Faux pas...did I mess up???

So Cam and I have had a few funny situtations happen to us so far (and I'm sure we'll have many more to come through out our stay). But I thought I'd share some so far.

1. (Star: STEPH. Stage Left enters Steph and Cam in one of the 80 hardware stores they've been to since they've got to France) Following the tradition in France when one enters a store, Steph turns to the store clerk to say "Bonjour". In the millisecond before Steph says bonjour, the store clerk says something to her. Thinking he also said bonjour, Steph continues with the greeting. A half of a second after the whole greeting ceremony has past, the store clerk is looking at a Steph with a strange expression on his face. Only at this moment does Steph realize that the store clerk did not actually say "Bonjour", rather he said "This is an exit, not an entrance". Now Steph realizes that's what he said, and that her response was "Bonjour!" --said with a big Steph smile! Ahhhh, it was great. After that Steph laughed and her and Cam hurried out to the actual entrance of the store. :)

2. (Star: CAM. Stage Right are Cam and Steph waiting in the check out line at one of the 90 gardening stores they have been to since coming to France) Cam and Steph are waiting in line, for the cashier is just finishing up with the customer in front of them. As the cashier is starting her closing or "au revoir (good-bye)" with the customer before us, she turns her eyes quickly toward Cam, as if to acknowledge that she knows we are next in line.

Now here I must pause for an explanation...Cam is working very hard trying to learn French, and one of the most useful techniques he has picked up is the "Parrot Technique". It is named this for the fact that the technique uses mimicry in place of analytical thought processes. It goes as follows: someone says something, you say the same thing back. It's a great technique for saying hello, putting a closing on an email, and saying good bye (or so he thought until this situation occured).

Now, back to the check out line...there is Cam looking at the lady, using his most masterful "Parrot Technique" skills. The cashier says "au revoir (good bye)" to her customer, glances at Cam, and Cam responds "au revoir" back to the cashier. As you can imagine, the next couple of minutes were a little strained, for the cashier then had to say "bonjour" to Cam to check out the items we were purchasing. So in true Parrot fashion Cam responded "Bonjour". So essentially, the conversation went in reverse. An english translation: Open the greeting with good-bye, then say hello, then say good-bye again! It was hilarious! So just a word of warning to those that are considering using the parrot technique...use it carefully, it can backfire as much as it can help.

John Stewart on Crossfire...

2010 Tour De France

So, I've never followed cycling much, aside from mocking Matt in his spandex diaper pants, but this year, I might get a little bit more excited about it since the 2010 Tour De France basically goes through our back yard.  I know waiting two and a half hours on the side of the road to see the peloton blow by at 30 miles an hour might not be the most exciting thing in the world, but the Tour is perhaps the one thing that the majority of American's know (and perhaps even revere) about France, which is monumental in itself and certainly worth experiencing. 

 

Stage 15 of this year's Tour goes from Pamiers (a town about an hour northeast of us) to Bagnères De Luchon, which lies 187km (116 miles) to the southwest.  The course of this year's race is monumental for Pamiers because it is the first time the town has hosted a Tour stage.   Although the exact course of the race hasn't been released yet, the hill profile below shows the Tour passing through the Côte of Carla-Bayle, which is about 10 km (6 miles) from our house.  

Carla-Bayle is a beautiful fortified village perched atop a hill (the pic above was swiped off the internet...I'll try to post some other pics later).  Construction of the wall that surrounds the village was completed in the 12-13th century and is a much smaller version of the famous walled city of Carcassonne which lies farther to the northeast.  

From Carla-Bayle, the Tour winds its way southwest across the department of Ariège and into Haute Garonne.  The stage ends with a brutal climb (6.2% grade) at kilometer 166 (mile 103), before reaching the resort town of Bagnères De Luchon which is tucked away in the middle of the Pyrenees, just north of the Spanish border.  

I imagine things will be somewhat like a circus when the Tour rolls through, but it will be cool to see (and hopefully share with Ben and Shawna when they're here!).

A visit to Toulouse - Part 1

A few weeks ago, we got an excellent tour of Toulouse from our friends Marion and Samy.   The weather was a bit cold, but we cruised around downtown Toulouse for just long enough to get a quick taste of the city and realize we want to spend more time exploring it.  Samy and Marion were excellent tour guides and provided a wealth of information about the city and area which has helped us get better acquainted with the landscape here and given us insight into subtle parts of the French culture that we probably wouldn't have picked up for quite some time.

 The Capital and surrounding buildings.

Known as the "Ville en Rose" (City in Pink), Toulouse has long been defined by the red brick that was used to construct many of it's buildings.  Lacking a nearby source of natural rock, early constructors manufactured brick out of local material, which happened to have a reddish hue.  The Capital building sits in the center of the city, near the Garonne River that slowly makes its way toward the Atlantic Ocean. 

