Bonjour,
Last Friday was the 1st anniversary of us arriving in Cherbourg. In some ways it has gone so quickly, but then other times it seems like a lot longer. We have squeezed a lot into that 12 months. We are getting better at knowing the French way of doing things (can’t often work out the logic though). Our understanding of the language has improved. Marginally. And our plans for traveling next year will take us a bit further afield – so watch this space.
The Yellow Vests are still protesting, so it’s been every weekend for five weeks now. From the feedback we get, it seems like the media at home is making it sound a lot worse than it is. There certainly has been a few deaths (not intentional), some injuries and property damage, but these are very localised. The larger cities, especially Paris, have seen more action than sleepy old Cherbourg and we have had very little impact here.
The weather has been quite uninspiring with a lot of cold, grey and windy days. No snow yet but there have been a couple of days when it looked possible. But one event we couldn’t stay away from in Cherbourg was the Salon Vins & Gastronomie. There was much wine tasting as well as cheeses, fois gras (non merci), chocolates and other morsels. The best bit was that the wine was from boutique wineries and the wine makers were there to provide the tastings. There was a mix of whites, red, champagnes, port and ciders and they were all good. Unfortunately Normandy is not a wine region (mainly apples and cider) and so most of these small wineries are in the south of France. They are happy for visitors to go and see where their wines are made, but mostly it is by appointment. In Australia and NZ we are used to wineries with cellars doors that are staffed and open every weekend, but this is very uncommon here.
So do we buy anything? Of course we did.
Something we notice since we have been here is the lack of barricades and railings next to water or cliffs. They seem to have this strange concept of people taking responsibility for themselves. The harbour is very deep and with all the cars, cyclists and pedestrians whizzing past every day we have wondered if they has ever been a need to fish something out of the water. Wonder no more –
This is becoming a habit, but to finish, here is a pic of sunset with the lights reflecting on the water when the gale force winds had calmed down for a bit.
Hope everyone has a great Christmas. Think of us while we will shed a tear while listening to Tim Minchen singing White Wine in the Sun.
Joyeux Noel.
L & M.
thefrenchfeed 