leisurely lake promenade

Today, i was picked up by N. and her two daughters. I was transported the most wonderful, little secret lake, only kilometres from Gap.

The french sign says that it is strictly forbidden to swim in the lake. Well, it was easy to take that advice. I decided not to go for a swim, after all. (Yeah, right!)

The massive mountains were stunning. Check out the drop of the cliff in the middle of the picture. apparently, it is a world famous area for mountain climbing. (You need serious equipment to conquer this baby!)

The little wooden cabins in the foreground by the edge of the lake,  are where people come to spend their summer holidays.

At this time of the year, normally this area is covered in snow. So, the ski fields here, are not open at the moment.

The petit lake was a picture of beauty in the low, afternoon sun.

Too cute!

In only a few kilometres of climbing in the car, the air temperature was astoundingly cold!

The local walks around these rocky peaks was pointed out to me.

Fantastic!

The Wall

Over the past few weeks I have experienced "The Wall."

The wall is an invisible hurdle, where culture, over- saturation of language immersion and pining for the sanctuary of home hits me over the head like a wet, soggy cloud.

Winter is not my season of preference.

"The wall" is not a permanent fixture, but I am looking forward to it melting away and enabling me to resume my life here in France with renewed fortitude.

There is a cool french expression:

"À chaque jour suffit sa peine."  One day at a time. When translated directly, it means that if you have one day of difficulty, that day should be kept to that day only ….. not perpetuated into further endurance.

I have often said aloud when on holiday, "If only one could bottle sunshine and bring it out during winter." I am deeply grateful to my sister, who lives on the Gold Coast of Australia. My mother has been visiting her there for two weeks. During the holiday period, they have sent me sunshine through invisible transmission. Thank you for your daily dose of sunshine.

In fact, in the north of France, the lack of sunshine, can cause terrible diseases and mental health issues, is a known fact. I can see how it is a reality. However, it is not so common here in the South of France.

One day when I write the fabulous best seller of Viki's experiences in France, it will be the adversities, the mistaken understandings and mis-communications where the most amusing anecdotes will be told. 

However, I have a quick anecdote to tell you. Unfortunately, I cannot blame cultural misunderstandings nor the language barrier to cover my faux pas. I was talking to the landlords, and I turned to descend to my apartment below. I was completely SHAMOOZLEDLY CONFUSED when I walked into ……… the toilet! !!!!!!!!!!!! The door to descend the stairs and the door to the toilet are identical and side by side. What a complete fool I am. Imagine the hilarity as the landlords recount this story to their french comrades!

Sometimes, I do not represent New Zealand in a positive way!

"Âllo, Mr Key? So sorry to represent NZ with an empty brain! "

Here is photographic proof of my misunderstanding.

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Thank you to everyone whom has expressed an interest in this blog. At times, it seems as if I am talking to a brick wall. I understand that it is difficult to use the comment box to respond.

Thank you, Greg, for leaving a comment. I get your "vibes" of encouragement and support. I deeply appreciate it.

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Today I made a quick visit to a patisserie. I asked for a cappuccino. However, my memory banks clicked into action. Last time I was here, the girl made a tiny, tiny expresso and filled the minuscule cup to the top with cold milk. So, this time I asked for a hot cappuccino. The milk was heated up. Oh dear. It was marginally better. Anyway, I bought these little petits fours to go with my coffee. They are delicious. They are tiny, bite-sized meringues. A perfect accompaniment to the bitter coffee.

Charming!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Furthermore to an earlier post ….

I mentioned that it wasn't uncommon for dogs to take themselves out for a walk, here in Gap.

Well, today I encountered two little doggies out for their independent stroll in the sun. they were ahead of me, approaching in my direction. Our paths were destined to meet. I whipped out my camera to be ready and waiting for them so that I could take a close up of them.

One of them, the smaller of the two was adorable. If he was a person, he would be a hippy surfer. His long, scraggly hair was bleached, tousled and blonde. His cheeky eyes were full of impish adventure. This fellow saw me take out my camera and took off in the other direction. 

This little fellow in the photograph below ….

… decided to face the challenge of the camera ordeal.

He stood his ground and as I took his photo he turned his back to me. Not to be usurped by his statement, I tried again, and I managed to get his face in shot. Yay!

What a little charmer!

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Creperie

Yay. Jess and Joel came to visit. Jess is my study buddy and she is on the same immersion award as I am. She lives in Mauberge; right at the other end of France. Joel is her husband and he is experiencing France with gusto.

Jess and Joel arrived in the early afternoon and we had a great deal to catch up on and compare experiences. 

Later on we were on our way to dinner, when I suggested a spur of the moment idea. We visited friends of mine; a wonderful typical french family. We were welcomed with wide, beaming smiles from all of the family. The remnants of dinner was swept aside as a french drink called, Pastis, was glugged into glasses. It tastes just like Ouzo, with a strong liquorice flavour. It went down well; especially as we had already had a Muscat and Champagne before we left home.

The children were absolutely adorable. One of them promptly sat down and drew a complicated picture. He sure had a rambunctious story to tell with his artistic flair.

We were offered some delicious flavoured waffles.

One of the girls created masterpieces for each of us. The drawings were individualised. We all were gifted with a superb princess.

After our lively visit, we toddled off to dinner. It was a cute little creperie. The selection of Galettes, salad and deserts that we chose were absolutely delicious. It was very cool to be dining in our enchanting surroundings. We couldn't resist the desert. My one scoop of caramel ice cream was delicious. I was most impressed with Joel ordering his meal in french. In fact he followed our french conversations with confidence, ease and a carefree attitude.

It was with great sadness that I waved goodbye to them the next day. They set out before daybreak, to travel 9 hours back to Maubeuge. Whew!

Melting snow

Gap is situated in a valley. It snows on the surrounding mountains during the night. The snow melts the next day. There are tons of rivulets, streams, rivers, throughout the town. The water is always fast running, which makes a cool sound. It is quite rare to see stagnant water. All the town fountains have been covered over, as they are prone to freeze.

After enjoying 4 months of perpetual sunshine, the rain has hit Gap. Low, grey clouds and water, water everywhere!

Viaduct

Today's walk, the first day of the year, was a quest to visit the local viaduct. The air was crisp, cold and fresh. 

I headed towards my intended destination, but I wasn't exactly sure what road to follow.

At an intersection, I stopped to ask a gentleman for directions. He spoke in very clear, well articulated french. I found him easy to understand. So when he suggested that we walk together to the next intersection, it was easy to fall into step together and converse. His 12 year old border collie was adorable and the walk transpired into a full circuit of the local streets.

I learnt that the area around the viaduct has become blocked to the public because of vandalism. I also learnt that if I really wanted to visit the viaduct, I needed to go a very complicated and roundabout route to get there. So when we reached a suitable point, I asked if he would take my photo, with the viaduct in the background. It is a (working) bridge for the train.

After a leisurely stroll with this gentleman, I was delighted to have made his acquaintance. 

He told me all about Gap and I told him of the reasons behind my 10 month visit to Gap. It was very pleasant in contrast to the evening prior, where talking fluently was a major downfall in my conversational french.

What the …….?

Ok. So, you need to look closely here.

Queue de porc.

 If you look "queue" up in the french dictionary the translation could be any of these: 

tail, line, queue, pigtail, cue, panhandle, cock, dick, prick.

Make up your own mind!

Pig trotters!  Easy to interpret. Must be horrible to eat!