The Garonne has it's natural headwaters in the Pyrenees, but is also part of a waterway system that connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean with the help of two canal systems (The Canal Du Midi & Canal De Garonne) that were built in the 1600's.  The canal project was revolutionary at the time in terms of redefining engineering principles, but also was notable due to the importance that women played in the construction and design of the waterway.  Many of the women involved in the project were from towns that were former Roman bath colonies, and had an innate understanding of classical hydraulics that wasn't an integrated part of contemporary engineering at the time.  With massive labor and financial resources as well as the help from the women, the canal was finally finished in 1681.

Although the canal system is no longer used for the transport of materials from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, Toulouse still is a thriving city with a diverse array of influences, attractions and offerings for the citizens and travelers alike.  Facing the Capital pictured above is another building with a long covered walkway whose ceiling tiles exhibit a series of contemporary murals that show the history and defining elements of the city and surrounding area. 

Pastel
This blue pigment was produced and sold in the Toulouse area, and, by the 16th century had made Toulouse the "Land of Plenty".  Many of the merchants of pastel became extremely rich and used their money to build extravagant hotels and houses in the city.

Saint Dominique (1215 a.d.)
According to the plaque below the mural, Saint Dominique was a Castillian who moved to Toulouse in 1215 and founded the Dominican order in order to combat Catharism by gospel, charity and living the example of a poor life.  Whether or not Saint Dominique played a role in the Inquisition is apparently a much debated topic.  However, regardless of his direct role, religious tolerance during this period seemed to disappear and the Cathars were soon persecuted formally in the Albigensian Crusade that began in 1220.

 

Montségur: The end of the Albigensian Crusade (1244 a.d.)
Toulouse was the capital of the Languedoc region when Pope Innocent III declared a holy crusade against people of the Cathar faith (a sect of Catholicism) in the early 13th century.  Known as the Albigensian Crusade, this religious persecution served to massacre somewhere between 200,000 and 1 million people.  The final stronghold of the Cathars lay in Montségur (about an hour east of our house), a fortified castle at the top of a tall, rocky hill.  After 10 months of siege, the remaining 200+ Cathars finally surrendered and were subsequently burned alive by the Catholic crusaders. 

The Spanish Civil War (1939)
The Spanish Civil War was one of the most profound events in contemporary Spanish history and was also an important element in the lead up to World War II.  When the Second Republic was defeated in 1939, the Republican government installed itself in Toulouse as Francisco Franco took power in Spain and launched the country into nearly 40 years of dictatorship and oppression.  As the Spanish Civil War came to a close, thousands of Spanish citizens fled persecution by seeking asylum in southern France. 

Toulousians Today
Today, the identity of Toulousians is diverse, international and historically profound.  Although we have just begun to learn the city and meet the people, we are excited to experience more.

Climbing! - Calamès at Bèdeilhac

It has taken us a while to settle in and get situated, but we finally made it out climbing yesterday.  There is a copious amount of limestone within an hour of our home and we decided to make an afternoon jaunt to Calamès, just outside the small village of Bèdeilhac which is about an hour southeast of our house.  Here is a couple maps that shows a little more detail of the area:

 

 

 Bèdeilhac is a sleepy little town a couple of kilometers outside of Tarascon Sur Ariège.  Heading south from Toulouse, the majority of large limestone seems to start around this area.  The town of Bèdeilhac itself is surrounded by several large crags, including Calamès, the large plug of granite pictured below, which is around 800ft (250m) tall and offers 200+ routes from 5.5 (3c) to 14a (8b+).  The crags around Bèdeilhac have a variety of different exposures, making the area climbable at nearly any time of the year.  Calamès is south facing and was nice and balmy (65+) yesterday even through it was cloudy and cooler in Castex.

In general, the formation is broken into two basic sections.  The middle and left side offer tons of moderates and the long routes to the summit.  The routes are slabby to slightly vertical and have the typical assortment of pocked edges, hidden monster jugs and lots of lizards.  The right side is a series of shorter, but steeper walls and caves that host the difficult lines.  The caves are reminiscent of the Wasteland at Rifle, although the rock quality varies more and several of the harder lines are glued, which seems to be a totally accepted ethic.  The wall pictured below is called Les Murettes and has a nice concentration of quality routes. 

 After not climbing in months, we climbed an assortment of nice moderate lines on a nearby wall called Le Papy.  Calamès seems to be a popular weekend spot, but apparently it is nearly vacant during the week, which I don't doubt.  Most of the folks we bumped into were nice, helpful and didn't live up to my other French climber experiences, which was a refreshing change.  However, I have realized that it is impossible to escape bizarre climbing types, no matter where you go. 

