Arrival...

Awoke this  morning watching the dark rough hewn beams of the ceiling slowly appear from the  whitewashed plaster as dawn's light enters through windows set in 2 foot thick walls. We arrived yesterday (the 16th) after pretty much uneventful travels except for being awake most of 24 hrs, a screaming 2 year old on the plane, dealing with flight anxiety (mine--and I like to fly!), the rental car being more than we expected (no surprise there), missing the turn south off the freeway (or whatever they call it here) and having to go an extra 20 km costing 8.50 euros, not having the correct change at two toll booths and holding up the line while the attendant impatiently shows me how to slide a large bill into a change slot (duh--just like we have in America!) and both of us cranky and rummy. Since we did have enough light we decided to drive on rather than stay on the road near Nice. After one false turn out side of La Garde Freinet we found the over grown and rutted driveway to Chris's place pretty easily and was immediately welcomed by an enthusiastically barking German Shepherd who wasn't going to keep me from getting out of my car. Turns out she's friendly and playful and has alerted her owner, Rasthmus, the neighbor who helped me find the water and electric junction boxes and welcomed me to the neighborhood. Too tired to do much more than toss some sheets on the bed and drive into town to eat at the first restaurant for dinner, we were in bed and asleep by 9:30. 

This 400 year old house has been in Chris's family for some years and since his mother died it has been sitting empty. Usually someone from the family makes a yearly sojourn to clean up the place and do general maintenance but not this year. So, today was cleaning day. After washing out a couple of cups Sarah made tea she found while I gathered all the towels that have been hanging since last human occupancy and did laundry in a plastic bucket. Our game plan next dictated that we would clean the bedroom so we could unpack and feel comfortable. Besides it was going to be easier than cleaning the kitchen. Cob webs pulled from the ceiling, rugs shaken outside, rat shit brushed from table tops to floor to be swept out with leaves and dust. Sarah shrieking when she is surprised by a scampering lizard. Then break for lunch. 

La Garde Freinet sits at the end of a valley as it starts rising into the mountains. An old town of stone three story buildings shoulder to shoulder it was obviously built for another era.  Even our little Sazuke Swift has difficulty navigating the narrow winding cobblestone streets. Today was market day so we bought provisions for dinner but nothing needing refrigeration. Our kitchen hasn't been cleaned yet, remember. Lunch at one of the several restaurants bordering the square. Sarah had a salad de provincial  of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, hard boiled eggs, olives and tuna with a creamy vinaigrette dressing while I had something I couldn't guess by reading the menu but was told by the waitress/cook that it was sausage, ham and eggs all mixed together. Served in a earthenware dish with a conical lid (I don't remember the name of this) it was mixed up to point of looking like Alpo but, my, was it tasty! A stop at the ATM and the tourist center (no internet in town, nearest supermarket is 12 km south, there is one store that sells knitting supplies (had a limited and apparently very old inventory), might be able to buy hardware items at the only gas station (one pump) in town) rounded out our break, so it was back to the house to clean the kitchen. 

Chain saw and weed wacker put in the shed. Fire place scraped out. Flat surfaces cleaned of dust and more rat shit. Mostly rat shit!  Dishes stored on open shelves. Sarah washed the top shelf, saving the lower on for later. We now have a few glasses, a pan or two to cook in and an expresso machine ready to go. Hand made windmills and whirley gigs crafted by skilled but bored hands are set on the hutch in a place of honor.  

Finally, after showers, dinner of wine (2.70 euro and good), cheese, bread, salami and olives on the flagstone back patio as the wind blows through the lush leaves of the cork oak and the shadow creeps up the mountain across the valley during the last moments of daylight.