First, this important and happy announcement: The dryer got fixed yesterday; the repairman showed me how to get the panels off and fix the little float on the bottom at the back if it gets stuck again. The bill didn't come to half of what we had expected, so instead of having to buy a new dryer, we are now back in business. Our drapes were delivered and hung yesterday. They look fabulous! Today, Raymond Cramb and Stevie came back to paint the studio cupboard. Raymond says they'll have to come back after a few days to put a second coat on the outside as it must have a satin finish to match the existing cupboards. Last Saturday we bought new door/drawer pulls to replace the old ones as we couldn't find any to match. When we get finished, the studio will look terrific. I'll give you photos once everything's done.
La Rochelle and Ile de Ré
On Friday morning we were to gather by 8:30 to depart soon thereafter for the Atlantic port city of La Rochelle, a two-hour drive from Cognac. On the way, Viv Cowing, our music director, led us in a rehearsal of the songs we were preparing to sing at Friday evening's soirée. Increasing numbers of us were sneezing, sniffling, coughing, and croaking with sore throats from head and chest colds so our singing wasn't what it might have been. Still, we made up for the lack of quality with volume.
When we arrived in La Rochelle, the weather was fairly bright. This historic port city is the préfecture (capital) of the département of Cherente-Maritime. It sits roughly at the midpoint of France's west (Atlantic) coast and is impressive indeed with its 14th century towers guarding the entrance to a harbor full of pleasure yachts right on the edge of the city centre.
The city dates back to the 10th century and was vitally important as a harbor from the 12th century. From the Renaissance onward, La Rochelle became a protestant centre, particularly among the Huguenots. It prided itself on being a democratically run city until it was brought to its knees by Cardinal Richelieu in the 17th century. (Many of the Huguenots who fled and landed up in what is now the U.S., founded New Rochelle which is now part of New York City.) Throughout the years, La Rochelle has remained a vital city for trade of all sorts, from salt and wine to slaves and sugar. During World War II, it became a Nazi submarine base. Today La Rochelle boasts the largest harbor for pleasure craft in Europe and is home to a thriving boat-building industry.
We split up for a bit of poking about on our own or in small groups until we met up at the harbor for lunch. Don and I, along with a few others, began with a good, strong cup of coffee and then browsed the shops on our own, taking photos and wandering through the market before returning to rendezvous with the others. Lunch was at Le Corail fish and seafood restaurant. Again, aperitifs were awaiting us followed by a delicious meal, although all details are now a blur.
After lunch, we walked out of the restaurant to find it raining, not the best of conditions for our next stop, the resort island Ile de Ré, now connected to the mainland by a bridge. It was raining even more and the wind was blowing quite strongly when we got off the coach, so many of us opted not to wander about the island but, rather, to find a nice covered restaurant patio right on the harborfront and have coffee, beer, or wine. At least it wasn't cold as we chatted, sipped, and looked out upon yachts and sailboats bobbing in the wind and rain. Ile de Re has many restaurants, shops, hotels, and guest houses, being primarily a tourist destination these days. On our drive back toward La Rochelle, we glimpsed the ocean-side and moated prison featured in the film Papillon. I'm sure Ile de Re is absolutely gorgeous in full sunshine, which is supposed to be its normal state. I suppose we came on an "off" day.
An Evening of Celebration at the Soirée Bal Folk
We arrived back in Cognac at about 5:30. Francoise was working, so Dominique picked us up and took us back to the Taylors' to change clothes for the evening's soirée called a Bal Folk or folk ball. All hosts as well as visitors were invited to the event sponsored by the Cognac Committee de Jumelage (twinning committee). Francoise got home, showered and changed. Because Dominique was working that night, Alexandre came along as Francoise's escort for the evening.
The Soiree Folk Bal was held at a winery in the town of Ségonzac, about 10 km from Cognac. In the entry reception area, a small folk band played while we enjoyed drinks and canapés and "mingled." Then we went into the function room which had been decorated with French and Scottish flags and fresh flowers. The folk band, joined by several more musicians and a troupe of folk dancers, began to play as the meal was served. In between courses, the dancers would first demonstrate and then teach us the dances, which were very similar in many ways to Scottish country dancing. The two men in our party who wore their kilts were most popular. All in all, our delegation did quite well with the French dances. We sat with people we didn't know who were members of the twinning committee but not hosts this time around. Most of them spoke little English but we all managed to communicate somehow.
After the meal, there was a presentation by the Cognac twinning committee of engraved cognac glasses for each of us in the Scottish delegation, marking the 15th anniversary of the twinning. Then our delegation presented the Cognac committee with commemorative banners for each person, including one for each host family. Because of the busy schedule, our group sang only one song, "Highland Cathedral," which was very well received. It was a lot of fun but a very late night. Fortunately, it was a Friday night and we could all sleep in the next morning as the weekend was to be spent doing things with our host families.
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