We were next to a man who was climbing with a boy about 9 or 10 years old.  The boy was obviously super new to climbing and the man seemed to be some sort of a mentor/teacher type.  In typically bizarre fashion, the man insisted on clipping the first bolt, then would stand in an uncomfortable stance with calves flaming while barking instructions at the boy on how to properly attach a GriGri.  After 5 minutes of bumbling around the boy would eventually get the device attached in some fashion and the guy, who was impatiently saying "oui, ça va!" (Yeah, that's it!) would set off on a shortroping marathon to the top of the slab.  I could never figure out why the man didn't just get the kid set up with the GriGri prior to leaving the ground like the rest of the world does, but it made for some exciting afternoon entertainment.  

The view from Calamès is excellent...You can see the town of Tarascon Sur Ariège and the Ariège River drainage.  Just out of sight is the town of Sinsat and the 1,000 foot limestone crag that looms over it with impressive amphitheaters and towering faces.

 

The band of limestone in the left edge of the photo is a portion of a crag called Roc De Sèdour which has 60+ routes from 10a (5c+) to 14b (8c) up to 700+ ft tall.  The band in the photo has short steep routes that get summer shade and have a 10 minute approach, which hopefully we'll get to check out when we get back in shape again.  Here's a different view of the area:

In all, the area is impressive and we're excited to explore it a bit more.  I still can't get used to the fact that the names are painted at the base of climbs, or that we have to walk through someone's back yard to get to the crag, but it has been a fun learning experience.  

Steph checking out local wildlife...

...debating whether to help it across the road, or to take it home and toss it in a pot with salt like a true French person would. :)

We're not quite French yet, so we let it go...just this once!

Cultural Mysteries - The Bise...aka the most confusing social custom on the planet...

France has an abundance of cultural customs that are obvious (most of the time) to the French, but a complete mystery to Americans.  Perhaps the most awkward custom for Americans is the "Bise," a series of kisses that inevitably results in a miffed French person and an American who almost scored a peck on the mouth from a complete stranger (which sometimes isn't neccesarily bad, except when you are meeting someone's 87 year old grandmother).  Thus far, I have completely bungled just about every interaction where a bise has been involved.  Here's a funny vid to check out if you're bored...Perhaps we'll get some video footage of us awkwardly meeting a French couple for your viewing amusement in the future.... 

Internet Dependence

There once was a couple named Stam & Ceph who decided to move to Southern France for a while. "Easy it will be," said Stam to Ceph,"as easy as eating an entire French Baguette cover in Nutella." And so Ceph and Stam packed up there belongings and moved...

(Present day):
After watching a parapentor flying in our neighbor's backyard we decided it was high time to really try to figure out how French people do things...and let me tell you...eating an entire baguette with Nutella is easy (we do it almost every morning), but figuring out how to live like a French person is way more difficult. Something as simple as going grocery shopping becomes difficult when the hours that the store is open are only from 9-12 and then 2-6! It's a different pace of life, that I could definitely get used to as a worker, but as a consumer...what a pain in the ass! :)

We have been doing tons of work on the house in Castex...so far: painting, working on the floors, covering the holes in the septic system (that was gross...good thing we got respirators), high quantity pruning on the trees on the property, saving the snails, worms and frogs from falling branches, hanging shower curtains, and learning how to grow vegetables! We are the proud parents of baby sprouts of all kinds: carrots, artichokes, strawberries, rasperries, blueberries, herbs, garlic, onions, etc. I made up a song for our first baby sprouts...that will be posted soon (my singing ladies, you are going to love this one, might be on par with the Gum Song).

It has been beautiful out until recently...snow and cold have come to call. I tried to hide so the snow and cold couldn't find us, but our cats were meowing so the snow and cold found us...dern cats! Anyway, we're still mooching internet from a local McDonald's (never appreciated McD's so much in my life). I called the internet provider this morning, and we should be getting internet within 4 days. In the meantime, just so you all have our number, it is: 011-33-5-61-69-85-98 (the 011 is to dial outside of the US, the 33 is the country code, and 5-61-69-85-98 is the actual phone number. You have to dial all of those numbers in order to reach our house. If it were too easy it wouldn't be French!)

We miss you all very, very, very, very, very much! Hope all is well and more stories and pictures to come once we get internet!

Love,
Steph

Update -Blog hacked

Sorry Folks, our blog has been hacked...we're working to get it fixed...

Still no internet...  and someone stole my SS# just for good measure.  Fun Stuff.

Hope you all are doing great!
Cam