Eva do the local Brits still go to the little cafe by the church on a sunday in Capestang it been a tradition for over 20 years
Bells, we live about 50m from our church bells, thankfully they stop at 10pm until 7am when it wakes up and rings 7 times then another 7 five mins later followed by a smaller bell that rings 50 times, why? we have never found out. It repeats this at noon 12 then 12 then 40 chimes and then again at 7pm always 64 in total. After 4 years of living here we hardly notice it anymore. I asked my french teacher if she knew why it did this and she didn't know and thought it very unusual.
I adored your post, it made me laugh so hard I had to share it with a few friends...Have you all noticed how the French have also JUST DISCOVERED the English language...lately and Tabasco. Once in a while, I come out of my French self and return to my anglo one...and it just does a little" hug" somewhere in my head. Thank you for the laugh
Thanks for the spell check Brian, you caught me, I am a sloppy blogger...
The house we did end up buying is just outside the village in a newer development. Those first three month in the village centre assured me not to buy a village house (damp, cold and crowded) and those bells could drive a girl mad.
I did manage to get myself to church one Sunday. It was freezing, one dozen residents in our huge Capestang church, and no one under 70. But it was interesting how the exact same rituals that are in every Catholic Churches around the world were the same. Even if I did not understand the majority of the service, I did find the moment of peace I was after, even if Angelina, my 6 year old, nearly froze to her chair.
Is #6 a slur on our German friends? No Helmut rule!
Ah church bells. We live in the furthest reach of a commune from the village. It means we have muted bells BUT we can hear how disparate they are. In three communes the churches have a range of eight minutes difference in ringing the hour! The same goes for calling the faithful to empty churches with no priests that are essentially kep open for funerals and tourists.
As for the rest of it, I am wedded to a southern European who is amused by much here in France except bidets which she believes are an assault on dignity. Strange that, given the French often consider people from the Latinate nations as dirty, uncouth and not quite civilised!