The One Where I somehow Found Myself in Spain:
This weekend I was invited to stay at my roommate, Minét's, Pyrenees Mountain home. Of course I said yes.
Day one:
We began our journey on Friday at 8 am, after leaving the cat with enough food and water for three days. We parted in Minét's tiny european style car (though it is a Ford) and watched as the sun crept up over the hills and flatlands outside of Toulouse inspiring some kind of heavenly watercolor in the sky. The Pyrenees were off in the distance and the cows were lowing loudly as they were waking up. By 9am we made it to a small village called Foix because there is a famous chateau in the center on a huge rocky hill. Chateau Foix, to be exact. We walked around the town, which was bustling because of the open markets and shops; old people shuffled everwhere and Minét and I took our time to get to the Chateau, going on the side streets, smelling the first breads of the Patisseries and visiting a church. We made it to the bottom of the Chateau but we had to climb a hill to get to it so we got right down to it and climbed...up and up until we got to the top and could see the entire city from the walls of the ancient building. We could not go in, however, and so we took pictures and gazed a while at the remains of an old church in the distance on top of a small hill-like mountain; the only remains of the church is the cross that sits, determined, on the edge of the mountain peak.
After the Chateau, we headed off again leaving behind Foix, stopping at an ancient wall painting museum that we didn't go inside of, and it was off to the mountains again. We had to drive up to the very top of one of the mountains and go all the way back down. The roads were inducing a sickness in me and I had to close my eyes periodically but I couldn't for too long...it was too beautiful! The Pyrenees were closing in on us, dotted with the reds, yellows, greens, browns and oranges of Automn, and cows. Mountain cows dotted the mountainside, balancing on rocks, eating the last sweet grasses of summer before they had to be rounded back up for their winter in barns. They are NOTHING like American cows, they are lean and fit and beautiful...an American cow, fat, unhealthy and not so attractive, would roll off of the mountainside in no time flat! I couldn't help but take pictures of everything. When we neared Minét's village of Osseja, I could see it in the distance. Osseja sits snuggly in the bowl of the French Pyrenees, surrounded and not to be bothered, green and fresh. Every house has flowers because that is their past time: gardening. Everyone has a beautiful garden with roses and grapes and fruit trees. Pink and white flowers spill from windows in every house. Cats and dogs lounge, sheep sleep, horses play and cows eat; the place bleeds relaxation.
Minét's house is a gorgeous one. She shares it with her sister and her sister's two dogs who all live upstairs in the other part of the house. Minét is seldom home, although it would seem she was because it is such a warm place to be. Her back yard has these miniature pear trees and apple trees, a rose bush and a perfect lawn. There is a small swimming pool as well which was covered up for the winter. As soon as I walked to the back all I saw aside from the fruit trees at first was the mountains. Just there, like a wall of natural protection. Secure.
When we got there, Minét informed me immediately that we were to go to her family's clinic to eat. The she explained that her grandmother opened up a clinic for people with respiratory problems (like tuberculosis) to heal. And they're building another one. And we were to eat at the clinic. So I went, amazed at the history that Minét was telling me about her grandmother's triumph with tuberculosis and how she opened up a clinic, even though she was not a doctor. So we ate lunch and had some wine and then we took a five minute tour of the little town (yes it only took five minutes). Afterwards, we waited on some friends of Minét's and then Minét informed me that not only were we frolicking in the Pyrenees, but that Spain was about...say...three minutes down the road. Did we go? Hells yes! We piled into her car and were in Spain in three minutes as I giggled to myself that I could step in France and Spain at the same time. The town was a little Spanish one but they only spoke Catalan. So lucky me both Minét and her friend Margot can speak fluent Catalan...ooooh yeah. We had some churros, took a long walk in the village, window shopped and then returned to France at around 7pm for dinner at the clinic. Then Minét and I went to see a Gerrard DePardu movie called Quand j'etais un chanteur. It was pretty good. Then we came back and went to bed. End day one.
Day Two:
Minét did a lot of work in the garden until 12pm. We did a lot of walking on this day; we actually walked up the mountain road with Margot. There were so many old abandoned farm houses (yes I poked my head in a few of them and it was spooooky), doe eyed milk cows, balancing mountain cows, fat horses and also there is a house that sits on the edge of one of the mountains. It is a huge house where a woman lives all alone, and people say she likes it that way. We only saw it from a distance but it was clearly being lived in and clearly hard to get to. Minét started to get tired (I mean come on she's in her 60s!) and she had to pee "faire de peepee." So She peed on the side of the road behind some trees and me and Margot laughed at her. We turned around and headed back after two hours and went to Margot's house for juice and an apple tart that she baked for us earlier. Then we spent the rest of the day relaxing around the house and recovering from that crazy mountain walk we had just taken.
Day Three (today):
Today we went to Spain again for the open market after coffee and this weird custardy cake. I bought myself two scarves that the French seem to wear a lot of. This market was fabulous, everything was fresh. There was fish, salt fish, cheeses, meats, veggies and shiney ripe fruits. Then there were clothes and lingerie being sold right on the streets! Minét bought herself a new plant. Then we did some window shopping at these chic clothing stores. We headed back at around 1pm for lunch at the clinic then we packed up our stuff to get ready to come back to Toulouse.
We left at 3pm
and now here I am.
