REUNION

It will be six years next month since I purchased my home here in France. I was here a few weeks then returned to the US for two months to finalize things for the move. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of hosting a number of friends and a few family members. COVID came along and that didn’t help in terms of visitors. Plus I have an issue with a leaking terrasse that will hopefully be resolved next month in court (a long story about which I will discuss at a later date). That leak, however, has prevented usage of my third bedroom, a studio with a private entrance and its own living area situated below the terrasse. As a result, I’ve been limited in the number of guests I can receive. I will be glad to get things fixed up so that I can once again utilize the terrasse and the studio. 

This year marked 55 years since I completed high school at Detroit Catholic Central, an all-boys school run by the Basilian Fathers from Toronto. When we celebrated our 50^th reunion in Detroit, one of my classmates suggested we do the 55^th in France. I took the cue and did a survey of my classmates. A number were interested. We organized a videoconference earlier this year amongst those who were seriously interested in making the trip and where I presented the various options. We decided on dates and scope and last month it finally happened. I upped my game on hosting. 

As can be expected, there were several who had intended to come but health or other commitments came up which prevented their involvement. One who was most anxious to come given his own French heritage had to drop out due to a recurrence of his cancer. He died just two weeks before our gathering. RIP, Larry Gauthier. 

Out of around 100 remaining classmates, six came plus four spouses.

One of my friends has been restoring a farm property just outside my village of Montréal called Majou that includes a 7-bedroom/5-bath house and a gite (a rental unit) with four ensuite bedrooms. The restoration is mostly completed and we were the first group to rent it. It was beautiful! The rooms are very well-appointed, there is a new salt-water pool and a grand terrasse that looks over the vineyards to my village a few kilometers away. A professional kitchen is being installed for future weddings and events, but we had full use of the large, well-equipped kitchen in the main house. 

Seven of the group began their trip by spending a few days in Barcelona, just 3.5 hours away by train. The rest flew into Toulouse Blagnac Airport, an hour away.

I cooked the first night making my own version of cassoulet. While the tradition is duck, I use chicken and add herbes de Provence. Along with a simple salad, a cheese course, an apricot tarte and the local prize-winning wine from Domaine Le Fort, it was a nice meal for their first evening, most of whom were still dealing with le décollage horaire (jet-lag). 

The next day, Sunday, we made the short trek in to see La Cité, the medieval city of Carcassonne for lunch and a walking tour. 

We returned to Majou to prepare dinner and welcome my friends and historians Gayle Brunelle and Bernard Allaire. Gayle has collaborated on the writing and publication of two books recently, the second of which, Assassination in Vichy, was recently published in French. She is getting great acclaim for its revelations related to the Vichy government during World War II. Bernard’s lifelong research has made him an expert on the fur trade between Canada and Europe. I had invited them as I thought their collective research would be of interest to my classmates. They loved it and it was a very stimulating evening.

Monday, we went to the marché in Mirepoix, a weekly event, followed by a gourmet lunch in a private room at Clos des Oliviers, a new restaurant and chambre d’hôte. It couldn’t have been nicer. We even got to celebrate Jim Freeborough’s birthday!

Driving back to Montréal, we first made a stop in Fanjeaux where St. Dominic spent nearly eight years back in the early 13^th century and where he founded the first Dominican monastery, still in use with around 15 nuns present. As we made our way to see Dominic’s house, we were delighted to see an art exhibition in progress. It’s an annual event and for the artists and art lovers in the group, it was an unexpected treat.

From Fanjeaux we went to Domaine Le Fort so they could taste first-hand their variety of wines and stock up for the week. Then it was back to Majou to make dinner. As I have done with all my travel groups, we took turns cooking. It was a lot of fun. We even had a little entertainment from classmate Ron Bretz.

Tuesday was spent in Montréal with lunch at the local Auberge Dominicain followed by a walk in the vineyards and a tour of the village including my home which dates back to the 14^th century. 

I organized a WW II Resistance tour in Carcassonne for Wednesday morning which the group found fascinating.

Following the tour, we enjoyed another gourmet lunch at La Barbacane, at the 5-star Hôtel de La Cité.

Thursday we drove the short distance to the very picturesque village of Montolieu, known as “the book village” with its numerous bookshops and had lunch at my favorite restaurant in the region: La Rencontre. Owned and operated by Chef Thomas and his wife, Fanni, it was a great meal at great value. In fact, last year a guest commented that the meal was as good as that of La Barbacane (a Michelin-starred restaurant) for half the price. I agree. Thomas is creative. His food is delicious and his presentations artful.  They have been recognized by the Gault & Millau Guide for 2024-2025. It is well-deserved.

From Montolieu we drove up into the Montagne Noire to first see Saissac with its 11^th century castle ruins. Driving on winding roads through sheep pasture and vineyards, we traveled to Saint-Papoul to see its 14^th century Abbaye de Saint-Papoul. 

Friday was a more laid-back day as we returned to Carcassonne to visit the lower city of La Bastide with its gourmet food store La Ferme, a cheese shop, and Place Carnot where we had lunch. Afterwards, we drove into the Minervois, northeast of Carcassonne to Château Saint Jacques d’Albas for wine-tasting.

