Trip to Ariege.

With Nigel tucked away at Cambo I decided to go over to see friends in Ariege for a few days and the dogs went with me as well. I left after lunch on the Sunday and had an uneventful trip, the dogs sleeping most of the time. I arrived at Martin and Meike's about 5 o clock and the dogs were able to have a good run around. Martin has 2 dogs, Chai a border collie and Ramsey a large, soppy dog of mixed breeding. Rambo and Chai hated each other at first sight and had several disputes whereas Rambo and Ramsey got on like a house on fire. Rambo and Ramsey stayed out all night "guarding" the property and Luna slept in the car. We sat outside and had a couple of beers and chatted a lot before going in for a meal.
Next morning I tried to contact Dominique, at Carol, but got no reply so I was unable to pop in and see them. Martin tells me that they have made a "road" to the left of the house around to the back of the house and barn. Dominique is now working on the ambulance service for Foix/Pamiers and is expecting a baby in January. What a wonderful place to bring up a family, I am so pleased for them.
After leaving Martin and Meike I went to visit Corry in Artigat and catch up with the village gossip before going to have lunch with Mike. Jik is in Holland at the moment so I was disappointed not to see her as well. Still it was good to see Mike again. Next stop was to see Leonoor and Sjef at St Martin d'Oydes. It was a beautiful day and it was like old times, sitting on the terrace chatting and laughing with Leonoor, and looking out across the valley to the beautiful view of the mountains which were incredibly clear. Sjef and Nico had been over to Lezat to pick up a couple of 25 year old olive trees which Sjef is going to plant in front of the house. It was good to watch him and Nico unloading them from the trailer and then of course we all sat and had a gossip over a beer.
Last stop for the day was at Nellekes in Le Fossat. Nelleke is living at Caoutelle which belongs to our English friends Jez and Caroline. They only rarely visit the house so Nelleke is living there most of the time and moves out on the rare occasions that they visit. Nelleke wasn't home when I arrived but she had left the house open for me and there was a bottle of red and a glass ready for me!!The dogs had been in and out of the car all day and were a little bewildered but soon settled down for the evening. Nelleke arrived home and we sat outside for a while until it was time to go in and have dinner.
Next day we left the dogs at Caoutelle and set off for Andorra. We left at about 10.15 and got there about noon. It was quite mild for Andorra with no snow on the mountains. After filling up the car with cheaper diesel, lunch and a shop we were ready to leave. We always go to Pas de la Casa which is the first town over the border, a very unattractive place, apart from the stunning mountain views. The whole place is one huge shopping centre with hotels and restaurants situated over the shops. In the summer the horses and cattle, that are taken up to the mountains for the summer, can often be seen wandering and grazing in and on the edge of the town.
This trip, for the first time ever, I met a smiling French customs man! There is a large drive through customs area just below the border and of course they are always on the lookout for people who have bought too much duty free goods. I'm the sort of person who always feels guilty on these occasions, even though I have no need to! Sometimes one gets waved through and other times, like this time, one is stopped. They only have to say what do you have to declare and I go to pieces! This chap, though, soon twigged that I was British and asked me where I came from, he then told me that his wife was from West Sussex and we had a jolly little chat before he waved me on.
Nelleke was enjoying being a passenger but offered to take over if I felt tired. I did a deal and said that I would carry on driving if she would not expect any help in preparing dinner. When we got back we had a rapturous welcome from the dogs and I relaxed whilst Nelleke made dinner. I think you could say that I was shattered but happy. Happy to be back, happy to have dinner prepared and happy to see the dogs again.
Next day I returned home. I left Ariege and called at Kate and Peters for lunch. They live near Lannemazan, just off the motorway and conveniently situated about equidistant from Artigat and Castandet. After a lovely lunch and lots of chat it was time to drive the last lap home. I think both the dogs and myself had had a great time but were glad to be back home again. It's good to go away and it's good to get home.