This weekend I was invited to stay at my roommate, Minét's, Pyrenees Mountain home. Of course I said yes.
Day one:
We began our journey on Friday at 8 am, after leaving the cat with enough food and water for three days. We parted in Minét's tiny european style car (though it is a Ford) and watched as the sun crept up over the hills and flatlands outside of Toulouse inspiring some kind of heavenly watercolor in the sky. The Pyrenees were off in the distance and the cows were lowing loudly as they were waking up. By 9am we made it to a small village called Foix because there is a famous chateau in the center on a huge rocky hill. Chateau Foix, to be exact. We walked around the town, which was bustling because of the open markets and shops; old people shuffled everwhere and Minét and I took our time to get to the Chateau, going on the side streets, smelling the first breads of the Patisseries and visiting a church. We made it to the bottom of the Chateau but we had to climb a hill to get to it so we got right down to it and climbed...up and up until we got to the top and could see the entire city from the walls of the ancient building. We could not go in, however, and so we took pictures and gazed a while at the remains of an old church in the distance on top of a small hill-like mountain; the only remains of the church is the cross that sits, determined, on the edge of the mountain peak.
After the Chateau, we headed off again leaving behind Foix, stopping at an ancient wall painting museum that we didn't go inside of, and it was off to the mountains again. We had to drive up to the very top of one of the mountains and go all the way back down. The roads were inducing a sickness in me and I had to close my eyes periodically but I couldn't for too long...it was too beautiful! The Pyrenees were closing in on us, dotted with the reds, yellows, greens, browns and oranges of Automn, and cows. Mountain cows dotted the mountainside, balancing on rocks, eating the last sweet grasses of summer before they had to be rounded back up for their winter in barns. They are NOTHING like American cows, they are lean and fit and beautiful...an American cow, fat, unhealthy and not so attractive, would roll off of the mountainside in no time flat! I couldn't help but take pictures of everything. When we neared Minét's village of Osseja, I could see it in the distance. Osseja sits snuggly in the bowl of the French Pyrenees, surrounded and not to be bothered, green and fresh. Every house has flowers because that is their past time: gardening. Everyone has a beautiful garden with roses and grapes and fruit trees. Pink and white flowers spill from windows in every house. Cats and dogs lounge, sheep sleep, horses play and cows eat; the place bleeds relaxation.
Minét's house is a gorgeous one. She shares it with her sister and her sister's two dogs who all live upstairs in the other part of the house. Minét is seldom home, although it would seem she was because it is such a warm place to be. Her back yard has these miniature pear trees and apple trees, a rose bush and a perfect lawn. There is a small swimming pool as well which was covered up for the winter. As soon as I walked to the back all I saw aside from the fruit trees at first was the mountains. Just there, like a wall of natural protection. Secure.
When we got there, Minét informed me immediately that we were to go to her family's clinic to eat. The she explained that her grandmother opened up a clinic for people with respiratory problems (like tuberculosis) to heal. And they're building another one. And we were to eat at the clinic. So I went, amazed at the history that Minét was telling me about her grandmother's triumph with tuberculosis and how she opened up a clinic, even though she was not a doctor. So we ate lunch and had some wine and then we took a five minute tour of the little town (yes it only took five minutes). Afterwards, we waited on some friends of Minét's and then Minét informed me that not only were we frolicking in the Pyrenees, but that Spain was about...say...three minutes down the road. Did we go? Hells yes! We piled into her car and were in Spain in three minutes as I giggled to myself that I could step in France and Spain at the same time. The town was a little Spanish one but they only spoke Catalan. So lucky me both Minét and her friend Margot can speak fluent Catalan...ooooh yeah. We had some churros, took a long walk in the village, window shopped and then returned to France at around 7pm for dinner at the clinic. Then Minét and I went to see a Gerrard DePardu movie called Quand j'etais un chanteur. It was pretty good. Then we came back and went to bed. End day one.
Day Two:
Minét did a lot of work in the garden until 12pm. We did a lot of walking on this day; we actually walked up the mountain road with Margot. There were so many old abandoned farm houses (yes I poked my head in a few of them and it was spooooky), doe eyed milk cows, balancing mountain cows, fat horses and also there is a house that sits on the edge of one of the mountains. It is a huge house where a woman lives all alone, and people say she likes it that way. We only saw it from a distance but it was clearly being lived in and clearly hard to get to. Minét started to get tired (I mean come on she's in her 60s!) and she had to pee "faire de peepee." So She peed on the side of the road behind some trees and me and Margot laughed at her. We turned around and headed back after two hours and went to Margot's house for juice and an apple tart that she baked for us earlier. Then we spent the rest of the day relaxing around the house and recovering from that crazy mountain walk we had just taken.
Day Three (today):
Today we went to Spain again for the open market after coffee and this weird custardy cake. I bought myself two scarves that the French seem to wear a lot of. This market was fabulous, everything was fresh. There was fish, salt fish, cheeses, meats, veggies and shiney ripe fruits. Then there were clothes and lingerie being sold right on the streets! Minét bought herself a new plant. Then we did some window shopping at these chic clothing stores. We headed back at around 1pm for lunch at the clinic then we packed up our stuff to get ready to come back to Toulouse.
We left at 3pm
and now here I am.
posted by Anisa @ 1:29 PM
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