Lagrasse

The rest of the journey went well. We were in Avignon practically on time, and didn’t have too long to wait get the hire car.  As I’ve probably said before, the ride from Avignon to Lagrasse involves a long stint on the very busy A9, where driving standards tend to be appalling.  The picture was complicated by all the fancy toys in the car, including a robot that tugs on the steering wheel when you look like drifting out of your lane.  Before I got that far, I had to summon assistance to get the damn thing in gear in the first place.  Getting the cruise control to work was distinctly hit & miss, but I think I’ve got it worked out now.  I’d love to know why manufacturers don’t standardise some of these minor controls.  My old Mondeo had the best cruise control: four buttons on the steering wheel: set, resume, + and -, and having now had 5 VW group cars, I have got used to their awkward system.  Peugeot-Citroën have to be different, of course.

Here in Lagrasse, we’re installed in Kate and John’s house.  We had apéros on the Prom last night - entirely unplanned - with a bunch of old friends, then dinner with other friends down the road: how I kept going until midnight having woken at 02:00 I really don’t know.   As always on arriving in Lagrasse, we’d soon met several people we know, and caught up on some of the local news.  The till at the Cave Co-op in a neighbouring village was manned today by a former Lagrasse neighbour.  We gather that the chap who bought my old house left just before we arrived: wise man.  He has had some fine new windows installed, but has yet to have his planned additional windows cut into the side wall.

We had a brief drive out this morning, reminding ourselves of the beautiful landscapes of the region, then returned to one of our favourite sports: people-watching from the Prom Café.  Good, moderately priced pasta with chicken and mixed mushrooms, and a pichet of a familiar rosé.  Then snoozes.