The pyrenees

D and I recently had to make a trip down to Toulouse to take care of some papers at the consulate. The round trip by train was around 130 euros Ugh!




Just to get papers! So...we decided if we had come this far, we would go stay in the mountains with the family for a bit. I'm so glad we did. It was SO beautiful there.



I felt like Heidi LOL! D had told me about the back breaking work they had done on an old barn they had bought up there.



He said he had to dig out a whole area where the earth was almost as high as the ceiling. I guess the place was in rough shape when they started, I only know it was wonderful when I arrived.



What a charming place! There is still much to do upstairs as it is still all one room that runs the whole length of the building, with its high ceilings and rough beams I just loved it. D's mom says they plan on breaking it up into three bedrooms eventually.






This old barn sits perched on the side of a mountain in a cluster with four others.



The view is spectacular and in the short time I spent there I only knew that I could happily stay there much much longer.



We wandered all over the countryside, driving through many little villages and visiting the top of the pass.




D's mom knew every crook and cranny in that valley.



She took us to the nearby village and showed me a great book store that had around TEN shelves of used English books all at around 4 to 6 euros each. Needless to say we bought a stack ^__^



We also found a nice shoe store and I am now the proud owner of two new pair of shoes ( I came to France with only my sandals)






We also visited this wonderful little basket weavers shop. IT was located outside of one of the tiny villages we visited. You had to park in the village and then walk uphill through the streets



(on one of the streets we passed what had to be the cat lady house, there were at least two dozen kitties in her front yard)


then through the fields out to her house.I wondered how on earth anyone could even know it was out there. There were no signs or indications that it was there.


She made the cutest little puppets and I was told they were modeled after the villagers. I just loved visiting her shop. She is very talented and I wanted to buy many things but I'm afraid she was a bit pricey for me =\







Another place she took us was an old ghost town. They had a zinc mine there but then when it quit operating everyone moved away. Spooky!

We also visited a cheese museum.
They had a lot of interesting models and old equipment displayed there, and in the store they sold wonderful bottles of different types of liquer and soaps, etc. I have a bar of soap now made of donkey milk LOL!

And to finish this off...Kyle, here is a pic of a castle for you :p