Rural France
Roquebrun
19 July 2014

Bonjour! I have always loved France and being back in Roquebrun with very dear friends makes it even more special. Our last 2 weeks in the Med is land based and I must admit I am thoroughly enjoying the change and rest from looking after Lati - navigating, weather forecasting etc. It's also wonderful to have a shower, plenty of water coming out of taps and a fridge. These things always feel like luxury after living on a boat that needs every drop of water transported to her by jerry can, quite often by dinghy.

Roquebrun is a small village in the Languedoc region surrounded by vineyards. This means the wine is plentiful, good and cheap. There is the river Orb running through the village and many people swim there at the moment as it is hot and it's summer holidays. Our friends Pierre and Florence live in Switzerland but have a rustic dwelling they have renovated beautifully over the last 20 years. Last time we were here was in 1999. It's still as beautiful surrounded by olive trees and from the balcony you can see the river through the trees and donkeys grazing. Definitely time to get the pastels out! We are not actually staying with Pierre and Florence this time as they are full with visitors. Instead we have our own Gite not far away in the local camping ground. It's a cute self contained unit with a terrace overlooking the part of the town and river. There's also 5 beds. Anyone want to come and visit?

We first met Pierre and Florence when we were living in Papua New Guinea on a rubber plantation in 1981. Vashti was born that year in Moresby and created a lot of excitement among our friends living there in comparative isolation. Somehow sharing such a unique experience created a special bond. Other PNG friends Peter and Ellie who now live in the UK are here in Roquebrun. We hadn't seen them for 33 years! We are all older and greyer now but having the best time together.

Bill is being immersed in French this morning as he, Pierre and Peter are helping one of the neighbours concreting. Apparently the concrete is being mixed in a mixer and they will be shoveling by hand. They were off at 7am this morning while I am enjoying being quietly lazy in our Gite. The only Internet we have is wifi, if I sit outside in the communal courtyard. Better than nothing! We are used to having Internet on tap with a 3G SIM card in Greece. We will look for an Orange phone shop in Beziers on Monday.

Last night we dined with Pierre and Florence's friends Evelyn and Jean Pierre at a superb restaurant about an hours drive away. It was the best of best French food and wine and a lovely change from Greek cuisine. My first glass of real French champagne in France! Followed by pate, duck and creme brulee. Absolutely delicious! Along the way Pierre took us to the closest harbour called Chicolet if we sail Lati this way next year. It's quite new and not a quaint French village but close to swamplands and a river with beautiful bird life apparently.

We are in Roquebrun for a week. After landing in Marseilles 2 days ago we picked up a hire car which we have until the 3rd August when we fly back to Athens. It was challenging for Bill to drive on the right side of the road and negotiate the freeways while I navigated. Woa! Some bits were fast with 130km speed limits! Tollways are paid with a credit card in a machine - so much easier than the complicated Internet paying system in Australia!

After we leave here, we will be looking for friends who have recently purchased a canal barge in France. We are really looking forward to that!