It's our final, & 12th week here in Villevieille. Each year when we arrive, we look ahead to our 12 weeks, & think we have so much time. But by the time July 14, Bastille Day arrives, we are half-way through. And then time, like the sun, starts its downward arc, & we always arrive at this point thinking, where did it all go?

What a summer, full of family, friends, & activities. Both of us had sister visits, & our little "tribe" (kids & grandkids) were with us for a week. We also had some California friends here for the Tour de France. Now we know that the house can accomodate guests, as long as you watch the hot water consumption. If you don't, you might be taking a cold shower!

Seeing our area through the eyes of our grandchildren was an incredibly rewarding experience. They loved our wading pool, which started out round & ended up oblong (due to the constant run from the ping pong table to the pool & then out), & they spent a lot of time in, out, & around it. (We are still laughing when we look at the bare spot in the grass where it was!) They played ping pong & "boules", & ate sorbet & tarte aux pommes, in addition to, you guessed it, mac & cheese (brought from home). We had a daily adventure squished into our rented "caravane", which took us to various areas of interest. Most days we ate in a cafe at our destination, then returned to our terrace for dinner. To finish the day, we had a nightly pow-wow to choose our "pics of the day". Les & I will never forget this week of sun & fun. For some fun pictures, go to our album called "En Famille en France".

Early on, we chose "villages" as our summer theme, & put aside each Sunday morning for a "balade" (walk) through or around one of them. It's a perfect way to get to know the distinct personality of each little corner of this magical region, while getting some fresh air & exercise, & sometimes a real surprise!. (See "Congenies, Art is Everywhere", & "Week 8: Here, there & everywhere".)

Each morning I read the local newspaper (Le Midi Libre) so we know about any special events coming up, & we've found some real treasures (a banjo festival, a Cuban/Iraqi concert, a musical review of 1936 songs). Many of the villages celebrate their 3-4 day "fete-votive" in August, which always includes music, dancing, & some kind of activity related to bulls. See our recent album entitled "Bulls" for pictures of 3 different villages (including our own!) celebrating the bull culture here. We don't really understand it, but they love it for sure.

We are so pleased with our new house & our new area. The combination of our little village (so quiet, so charming, so Roman & medieval) & Sommieres, the larger town below us with restaurants, concerts, markets, is perfect for us. We walk 25 minutes down (& back up) 2-3 times a week.

And our "big town", Nimes, is a wonderful place to visit, & only 30 minutes away. We go there for painting & hardware supplies (me), a gym (Les), & to show our visitors the history of the Gauls, then the Romans here in southern France. See our album entitled "Roman History of Nimes" for a quick look at the major attractions there. Nimes is in the running to be a UNESCO "European City", & we understand why. Rome still lives on here in southern France: the architecture, the food, & the wine!

The Cevennes mountains we look at every day from our terrace are only 30 minutes away as well, & we try to get INTO them at least once a summer. Historically, they've been refuges for political and/or religious separatists, but today they show off their "hippie" bent with a wonderful festival called "Cevenoles", a mixture of music, dance, & art that you can see by visiting our album called "Into the Cevennes", July 25.

And then there's the Mediterranean Sea, again, only 30 minutes away. We have a favorite fishing village we love to visit, & show off to our summer visitors too.

There are 3 BIG things about being here. Number one is the view. People don't understand it until they see it, & LIVE it. Number two is the weather, hot, dry, & lots of sun, & the air seems so clean. Number three is the location--we are in the middle of a super triangle: history/sea/mountains. And when we want to get away, we can get to Provence in 2 hours & to Nice in 3 hours.

We didn't buy this house for the gardens around it, but I must admit, that I love having them. This morning I picked fresh figs & pears from our trees, & I "harvested" lavendar too. The fresh smell will always bring me back to this place, even when we are back home in Charleston, where we'll be a week from tomorrow. Unbelievable!

We hope you've all had a wonderful summer, whether you traveled or stayed home, or did a bit of both. And we wish you a happy & safe fall.

Love,

Elise & Les