Salle des fetes, which was decorated and ready for a party. We sloped off home at this point, but it looked like it was going to be a good night out.

And the big news (literally) is that there was a photographer there, from the Midi Libre, the Montpellier daily newspaper, and a photo of the three of us (and some others), appeared in the paper!! Famous in Aniane!!


Following the grand flambeau


Dancing lanterns in the night

Images of Montpellier

We did a walking tour of Montpellier last saturday. Here are some pictures

Place de la comedie



The small but elegant Arc de Triomf



A bollard!



Not sure what this is, but it looks good
Edited later : it turns out this is a water tower. Water from the aqueduct was stored in a holding tank - this was the main Montpellier water source until recent expansion required more water. Thanks for this, Peter.



The aqueduct



Lady with four cute little dogs



The Mikve dates back to the 13th century



This shell-shape at the base of this building is supposed to supply extra support to the floors above. Not sure if I am convinced ..

Tellement beau

Just so beautiful. Awe-inspiring, breathtaking, words are inadequate to describe the countryside around St Guilhem le desert. Today we did another randonnee in this area, and I'm back with tired legs and a full heart. We walked to the little chapel of Notre Dame de l'Hermitage, and then round the back of the mountains shown above, returning over the hill where the ridge dips at the very back of the second photo (I hope that's clear..) - 10km.



Here's the chapel - we were so lucky, a Belgian couple arrived shortly after we did, who were friends of the Carmelite nuns who take care of the property and they had the key. They told us the legends as well - you ring the bell outside the church and make a wish, then drink the water from the spring which has miraculous properties. There had been a hermit there once - in a grotto at the back of the wee church. Inside it was tiny - whitewashed plaster walls, with wooden benches to sit on. Attached to the chapel was some very basic accommodation (no bathroom) where members of the order could stay on retreat. We lit a candle in the chapel, then set off up the trail.

These are weird - they are caterpillars, walking like a troupe of elephants, nose to tail. What are they doing, where are they going? I don't know. We saw quite a few of these.



Signs of spring. Another one, here, flowers

Spring morning

It's not officially spring, but it sure feels like it. The weather has really warmed up and we have put our winter woollies away. Nice enough to have morning tea on the patio, with bread, cheese, strawberries and an English language newspaper!!