Dimanche, Mars 30 2013: My First Run

 Bon Soir, as Promised here are some photos from my first run in Limoux today! Fabienne (The Chef at Le Monastère) Gave me directions on a good easy, hard-to-get-lost, first run.

<---And Here I am

 <-- this was an old decrepit garden house I just loved and the photo does not do it any justice.

I was trying to capture the windmills here. You can vaguely see them atop the hill. One of the first things I noticed in Europe is the different kinds of Energy, and how common renewable resources seem to be compared to back home. Wind turbines, and solar panels seem to be especially common as well as electric and hybrid cars. Of course less renewable forms are prominent as well. Fabienne told me that electricity in France is about 60% more than what we pay in Canada so the French are very stingy with it.This I believe is an Orchard I do not know what of however. 

Everything is in full bloom now. Well its almost in full bloom.

 

 

 

 

 Here (below) is an example of what I meant earlier when I said the streets were narrow.
 

<-- Very old Pathways between 400-600 years old for the stone lining.
 
Ducks! (I had to, so cute!)

The bridge. The hotel is on the side of the river that this photo is facing.

 
If I am correct I believe this is my apartment to be I think the two buildings are the same as there is only one house number.

 
This is the museum of pianos... I can't say its a major "must do" for me ^

 

This is the back of the Church of Limoux, I haven't been in yet but I imagine its beautiful as all old European churches tend to be.

 

 

And here is the local fire hall just across the bridge from the hotel.

Anyways, that is everything I saw while running. (Condensed anyways.) I hope it gives everyone a taste of the flavour of Limoux.

I have photos of the Carnival (An event that last 3 months or something) to come so stay tuned!

For now,

Au Revoir!

Sunday, March 30th 2014: Working and Living

Bonjour Mes Amis et Famille!

Yesterday (heir), was my first day of work at Le Monastère here in Limoux! It is mine and Kristina's job to drive to the airport on Saturdays (Samedi) and pick up or drop off our guests. Driving was a bit of a challenge as the roads here are quite different from the roads in Saskatchewan. They drive on the right so that part is easy, however there are plenty of twists and turns as well as round-abouts not to mention how narrow the roads are here in the foothills of the Pyrenees.  The car was also standard and about 20 odd years newer than the vehicles I am used to back home; also it was electric. So basically I stalled... a lot, however by the end I was getting a pretty good handle on it; practice makes perfect!

Our current guests are all apart of the same group from Britain (although two live in Ontario now). The group is called Wheel Women, a pun made when the group was formed 20 years ago as a rebuttal to the British movement to push women back into the home. The Wheel Women have been coming here to cycle with Chris (The Hotel Owner) since they first began the group. They are always the first guests and they get to stay two weeks as opposed to only one. 

Today, (aujourd'hui) Kristina and I learned how to make breakfast. This is one of our duties every Sunday (Dimanche). After that we cleaned up the kitchen and breakfast area, and from here we start splitting our work. Each Sunday either Kristina or I must take a vehicle and head out with the cyclists as a guide while the other cleans rooms. This week Kristina took the cyclists as she has been here longer and is more familiar with the area, although we will switch off on who drives. Meanwhile I made beds and swept floors etc. Cleaning was okay, I was done by noon so I had the afternoon off while Kristina didn't finish work until 3:30. That being said I think I am looking forward to driving since it will allow me to see the beautiful areas around Limoux! Perhaps we'll set it up that She will take the cyclists (since she was one) and I'll take the artists (since I wish I was one)! 

I thought I may show some pictures of the Hotel since I think that might be more interesting than my descriptions. 

This is the Front door
outside (left)
and inside (right) views

The door to the
court yard.
I didn't take one
of the outside it
was cold this
morning.
I will on a sunny
day!

Here is the court yard, from one angle (The angle that can be taken from inside the warm hotel!)
I will provide better photos as the court yard must be admired by all! It is obviously kept up by Chris and Fabienne but originally it was built 600 years ago (The Front only 400 years).

The court yard is most spectacular at night so tomorrow when I clean up dinner I will take pictures of the fountain lit up and sparkling!

The other "must see" in the hotel is the 600 year old well and Wine Cellar, neither of which I went in today (although I would never "go" in the well, just look at it). The Wine cellar is particularly amazing as it was used to hide Jewish families during the holocaust until they could be taken into Spain. More on that with Photos though, it may deserve its own post!

More of the Courtyard. Everything is in bloom now:) C'est tres Beau! (That may be wrong, I was going for: it is very beautiful!)

My french is so terrible I must force myself to practice!

I'll leave this post alone but I will do another on the run I took today to start exploring a bit. It will include a picture of the outside of my apartment to be, so watch for it!

until then, Au Revoir!

Friday Mach 28th 2014: First Day

So this is my street

Here is Limoux's Church

and again

The Hotel I work

My current residence but I move in a week.

