Check Les Halles in every city

Fa La La La La 🙂

Yes, if you are traveling in France, and you are in a fairly larger city, please ask around to see if there is a Les Halles. If there is, Please do yourself a favor and GO!!! But be sure to do so in the morning, as most of them close around 2pm (or as they say here 14h 🙂 The picture above is a typical day in Avignon at the quite large Les Halles. This is where many locals come to dine, but many many tourists as well, as we did hear a fair amount of English being spoken as we walked around.

That was Not the case, however in Narbonne, where we first discovered these wonderful places. Here, it seemed it was mostly locals (well, except for that guy with the goofy hat and man-purse), and if you wanted a seat at one of the Incredibly busy dining establishments, you better get there early, as they were nearly totally full by the time we arrived.

There were Numerous Cheese/Fromage shops, Vegetable/Legume shops, Boulangeries & Boucheres (Bakeries & Butchers, but you knew that already). And the veggies & fruit had almost surreal colors, nearly glowing with nutrition, and I think most are grown organically.

I mentioned in my last missive, that there is now a Les Halles in Bagnols-sur-Ceze, near where we live now, until our house is finished (more on that later). This one is Much smaller than either Narbonne or Avignon, but that is understandable as the town is also much smaller. This is a totally welcome addition, however, as they are open Tues-Sun, mostly until 2, but 5 on Saturday (Samedi) and 3 on Sunday (Dimanche). Most stores close at noon on Saturday and are Not open at all on Sundays. Even the large grocery stores close at noon on Sunday, so if you didn’t have dinner planned, and everything you need to prepare it, you may be out of luck. And also as I mentioned previously, good luck finding an open restaurant on Sunday, unless you want more Pizza.

This is just a cool picture of one of the outside walls of the Les Halles in Avignon!

All in all, our life here has taught us a couple things:

A. We Really need to take French lessons soon!! And that is supposed to happen, but we are still waiting for that email.

B. We have learned that Nothing happens fast here, except for the speed at which people talk :-). So we are gaining patience daily, and that is a good thing, as it has Never been my strong suit.

C. The weather is Awesome, and the sun shines most every day, but it is Quite windy some days, so there’s that!

As far as our living arrangements, we hope to be able to move into our new house sometime in this month. The house is mostly finished, and the kitchen has been installed (pictures later), and we are awaiting the installation of bathroom sinks & toilets, etc. The trench to bring water, power and internet to the house was dug Tuesday, and the pipes to hold all of the wiring etc is being delivered today (hopefully). Then we just have to wait until everything gets connected, and we will be able to move in. The main Guesthouse is still being worked on, and progress is happening daily, and it is really looking great (again, pictures to be sent soon).

If you have particular comments or questions, there is a place to make or ask them on the website, so feel free and we will get back to you soon. We miss you all, but are enjoying this adventure a Lot, and continue to explore the beautiful region most days. The Real work will start soon, and we will certainly keep you updated.

Thanks for tagging along!!

Ray & Sharon