Living in the village of Marseillan

Maddy and I have been chilling at the apartment since our return from Slovakia, Slovenia and Italy. Since our return I have had the opportunity to learn how to get things fixed in France, and without speaking the language, thanks to Google translate on my IPad. Maddy found the patio electric shade 3/4 closed, stuck. I was the last to go to bed so I take full responsibility. I left a chair near the shade and the shade stopped at the chair and the motor burned out. So the next day we spent looking for an electrician. Our friend, Mike, a British transplant to Marseillan since 1989 who works in the a tourist office, made arrangements for an electrician for us. When the electrician came that same day (he didn't speak English), he determined it was a mechanical problem and arranged for the mechanic to do the work the very next day! The mechanics started at 9 a.m. And completed the job by noon! I was so happy that it was fixed! We were impressed with the great service from the French! We took Mike out for lunch as a thank you for helping us out. We had a gourmet French lunch at Chez Phillpe in the village and a very nice visit with him. His wife passed away 4 months ago from brain cancer and he is still trying to adjust. He has two dogs which help to keep him busy. My next adventure was getting a flat tire fixed on my friend Denis's bike. All is good again.

One day we toured the Noilly Pratt vermouth facility next door to the apartment. It was a very interesting tour and the vermouth was surprisingly tasty. It is made with muscatel wine, local wine and mixture of herbs. We go to the movies too. We saw Anomilisa (very creative) a Japanese movie (interesting story about a Japanese women with leprosy), The Lady in the Van (true story anout a homeless women played by Maggie Smith) and Hail Cesar (fun movie with a lot of nostalgic old movie fun vignettes). Going to the movies in France is a totally different experience, the movie theaters are very small, no concession stands, and everyone waits until all the credits are shown.

On other days, my chauffeur, Madalyn, drives me to visit the many lovely quaint villages and really beautiful beaches with great promenades in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. The tourist season has not yet started so it is very easy to drive, park and sight see. There are so many vacation homes, camp grounds, and sights to see that I am thankful that the tourists are not here. Following are some photos from our sightseeing.