Nikki

Ted, bon voyage. It strikes me that any direction in that part of the world is a good one.

LJ, how clever of you to swing a trip for yourself and friends while also arranging your daughter's honeymoon. I like the way you think.

And yes, that was the diagnosis I got from the emergency room doctor: benign vertigo. He left out the multisyllabic words in between because he wasn't being paid by the syllable. And it's amazing how many people have told me about their vertigo since this started. As my husband said (unintentionally, but still...): "Vertigo, it's going around."

tedgale

I got it in November 2007 and was afflicted until late January 2008. It came back for 2-3 days this past winter, then disappeared. In my case -- perhaps also in yours -- it was caused by an otolith, literally an "ear stone" in Greek. A tiny stone forms in yr inner (??) ear and whenever it floats free, it confuses your brain, hence the vertigo.

A doctor gave me some exercises to do -- basically raising and lowering my head while lying on my side. I think the theory is that you can restore the otolith to some niche in your ear, like a pinball lodging in a cup in a pinball machine.

I did not bother with exercises and it disappeared on its own.

PS: Locomotion was hard enough ...but imagine being prone on a weight-bench in the gym, with a VERY VERY heavy barbell over your face, when suddenly the dizziness kicks in.....

JudyC

Thanks for sharing your travel notes, it has been most helpful as I will be around that area this month.

sheila

Judy, if I can help with anything let me know. I've kind of given up on trip reports because we go so much to the same place, but I have a lot of knowledge about a few things...

TDudette

Have to mark this for later reading, but your photos are glorious!

Nikki

Ted, I'm getting dizzy just imagining lying in a prone position on a weight bench with a barbell over my face. Is this a trick question, or did you mean supine?

tower

Ted:

Thanks....You're trail blazing for me...we'll be about 10 days behind you...basing near Beaune for 6 days...haven't been in the region in several decades, so we're anxious to experience it once again. We'll have a car, and plan some day trips to Vezelay, Chablis/Auxerre, and in and around Beaune/Dijon.

Nikki: Alert! The Old Blue Laws of Boston strictly forbid the importing of little ducky hearts. In Salem, they once accused the local witch population of harboring duck heart fugitives. Heads up!

Cathinjoetown

Nikki,

Just getting caught up with your report. Did you save the name of the pottery near Boulogne s/Gesse? We get over that way often.

I always find your reports informative and amusing--great observations.

We "did" our village's vide grenier yesterday. Made about 130 euros on a variety of things we didn't need and it was a great way to meet the locals, as we've been here such a short time. The woman's stand next to us was doing a brisk business in clothes--they looked attractive but I didn't look closely as they appeared to be about size 2, my size in kindergarten.

Glad you didn't heed any weather reports (more important in winter of course) because this area of France is filled with micro-climates. We are quite close to the Pyrenees but have had almost nothing but sun-filled days. The vegetation is so varied--our garden has hibiscus, English roses, some type of palm, oleander, bamboo, lavender, a fig tree--all seem to be thriving. We need rain so have virtually not watered all summer.

The local accent is I believe influenced by Spanish, Occitan and possibly Basque--there are many Basque place names. I find it hard to understand some of the older folks. (Need to be careful here as I am getting there myself).

Soon after I arrived, I purchased two pain au raisin and was asked for what sounded like douze euro--a bit steep. She pronounced deux "douza". Flute sounds like "flautah", St. Gaudens is St. "Gaudang", etc.

Thanks for a great report and please let me know in advance next time you are down this way.

(Shelia, there's an Intermarche about 2 miles from us which is not open on Sunday. I believe the stores are franchised so perhaps owners can set local times. I have noticed a big difference in quality and cleanliness from store to store. Ours get about a "B." Anyway, I adjusted quickly to the Sunday closings. As mentioned earlier as long as we can get our bread fix Sunday mornings as needed, we are good to go.)

Nikki

Cathinjoetown, the pottery is La Poterie Hillen in Magnoac. http://www.poterie.fr/

If I am ever so lucky as to return to the area I will certainly get in touch.

How did you end up there?

Cathinjoetown

We ended up here after looking for about three years--first in the UK because my husband is English and our grown children live in London and Bournemouth, but property with a garden, particularly anywhere near the kids, was out of our price range. On top of that, so much about SW France appealed to us. We looked at hundreds of houses on the net and about 40 in this area (Midi-Pyrenees) in person.

We hoped to be near friends both outside Boulogne s/Gesse and in the Gers, but not in each other's pockets. As we narrowed our focus, we decided we wanted to be in a "ridge" village with views of the Pyrenees, near but not in a town or city. We feel very fortunate in what we found--it's a small house but we can manage a few guests at a time and the village has a really wonderful chambres d'hote/gite close to us.

As a US citizen married to an EU citizen I didn't need a long-term visa to enter France but did have to apply for a titre de sejour within three months of entry.

US citizens without close EU relations have to apply for a long-term visa before entry, if planning to stay beyond three months for any reason. I know several US couples and single people who came here on that basis and subsequently obtained titres de sejour.

The key criteria for retirees include evidence of health insurance, adequate means of support (investments, pensions, bank balances, social security), a background check and a personal interview at the French consulate nearest to your US residence. There are other criteria of course but those are the main hurdles.

If not planning to move here full time, US citizens can purchase second homes in France relatively easily (obtaining a mortgage is, I believe, more problematic but we didn't go that route). Second-home owners can then either visit on the three-month in, three-month out terms of the Schengen visa or can apply for a long-term visa.

That's my superficial and anecdotal understanding of what's entailed. While we're still in the honeymoon phase, I am so glad we did this. And, the "children" and their families are only a 90-minute flight away.

Cathinjoetown

Nikki,

One last comment--we drove through Thermes Magnoac a few Saturdays ago and we noticed a (your) pottery was having an open house. We almost stopped but were headed to Kingdom Vegetal, a nursery in Boulogne. We decided to head on as it was getting late and I wanted to buy plants before pots. Now I HAVE to go back.

tedgale

Nikki: You are right, I was supine not prone.

(I always thought prone = flat but I see it really means flat, facing down. I, a confessed pedant, never knew that!)

sheila

Cathie, La Poterie has a fabulous garden, worth a visit in its own right.

Have you read "A Summer in Gascony"?

Nikki

Cathinjoetown, it sounds wonderful. Congratulations on your new home.

Ted, don't worry, I also get dizzy at the thought of lying supine on a weight bench with a barbell over my face, even without vertigo.

Sheila, just what I needed, another book to read.

Cathinjoetown

I haven't read "A Summer in Gascony" but will put it on the list. Recently finished (easy read) "A Piano in the Pyrenees" by Tony Hawks, a British humorist and author. LOL is some places. My favorite quote had to do with the Preable de construire which he defined "as asking permission not to have to ask permission." Perfect.

sheila

A Summer in Gascony is set just outside Boulogne. That's why I asked

TDudette

Brava Nikki! Finally had some time to read your report throughout. The Madiran wine region trips sounded neat as did everything else.

So many places to see-so little money!

Again, really enjoyed your photos.

yk

Nikki, another delightful trip report by you, as usual!