As of last Friday, July 28, we had exactly 4 weeks left here in Villevieille. Every year this happens--where did the time go? What did we actually DO? Why do we love it here so much? I think maybe we got a good idea why this past weekend. It's basically a REAL PLACE, with great charm.

Les works all week, via internet & phone, on a bizarre schedule (1:00-7:00ish pm here) to accomodate the time difference of 6 hours for the US east coast & 7 hours for Chicago clients. I generally work in the garden in the mornings, & do inside stuff in the hot afternoons. Half the time we eat here, on the terrace (of course!), & the other half at nearby restaurants. The food here is good, the wine is cheap, & the weather is outstanding. I think we've only eaten one dinner inside since we got here!

We love it here because it's REAL! Villevieille is a sleeply little village, & Sommieres is called "un petit cite de charme". It's 5,000 people swell to 12,000 in summer, & although touristy, it remains real. We go there when we need something, when we want to walk to a good local restauarant, or when there's something unique to do. This weekend was a great example of that. Sommieres is "en fete" which in most towns means bull related events, but the "cite de charme" has worked to create some amazingly unique & entertaining events.

"La Course des Radeaux" is a race of "unidentified navigable objects" on the Vidourle River that runs through Sommiere's center. This river can be a problem (the "crus" have flooded the entire first floor of downtown Sommieres!), but it certainly wasn't last Saturday! 13 creative & imaginative rafts & their teams were ready to compete on a sunny, beautiful day, with hundreds of happy people cheering them on. Les & I found a seat on the quai, & waited about an hour for the event to start, soaking up the fun music (from Parisian accordeons to Foreigner songs), listening to the long list of sponsors (including our plumber Martial), & lots of encouragement to applaud. Check out our picture album "Invastion of 13 Identified Navigable Objects" to see this delightfully amusing event, followed by a look at the "ballet" created by a pair of food truck vendors in the Sommieres's Saturday market. The result: we took home a delicious "poulet fermier" (country chicken) for lunch.

This Friday, at 11:15, there's a "course des garcons"...that's a waiter race. Check back next week--hopefully I'll get some good pictures.

Another favorite thing is small, intimate local concerts, & Friday night we went to La Cle des Chants, in nearby Vergeze, to hear "Zum'kocha", a vocal trio of 3 women, accompanied by a musical wizard DJ. The sometimes single, often synchronized voices sang & danced their way through an incredible trip: Russia, Ethiopia, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Haiti...Sometimes it was jazz, sometimes rock, sometimes pop, or rock, but all totally new songs (all in different languages but the dances helped explain). We were in the front row, with a glass of wine, in a beautiul stone courtyard, whose walls made the music even more magical. Incroyable!

From there, we went to another local village to "La Tabliere", one of those lovely little bistros housed in a small stone house, with a delightful terrace. They change the menu often, concentrating on seasonal arrivals. That evening, Les chose the sardines & I chose "aubergines farcies d'agneau" (lamb stuffed eggplant).

Speaking of food, for a late Sunday lunch, we went to another favorite "real" thing, La Famourette", a guinguette (an outdoor restaurant next to a river), in our former locale, L'Herault. It's worth an hour's drive to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon with a lovely meal & again, super music. Not to mention the many children who love to dance to the music! To see pictures of both these cozy & well-run restaurants, take a look at our "Simple Pleasures" picture album. It includes pictures of 10 of the simple pleasures in which we indulge here in this little corner of the world.

But alas, the clock is ticking! August always means we'll be leaving soon! See our album "The Clock is Ticking" for some of my gardening challenges, & a few unfinished projects. We both still have things we want to do before "la Rentree": more hikes, more concerts, etc, & a trip to Perigord. We're going to visit the new Lascaux IV, "Centre international des Caves Prehistoriques", as well as 2 cliff-dwelling villages (one prehistoric, the other medieval). Also on our list: Josephine Baker's chateau "Les Mellines", where she housed numerous French orphans. We'll stop in Rodez, en route, for an Alexander Calder exhibition & stay in Sarlat-le-Caneda for this wonderful 4 day adventure. We can't wait.

We're sure your clock is ticking too! Somehow, be it July 4 or July 14, the national independence days ramp up the velocity of that ticking clock. We hope you have enjoyed & will continue to enjoy your summer, and are rejuvenated for fall's quick & inevitable approach. Tick tock...tick tock!

Cheers to you all,

Elise & Les