Into July

Last week we were in the Val du Séran, near the little village of Ruffieu in the Valromey area of the Ain département.  It is the home of Stéphane and Chantal Fauth, a huge old farm building which he converted over many years into a music centre and comfortable chambres d'hôte, and we have been there most years since we moved to France in 2006.  Stéphane is a talented musician (he plays violin and viola, double bass and guitar) who as taught music for most of his life, and our primary reason for being there is that Mary as cellist joins a small group of other amateur musicians (the combination varies, but apart from other  strings there are sometimes wind instruments or, as this time, a pianist, or friend Valerie who live ins Paris and whom we met there).  On several occasions the repertoire has included a piece specially arranged by Stéphane for that year's group of instruments plus tenor voice, but now my solo singing days are more or less over I go as dog minder and co-driver, and to enjoy Chantal's beautiful food as well as the wines Stéphane finds from around France and around the world, an enthusiasm he and I share.  But he has a much better palate than I do, and a keen eye for a bargain.

One of the attractions of the Valromey area is the Conté cheese that is made from the milk of cows nearby, including the fields right next to the Val du Séran.  This used to go to a creamery (the French term is fruitière for cheese producers) in the little village of Brénod to the north, but now a local producers' co-op has formed with a brand new fruitière in the foothills of the Grand Colombier, a spectacular mountain or massif above the Rhône valley south of our lodging.  It's only been open a couple of years, but this Valromey factory and shop is beautifully organised and gave me a pleasant morning out buying cheese for the busy musicians which they rehearsed.

I've written about driving in France more than once.  In the new surroundings - familiar but not frequent - of the Ain it takes extra attention, with many narrow roads and sharp bends in the hills.  And then there are motorways, autoroutes which we use often, worth the tolls you have to pay.  We have an electronic pass which bleeps you through and bills you later!  But in summer the autoroutes become very full, and crazy driving makes them even more risky than usual.  We did however prove that driving a bit slower saves a lot of fuel, important in these difficult times.

 Going into and out of the mountains the A42 and A40 from Lyon were fine, but going home, once we reached the A7 going south towards Marseille the queues were endless, and we soon chose the much pleasanter and nearly deserted route nationale, the N86.  Anyone who has driven in France will know of the bis routes marked in yellow, and ours of course was marked Montpellier bis; a green and shady road mostly beside the Rhône, which even had tempting wine diversions (e.g. Crozes Hermitage) which we ignored because we wanted to get home and Mary had a concert that evening! So we and the dogs (always well-behaved and readily welcomed by Stéphane and Chantal) were safely home before 5, and had a quiet weekend sorting our luggage.  Now we are in a calm interlude with a few visitors and trips to come over the summer, and our French conversation groups continue on Tuesday mornings.