Château Saint Jacques d’Albas was formed over 20 years ago by an Englishman from London who had worked in the field of finance. He restored the former priory to make it his home and a thriving winery. It is historically interesting with a 15th century chapel and a 9th century Visigoth grave. His wines are among the best in the region. With a new winemaker imported from Burgundy in the last few years, they have created a new premium wine (a red) that is definitely destined for great recognition. It was good enough that I decided one case wasn’t enough so I returned the next week for a second….

Saturday saw my classmates depart though we had lost one couple Wednesday forced to return to the US for a family wedding. Another couple departed Friday to spend a few days in Paris. One couple moved to the Hôtel de la Cité for a few more days. And my classmate Pat whose visit here was his third, spent two weeks chez moi to catch up with friends and just hang out. 

As I reflected upon the itinerary I had created for the group, I felt pleased. There is so much to see but I had to whittle it down for variety and contrast. From the medieval fortress of La Cité, to the market experience in Mirepoix, more history in Fanjeaux and Montréal, wine-tasting, a walk in the vineyards, a visit to the Montagne Noire, and four really excellent meals, it seemed to reflect a good sampling of the region and its attributes.

We were fortunate to have good weather all week. Only two weeks prior, the temperature was sweltering. But Fall came quickly and it was cool and comfortable. And good Michigan sleeping weather.

The experience was ethereal. It was interesting for me to witness the perspectives of my guests taking in the Languedoc for the first time not only from their comments, but from their photos some of which I have incorporated here. At times it was like seeing it anew.

Aside from Pat O’Connor whom I have come to know much better in the past two years given his visits, I hadn’t known the others as well. But as Pat said more eloquently in a Facebook post:

A few fellow Catholic high school friends and I whose wanderlust has not subsided met for a week together in the south of France, inspired by one of us who had recently put down roots there and who was, lucky for us, willing to mother hen/guide us. Some of us had been friends in high school, some friendly acquaintances, some had escaped our faith, some had embraced it. Tom, our man on the ground, found a lovely château for us to use as a home base. We shared a few rental cars and rambled in twos, threes, fours and often eleven to markets, shops, towns, villages, galleries and eateries over narrow, winding, French country roads. We rubbed elbows in the château’s kitchen and fed each other at its table. The culture and scenery were fabulous but the best times were had being with each other in the beautiful ways of discovering and furthering friendship, the delights of playful adventure, and creating new, and deepening old, intimacies. It was a joy and privilege to meet my schoolmates’ fabulous partners and witness their mature yet still growing, vibrant relationships. This was a fine networking of mutual respect, suffused with laughter and high regard. We came to see France and came away with new eyes and ears for that country and for each other. Merci, my friends, merci.

Merci, indeed. I am grateful for their visit and the opportunity to show them my little corner in France.

Very quickly, it was back to business. I returned to tutoring French on September 23 with an open house the week prior to greet potential participants. This marks my fifth group and we now have 32 participants in the débutants workshop. The good news is that most of the preparatory work was done last year. It still takes some time to customize each lesson, but we’re following in the footsteps of last year’s plan with thematic conversations supported by vocabulary and grammar. I continue to learn and my confidence and capability grow.

Last year I had three different groups to whom I instructed the idiosyncrasies of the French language. I decided to back off this year. It was too much and, in many ways, stressful. It also prevented me from writing, reading, and studying which some of you have noticed. Thank you for writing to tell me you miss these posts. I will hope to do better in the coming months.

In June I began the application for citizenship in France. I am awaiting some documents necessary for the process and then there will be a wait of up to two years. An interview will be required in Montpelier at the region’s prefecture to assess my language skills and knowledge of French history and politics.  There is the possibility of a home visit by gendarmes to assess my living arrangements. They may even interview some of my neighbors to see how well I get along. It is an interesting process.

I made the decision to apply for citizenship for several reasons. I love France. For years it has been in my blood. I feel deep bonds and am passionate about the caring way in which society works. There is also la politesse – how people interact with one another, respect being its foundation. I love the rural area in which I live: the absence of traffic and noisy congestion, the sprawling foothills with their vineyards, wheat and sunflowers looking towards the Pyrénées Mountains bordering Spain; and the social life that is centered around the village. There is never want for something to do. After six years, it remains that I have no desire to live anywhere else. And with citizenship, I can participate in local and national politics. Renewing my carte de séjour (permanent resident visa) will happily become a thing of the past.

With global warming affecting weather patterns everywhere, we may see fewer sunny days, but my village has been free thus far from severe weather distortions. Only 45 minutes south, closer to the Mediterranean, there are villages suffering from drought. We are fed by mountain springs and, while we are asked to conserve water as much as possible, there is no great threat locally. 

The village is on a hill, at an elevation of over 800 feet. This will keep us safe from flooding. While we historically experience occasional winds, our geographic position protects us from extremes. I feel fortunate to have stumbled upon such a place. 

Interestingly, the population of my village of Montréal de l’Aude has increased 10% since arriving. That says something. I attribute the growth to its vibrant social life and proximity to the Carcassonne without the hassles of living in a larger town.

So far, the only persistent negative is distance from family and close friends in the US. I’m making some wonderful friends here and that is helping. In fact, last year I met a particularly delightful family from New Zealand with 6 year-old twins. They too are separated from family. But we’ve bonded and together we are forming family as we are sometimes forced to do. I count my blessings for the stimulating simplicity of life in my retirement and the people who are a part of it. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about?