I apologize for not posting stuff recently. We've had a few visitors over the last month and we took advantage of it to do lots of really fun stuff. Without a doubt, most American vacations are too short and Ariège is too vast to explore in a matter or weeks (or days in Jenn's case).
Here are some highlights.
The production of the garden is finally starting to slow down. We had a massive overflow of tomatoes at the end, including our largest one of the season, which weighed in at 1.1 kg (2.43lbs). It was enormous! In fact, Monique made an entire tomato salad for four people out of it alone. :) Here's a pic of Che with the blue ribbon tomato.
We were super psyched about the success of the garden. I don't think I have a particularly green thumb, but we received a ton of expertise and help from Patricia, Ben & Shawna, Elise and a bunch of other folks. Coupled with the fact that you can stick just about anything in the ground here and it grows, everyone's advice and hard work paid off. Ben, thanks for "the Tool"... that made a massive difference controlling the weed problem.
It was also wonderful having Cliff, Monique and my mom (Diane) out for a visit. We got to see lots of cool stuff, including a quick trip to Barcelona. While I completely lost my ability to speak Spanish, we found some other cool sites and did the usual tour of Las Ramblas (no naked dudes this time though), the Sagrada Familia, Park Güell and most of the metro lines in the city. Just as a logistical sidenote (hint, hint Steph and Andi), buying a one or two day metro pass for Barcelona is totally the way to get around. It gives you the flexibility to see a ton more in a short period of time and is super convenient compared to walking everywhere or taking expensive taxis. Also, we found out that the amazing produce market on Las Ramblas is closed on Sundays. :( That was a bummer to realize.
The Family
Steph getting hit on by a headless man in a really hot suit.
Catalan graffitti calling for the independence of Catalunya (the state where Barcelona is located) and telling the tourists to go home. The Catalan independence movement is an interesting subject worthy of a later post.
Mom checking out the amazing architecture at Park Güell.
Between the visits of Diane and Jenn, Steph and I had the opportunity to squeeze in a trip to Provence to check out some of the world reknown climbing areas. Thanks to Monique, who watched our two obnoxious cats, we were able to take 5 days to see the region with Patricia, a French friend who had never visited the area either.
I must say, the Provence/Haute Alps area is amazing. It's beautiful and has tons of climbing, certainly worth the reputation and hype that it has received. I'll just post one pic for the time being of the Verdon Gorge, which is commonly referred to as the "Grand Canyon" of France. I'll do a climbing related post later, but there is a ridiculous amount of impeccible limestone in that neck of the woods. The season for Céüse is coming to an end, but I'm SUPER psyched to go back next year. :)
Other than that, Jenn's trip was great... just too short. We made peach wine for the first time. We climbed at a really cool area in Spain called Montgrony. Steph found a new kitten, and I found a new career path. Lots of exciting stuff...
We'd love to hear how you guys are doing.