Finally, after 20 some hours of travel I arrived in Limoux! Rushing through the Frankfurt airport I somehow managed to get through customs, find my boarding pass and make it to the gate about 5 minutes before the shuttle left to the plane. My secret to airport success, look as pathetic, innocent and lost as possible and they'll let you get away with anything, including lining up in the domestic passports line when you should have gone in the international passports line. They let me through anyways! I also dropped my hat which was returned to me and then dropped my neck pillow which was also returned to me, finally on the plane I tried to sit in the gate number and not my seat number. That doesn't sound too bad, but imagine going to sit at the back of the plane when your seat is really almost at the front and then having to crawl through the narrow hallway, and all the people in it, so you can get to your seat and out of the way. My first time flyer was showing and I was completely ashamed. Also my purse strap broke so I was using a plastic bag to carry half my stuff :( 

<--- This by the way was my meal from Toronto to Frankfurt. It didn't come with the soy milk I picked that up for a little extra calcium, protein and B12 in the Toronto airport. My airplane food, however, was very tasty and included a warm quinoa mixed veggie and spicy sweet potato dish as well as a bun, a cookie, water and a little mix bean salad. The cookie and bun were packaged so I actually just stuffed them in my purse for a snack later. My point is that this looked a lot better than the potato and chicken dish the girl beside me had. My meal defiantly hit the mark on more nutrients and as a bonus it came out before anyone else got their food. So travel advice, even if you don't have a special diet I would recommend getting one of these meals anyways since you'll eat sooner and probably healthier. 

Anyways, I was picked up at the Toulouse airport by Christina who will be my partner in crime all summer. Her and I are currently sharing a room because my apartment is still occupied. We will be sharing a room all week. 

I was lucky to wake up to the market today, which is sort of like the fringe festival in Saskatoon except it takes place every Friday plus there is all the farmer's produce. I also had no problem buying groceries including fortified non-dairy milk and a vegan vitamin B12 supplement, plus plenty of fresh produce. I will probably go to the super market next week and hopefully be able to get a wider range of baking ingredients. Grocery stores in Limoux aren't like back home they each only sell one department so to speak. So for instance the produce shop only sells fruits and veggies and the bakery only sells bread and grains, so unless your going to the supermarket you're stopping at 3 or 4 places to find all your food. I am actually okay with this it makes for a nice afternoon of walking around and forces you to meet more people. 

It is lunch time here though so I'm going to eat. I'll post again tomorrow after my first official day of work! 

Au Revoir

Wednesday March 26th, 2014: Departure

So before I start yammering about my first day I'll go ahead and explain the blog address and title I've chosen as I'm sure the references might not be all together clear. First off the blog web address prairie-to-provence is a reference from where I live (Sask.) to where I'm headed (South of France). But, here is the rub, I'm not actually going to be living in Provence, it just sounded better than Prairie-to-Languedoc Roussillon (which btw is where I will really be living)! So forgive me but I went for aesthetics over accuracy.
Second is the Blog Title: Wanderlust - Fernweh - L'appel du vide. The first word Wanderlust is english and it essentially (and somewhat un-poetically) means the desire to wander into places one has never been, to have caught the travel bug. Fernweh is German (and much more romantic sounding in my opinion) it means to crave a place one has never been, to long for the unknown and feel homesick for it. Finally the short and eloquent french phrase L'appel du vide, which translates literally into The Call of the Void. If that wasn't beautiful enough already figuratively the phrase refers to standing on the edge of a cliff and wanting to jump, to the French it means to stand at the threshold of the unknown and to fall blindly and passionately into it. So if you haven't already noticed the pattern, the title I have chosen essentially explains how I feel, and why I chose to go on this little journey of mine. I feel as though I long for a place I have never been and I desire to learn from the cultures, people, and experiences that feel almost completely unknown to me. France has always brought me an intense feeling of Fernweh and so it is one of the first great unknowns I hope to discover for myself. The final sweet detail of my title choice is that the languages of each word represents the countries I stop in while heading to my final destination in Limoux; Canada-Germany-France. So if that doesn't wrap up nicely in a bow I just don't know what does.

Alright now if you didn't fall asleep during my rant, here is my official entry:

Well I guess my little adventure has begun! I am currently sitting in the Toronto airport on my second delay en route to France. My first delay was in Saskatoon where the plane landed late so we left about half an hour after our scheduled departure time. My second delay is the result of a workers strike going on at the Frankfurt airport in Germany. This strike means no flights have been able to depart for Frankfurt all day so the airport is full of plenty grumbly impatient folks just like me! I Have been informed that once I get to Frankfurt, at 3pm on Thursday FRA time, it is very likely that I will meet another delay. However, this third delay may actually be a blessing in disguise because if my final flight is not delayed than the chances are that I will miss the connection to Toulouse and have to wait till another option comes up.
I was going to post plenty of fine photos of me saying goodbye to my Dad and dear friend Emily at YXE but unfortunately my phone camera does not feel like connecting to my computer at the moment. I guess the visuals will have to wait. If anyone is concerned about my dietary habits and ability to find food anywhere (Mom) I ate a very yummy falafel wrap, a banana, hummus and dip and also a chocolate soy milk beverage for a simple supper, all conveniently found at the little restaurant beside my gate. In other news I also lost my water bottle within the first 5 min of being in Toronto so I'll go ahead and take that as a good omen that its all up hill from here.
OK, that's basically it for me. I'll be sure to post from Frankfurt if I have a delay but if not than I'll post from Limoux once settled.
Au revoir for now!

p.s My sincerest apologies for any poor spelling or grammar. I am getting pretty tired and did not bother to check my work.