After saying goodbye to Ellen in Barcelona we trained two hours to Toulouse, France. After a much needed nap on the train we picked up our rental car for the drive south to Méras at the foothills of the Pyrenees. One of Cara's colleagues at Kealing put us in touch with long time friends of theirs, the Mabilles, who have a mountain home in Méras. Pascal (dad) worked for a time in Austin for Motorola and the family lived there for about 6 months. We did not know what to expect with this portion of our trip. We were hoping to have some time to explore the mountains and relax a bit outside of the city. The Mabilles made sure our next 6 days were incredibly memorable. MERCI a thousand times for welcoming us into your homes and at your dinner table. Our time was split into 4 parts:
- Part I: Welcome and World Cup
- Part II: Road Trip
- Part III: to Grandma's house we go!
- Part IV: Méras Olympics!
Part I: Welcome and World Cup
This is the view from the Mabille's mountain home. If you look closely you can see the Méras road sign. Méras is a tiny village of just a few homes. The surrounding countryside is mostly grazing fields for sheep and cattle as well as sunflower fields.
When we arrived the Pyrenees were on full display! It was a beautiful view and we were glad to see it because the next few days they would be shrouded in clouds as sporadic rain moved through the area. When we arrived Bridgett (mom) and Martin (oldest son) gave us a warm welcome and showed us around the house. A little later, some neighbors from Belgium came over for some drinks and we decided to meet at a bar later to watch the USA vs. Belgium pre-quarters match.
Martin showing his French pride at the bar. Martin is an engineer working in Paris and a dedicated rugby player which is a huge part of the southern France culture.
Our new Belgian friends (Rømi, Sarah, and her mom) at half-time of the match. Although the US would lose and be eliminated from the World Cup it was a great game. Sarah is a soccer player and teacher just starting her summer break and Rømi is a professional basketball player. She is currently playing in Europe, but did play one year in the WNBA with the Atlanta Dream. From our friends I was reminded of Belgium's amazing history of beer making, drank a Belgian cherry beer they brought with them, and learned that Belgium has three official languages: French, German, and Flemish (Belgian Dutch). They were incredibly nice and we were lucky to meet up with them later in the week during the Méras Olympics.
Part II: Road Trip
The next morning we drove towards the Pyrenees in search of some caves and small towns Martin recommended. Beautiful scenery the whole day driving through sunflower and wheat fields, small towns...think "Beauty and the Beast", and even some caves. Pictured above is the Chateau de Foix.
View of Foix and the castle nestled in a valley.
Our first cave was big enough to drive through. Our small two lane country road took us right though the Grotte du Mas D'azil. We also visited the Riviere Souterraine de Labouiche, a cave with flooded tunnels that you are guided through in a boat.
The next set of photos will hopefully portray how beautiful it was driving through the countryside.
Part III: to Grandma's house we go!
It rained most of the next day so we stayed home and helped Martin prepare for the upcoming Olympics (see below). That evening we drove to his grandma's house in a nearby village for a visit and to pick up some supplies. She had an amazing home built over a canal which leads to the hydroelectric plant they built themselves. They sell most of the energy to the local energy company. After a quick tour we sat down to an incredible dinner of southern France's best foods and wine.
The view from the hydroelectric plant back towards their house.
Southern France is known for foie gras de canard (duck liver) and cassoulet which is a hearty stew with sausage, duck, beans, or other meats. We enjoyed both with french bread and two amazing wines!
Part IV: Méras Olympics!
The Méras Olympics is a huge party organized by Martin to bring together his different groups of friends (rugby, work, childhood, and family). He organizes everyone into 10 different teams and plans around 10 different events to compete in while you are enjoying food and drinks throughout the day. Teams dressed up according to their teams' color and even brought props and mascots. It had a similar feel to a fun ultimate tournament like Potlatch. You are there to compete, but not at the expense of having a good time and hanging out/meeting great people.
Once the competition is over, tents are set up and the dance party begins. Martin was awesome enough to invite Cara and I to stay and participate in the Olympics so we delayed our trip to Bordeaux and stayed for the weekend. It was incredible!
I was a member of team Noir (captained by Martin's younger brother, Gabriel) and Cara was on team Mariner (i.e. sailors).
One of the teams was camouflaged and came with their own tank built out of cardboard boxes. This gives just a glimpse at how enthusiastic his friends were about this weekend.
The pink team's mascot.
At the end of the day, Noir tied for first. Martin offered bonus points if anyone was willing to shave their head so I stepped up to solidify the win for black. I felt it was the least I could do to say thanks to Gabriel and my other teammates for accepting me so graciously on their team...or it could have been the several beers talking. Either way, you'll see much shorter hair in all future photos.
On to Toulouse and Bordeaux!
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