Wednesday 24 September 2008

16 Sept 2008 Tuesday – Mirepoix

Filled the car up with diesel today and then we headed off to Mirepoix. The weather was hot and as we had set off late, we did not get there until about half past eleven.
We followed the signs for the medieval historical centre and found ourselves in a beautiful arcaded square, with a market halle in the centre and shops and restaurants under the ancient wooden arcades. There are still many of the original wooden gargoyles under one of the arcades.


We wandered into some of the shops which remained open after 12. There were many more estate agents than we had seen anywhere else, with a wide selection of lovely properties to choose from.
The town has a very large ex-pat community and almost every passing voice that we heard was English. As we passed one of the restaurants, the English waitress congratulated the two English couples sitting outside upon their having signed today. I.e. They had completed the buying process.
The English shop was supposed to be open until 1pm but when we reached it at 12:50 it was closed for lunch. It was very small and has recently been taken over by an Englisman.
We visited the church, which was very broad and had patches of damp on the roof, a pity because it is ruining the ancient hand painted stonework. Some of the flagstones in the church were also quite wet.
In less than 2 hours we had done Mirepoix and headed back along the road to Pamiers and even more hypermarkets.
A bigger LeClerc than ours beckoned and once again essential items such as car mats and the elusive special offer silicone baking moulds which had not been visible in our own store.
Then it was off home. The sun was still shining so we walked into town stopping in at the English shop for a chat with the owner, then it was on to the cybercafé to tell the owner that I was not going to pursue taking over his business.
Next stop was the Asian/African shop to buy some incense sticks and a holder. I am hoping that this will overpower the bad smell that seems to be coming from the walls that we have painted in the living room.
But phoned to say that my filing drawer unit had arrived and was now ready for collection.
Later in the evening I received a phone call from the builder’s wife to say that he was still running behind schedule and will not be able to start on my apartment until this Thursday.

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