On the twenty fifth of June Massimo and Loredana arrived in South West France having driven from Italy the day before. In fact Loredana came to search for me in Castelnau marche, with Mr Cook, where i was stocking up with more of the usual. Wine, cheese, meat and pate for a cold platter lunch, so on completing my tour we went back to ours for lunch and to meet Massimo for the first time. He has very little English and i have no Italian...so that was interesting, over the two weeks we all broke the language barriers in different ways, but it must have been hard work on both sides. The first night we ate melon and ham as a starter and a mushroom risotto at ours after introducing them to Cathe and her beautiful house.
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| the gorgeous Gorge de Save |
On Sunday afternoon after lunch, we took an afternoon stroll down the Save, very picturesque and pretty. We have seen fishermen here but sadly Massimo announced probably no fish! Milou and Massimo have bonded big time...no language barrier, not sure what woof is in Italian?
Loredana cooked a lovely rabbit dish at Cathes followed by strawberries and a special biscotti in the evening.
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| beautiful rock face with wagtails and rippling water below |
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| another family enjoying a sunday afternoon stroll |
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| butterflies and damselflies along the banks |
On Monday Mark went with Massimo and Loredana to Trie to get a fishing licence for the two weeks they are here and i played tennis with my usual crowd. In the afternoon after an Italian lunch at Cathes we headed off for an afternoons walk behind her house to walk off the excess. We ended up in a small village a couple of kilometres away where there was obviously a shin dig going on. I befriended a rather bored young and beautiful pyrenean sheepdog known as a Patou who was not invited to the ongoing procedures. In fact he tried game fully to attract Milou as his playmate determined to have some fun of his own... she was not having any of it but he still tagged with us for an hours walk, before returning to the salle de fete at kicking out time!
Patou in the pyrenees
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| Mark and Massimo studying the fishing sites on the board |
First day of fishing Massimo and Mark have been studying the maps on where and what he can fish. The rules are strict and in some places you can fish but not kill. Massimo has bought various rods and equipment down, including one for me for fly fishing. He does not particularly like to eat fish so the no kill policy does not worry him, he enjoys the sport.
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| Mark watching Massimo gear up in his water wear |
Whilst Massimo wades in, Mark, Loredana, Milou and me walk in the pretty woodland that surrounds the river with an eye out for a potential picnic spot.
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| potential beau picnic site? |
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| Massimo casting down the river |
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| Mark and Loredana in full discussion over fish for lunch or where to share a baguette? |
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| Massimo still casting in the distance |
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| Meanwhile hot and bothered i decide to go in ... |
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...whilst Milou guarding my old flip flops is having none of it!
In between the fishing we have played some boules, eaten good meals and got to know each other. Massimo and Loredana have also made a few excursions on their own as i still had a few gardening commitments. Massimo continues to fish, but mostly on his own and Loredana would meet up for lunch and we would either go to Cathes or they would come to ours for supper. The weather for July has been a tad unpredictable not usually so unreliable, which was a shame. We did manage a BBQ at Cathes the following weekend, meat marinated by Bossedana and perfectly cooked by Massimo.
Monday was a tractor lesson for me over at Monleon and a pasta ravioli lesson for Mark, the pasta the following night was gorgeous, probably some of the best i have tasted for a long time.
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| a lovely meal at Nous de temps, in Castelnau |
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....not a complete holiday without a selfie!
In the final week Cathe wanted to show us a couple of pretty places close to her heart...in the mountains. Massimo was our driver and Cathe was our tour guide, sadly Milou had to look after the cats. Beautiful, pretty and a lovely bright sunny day, lovely drive and good companionship. Loredana
got to test out her french with Cathe, and we all admired the scenery.
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| A day in the mountains with our tour guide, the lovely Cathe |
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a family heirloom!
A lovely stop for lunch next to beautiful streams and finally some fish that i had so been looking forward too. Not caught by Massimo, even though he had caught thirty two carp in our lac a few days before, but that could have been lost in translation?
Mid week we caught up with Chris for a paella, really kind of him to invite us and the extended family for supper.
Loredana got some godfather time on the tennis court whilst i caught up with other bits and Massimo tried to find supper. Towards the end of the week we took Loredana up to the La cascade d'Esparros just beyond Lannemezan very beautiful.
Friday the heat is picking up just as they are going...as i said earlier very unlike July.
I am gardening this morning while they have gone for a picnic at Gimont and a swim. I am planning a Friday send off meal at ours as they leave early on Saturday morning.
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| the one that did not get away, fresh from a stream nearby |
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| amazing mountain scenery |
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| not sure what this was about, but appears to be talking point! |
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| i can never get tired of this scenery personally |
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Cathe pointing out the mountains and which is which
Cathe's grandfather was an avid mountaineer as was his wife and as well as having walked up and along most of them he has painted them too, so i am guessing that some of this has rubbed off on Cathe . For me they are so magnificent, how could you not fall in love with them?
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