But seriously I have spent many nights with seriously learned and cultured Icelanders. And the country sure isn’t poor now, with a GDP far above France and Germany.
But we will stay on out respective sides of France and feel pleased we have made the best choice.
Yes, we’ve been visiting the area for over 20 years before we moved here (not Minervois, but not far away) and the number of Brits seemed to be a bit claustrophobic back then. Not sure what’s happened, but it seems that over the years, the Brits have thinned out a lot. At least, that’s my observation. Haven’t stopped in Olonzac for a while, although I’ve been over to Béziers lots.
Having given my choices, a few comments on others.
Machynlleth, yes, if only because I know how to pronounce it.
Barnsley, a problem with language. Was once asked ‘owdloppenthadooer?’ It took quite sometime before I realised he was wondering how I would open my doors (he hadn’t noticed they were bi-fold. )
Grimethorpe, I think the clue is in the name.
Patagonia, I was going to say ‘why, do you speak Welsh?’, but think they may be a bit further south.
Back to my own choices, anything west and wild really, Wales and Ireland, even Scotland, but reckon that anything north of the Dordogne is too cold for me.
I’m not the sort of person who is glued to the computer/phone so have only just had a chance to read the traffic since my last posting. Two comments. BC is a great place to be. Wide open spaces, abundant wildlife, amazing coastline. Major downside is property prices in either Vancouver or on the Island.
We know at least one British couple who left in a hurry post Brexit. We strongly suspect their applications for their CDS were rejected. All the time we knew them they were always working the system. A long history of claiming benefits and having little in the way of declared income.
It’s more than lovely I think. I still have friends there. I’ll be going there soon for a visit. I also lived in Pontrhydfendigaid and Pontrhydygroes. And I know how to pronounce them all
For me, it was the North East that was the hardest accent. I once took my broken down car to a local garage and he phoned me back an hour later and said ‘canagedagan’ … all one word. I had to ask him to repeat what he was saying several times and finally he said 'canna {long pause} gedda {long pause} gan ! It was bad news
When I lived there in the 80’s, there was definitely a lot of RAF activity around that area and elsewhere nearby. They use the long, winding steep valleys around to practice low level.
Somewhere not as hot, near the sea, with mountains (or at least hills that pass for mountains in that particular country). Still leaves me with a decent selection of countries to consider.
That reminds me of summer holidays as a kid in Harlech, Tal-y-bont, Barmouth. Not been back for almost 40 years… Maybe I should plan a trip when I’m next over.
What I love about Iceland is everyone seems an original; everyone has a story to tell; 10% of Icelanders have published a book; and their ice cream is superb.
My choice though, if I had to leave France, would be India. Ladakh in the summer and further south in the winter
My difficulty with India is the extreme disparity between rich and poor. Not that I am pretending it doesn’t exist in other countries - here included. But it is extreme, so I rule out India and other countries on that basis.