The Wandering Walters

It's hard to fathom that we were under water restrictions last summer due to drought, because it rained all winter long. I grew spoiled from the limitless sunshine in Arizona, so I'm happy to see that Spring has finally sprung in France. We actually had quite a bit of flooding in Moissac last month-- although not nearly as bad as some of the nearby communities. But that's all water under the Moissac bridge now, because now that the wisteria and magnolia have started to bloom, it's easy to forget those wet winter months. We've been busy with paperwork--moving to another country, especially France, creates mountains of applications, permits, documentation. For one, our retirement visas need to be renewed every year (after 5 years of renewing, you can choose to apply for residency instead). We also needed to exchange our driver's license for French ones. Some states have an exchange program with France: Illinois does, Arizona does not. Since we still o...

We had a lovely little Thanksgiving in France, despite my mushy stuffing. I met another American a couple weeks ago and he joined Bill and I for dinner. It took some effort to pull the meal together since its not a holiday that France celebrates. I had to roast the pumpkin in order to make the puree for the pumpkin pie (no canned pumpkin here) and we had to drive to Montauban to find a turkey breast. But it was worth the extra effort, as we have so much to be thankful for this year. And, it was especially nice to spend it with new friends. My sister came to visit in December, so we took the train to Bordeaux to check out their Christmas market, and then again to the Marche de Noel in Toulouse. Bordeaux is a very elegant city, with it's neoclassic architecture, wide boulevards and expansive views of the Garonne river. And its very easy to navigate, as you can grab a tram right outside the train station that takes you everywhere you need to go for less than 2 euro. Unfortunately...

I have a friend that's visiting us from the states, so we took time out this week to explore some cities and villages in the Southwest area of France, in and around where we live in Moissac. We toured side by side midevil castles in Bruniquel--voted one of France's most beautiful villages. The first castle was built in the 13th century, but due to a family dispute the son was cut from the will and a cousin inherited the propérty instead. He had a second castle built in the 15th century--directly beside the fueding family's castle--and erected a stone wall between them so they needn't ever see each other. Such epic drama, considering it takes hundreds of workers atleast a decade to build a castle. One of these castles, Château Vieux, continued to be occupied until the death of the last Viscountess in 1980! Lauzert was next on our list (and also on the list of most beautiful villages). Very little is open on Mondays in this area of France--which we knew...

Mother Nature announced autumn's arrival with a week of rain, which thankfully abolished the water restrictions in France. Unfortunately, the rain overstayed its welcome and left our yard looking like a giant mosh pit. I have a friend visiting from the states, and while she's here we decided to take a quick trip to Porto, Portugal--so off we went in search of sunshine. Porto is located on the northwest coastline of Portugal, and is known for its impressive bridges and for the port wine it produces. Our airbnb was in the medieval Ribeira (river) district, and the views of the river from our balcony were amazing. The cobbled stone streets that once wound past merchants' houses, are now lined with restaurants featuring salted fish and boiled potatoes. Porto's old town district is rich with stunning architecture that sits on a giant roller coaster of land. To stand at the bottom of any street and look up the incredibly steep road that lies in front of you is intimidating ...