Summertime Sun

The weather really improved and its been lovely summertime here.

On the left is a view of Abeilhan from near the next town which I walked to. There are actually several other villages within walking distance if you do it either really early or really late in the day when it isn't too hot.








Here is the road (D33) that the Tour de France road on as it passed Abeilhan just a couple of days before I got here. Must have been pretty exciting here in these tiny villages. This is right by the corner of my house.








On the left is the town square in the heart of Pezenas. It is the closest charming real town. It is very a well preserved medieval town with lots of artsy shops and little cafes and restaurants. There are quite a few tourists there but it isn't jammed.

My main enjoyable activity has been hanging out at the beach which I've done several times in the last week. With the warmer weather the water is a really great temperature, still envigorating but not frigid - really great for swimming. I love the beaches here and have taken advantage of the rentals for chaise lounge and umbrella. Yesterday I went to a wonderful spot at the end of Valras beach at which you get the chaise, umbrella, AND a lovely lunch. They have an entire restaurant on the beach sand which gets set up at the beginning of the season and then taken down at the end. I actually came to this beach with Tom and Toni Sestak at the end of October 2 years ago and the town was deserted and there nothing on the sand at all. It was beautiful then but this is more fun.

This is the square in Servian which is also a very close village. It is bigger than Abeilhan and has more going on.

The view from the Square in Servian.

Last evening I went to one of winery dinners catered by Ken and Alison, a couple of expats from Seattle. I went to a couple of these dinners last year as well. The attendees are all English-speaking expats most from England but a few Aussies and even one American couple. That couple retired here 8 years ago but are about to move to Panama (of all places).

A rather common theme I am hearing from expats who have retired here is that they are thinking of either moving home or to another country (Spain?, Panama, Australia) as places like that are more favorable from an economic standpoint.

The winery where the dinner event was held was fun. The owners are a young couple (he is from New Zealand and she is Irish) who've had their vineyards and winery for only a couple of years. The location was the backyard of their home with a vegetable garden, chickens, and friendly spaniel. Their wines were very good!