April 2015

This month we have enjoyed visits from Lucy and Andy and Daniel - it was lovely to see them, and a good excuse for several more walks and 'being tourists'!! They were very lucky with the warm and sunny weather - ideal for walking and table tennis!
We also visited the underground river at Labouiche with Daniel, which was quite impressive. Photography was not allowed inside the caves so here is the website
http://www.labouiche.com/accueil.php?lg=en
Highly recommended for anyone visiting the Ariege, especially low-season when its reasonably quiet.

The garden is coming to life, and we are particularly pleased with the Wisteria which Dave planted last year and seems to be thriving on the front of the house

Here are our albums for April
Lesley's album
Dave's album

March 2015

Spring is on the way!! Or at least we keep thinking it is, then the cooler wetter weather returns!
Well, that is fairly typical of Spring in the Ariege - a bit of everything!!

We have enjoyed some more snow shoe walking in the sun and fresh snow, as well as a very warm day skiing in Andorra. Otherwise we have been busy with guests, the house and garden, painting commissions - and Lesley spent an enjoyable week in England seeing family.

Dave's album

Lesley's album

February 2015

After a mild and sunny winter so far, the snow arrived in February, and then the rain! Excellent news for all snow sport lovers - and farmers!

Dave's album

Lesley's album

January 2015

January is skiing month! We have just returned from a super week in the French Alps. The long-awaited snow arrived just in time, and then it didnt stop! There has been a good top-up in the Pyrenees as well so all looks good for the rest of the ski season.

We also enjoyed a day skiing at Ax les Thermes just after the New Year with Lucy and Andy.  It was incredibly warm up there in the sun and the warm and sunny daytime weather with frosty mornings continued for most of the month. It has been perfect for local walks and table tennis, and even sitting in the sun! 

One of our walks was around the local village of Le Vernet de l'Ariege where there was a small concentration camp during the war. It is mentioned in Kate Mosse's book 'Citadel' so we were keen to visit the village and the small museum dedicated to it, which was very interesting.

We saw in the New Year twice (French and English!) with a small party here with friends - everyone brought a dish for the buffet and live music, fresh oysters, good food, lots of dancing and good company enjoyed by all.

The top photo above is Mont Fourcat from the Prat d'Albis above Foix - and then our geese enjoying a frosty morning by the pond

Photo albums for the month are here

Lesley's album
Dave's album

December 2014

A very Happy New Year to all our friends and blog readers!

We are a little late posting this month!! We spent a most enjoyable couple of weeks in England over Christmas, then drove back to La Maire on the 28th in time to prepare for our New Years Eve party which we celebrated with English and French friends here at La Maire.  Lucy and Andy came over to join us as well this year and are flying home this evening. They have been lucky enough to enjoy wall to wall sunshine over the past few days so we have been walking and skiing - hence the lateness of the blog!!
My photo album is also a little sparse this month - apologies!!

Lesley's album

Dave's album

November 2014

No apologies for lots of mountain photos this month. The weather has stayed incredibly warm and dry just up until this weekend, and of course the Autumn colours have been wonderful, so we have been making the most of it! 
Not so good for the skiing season just yet - we have had a few falls of snow on the higher mountains but the warm conditions are not allowing it to accumulate - still, there is plenty of time for Winter!!

Lesley's album

Dave's album

October 2014

The blog is a little late this month as we have just returned from a most enjoyable 2 week visit to the UK to catch up with family and friends. 

We also spent a day in London in order to renew our passports - during the 4 hour wait we enjoyed a pint (and a half!), scampi and chips and faggots and mushy peas in a Whitehall pub, then walked down the Southbank from Westminster to the Tower to see the wonderful carpet of poppies.
It was a lovely day, if rather overcast.
Dave forgot his camera on this day so I made the most of it as you will see in my album!!

October in France has been wonderfully dry, warm and sunny. We spent another day walking at Soulcem with Lisa and Neil. Snow could start covering the mountains at any time now so it was good to enjoy the sun up there this late in the year. 

Here are our albums for October

Dave's album

Lesley's album