I had a late one last night as the music festival continued with the “D’Etonnantes Festival” up on the Champ de Mars, just above the old town and which featured all girl groups.  I went along with Denise and Lauren where we met up with Michel and Peter from French.  The band stand was set up with its back to the road, which meant the bank opposite made a good natural seating area for the spectators.  The concert was meant to start at 8 but of course it was gone 9 before the first group came on.  These were “Ma Larsen” who played a mixture of ska, jazz funk and pop.  They were followed by “Subway” a rock band with an excellent lead vocalist.  The group headlining the event were “Les Suprème Dindes” (The Turkey Supremes) who consisted of 2 girls and 2 transvestites.  This band was obviously more professional and made a great sound until the lead singer opened her mouth.  Denise told me this music was more your typical French pop music.  We thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the music that was played and were pleased that there was a good turnout.  It was colder than the previous evening, however, with a cool wind and we were glad of our fleeces and the blankets Michel had thoughtfully brought along.

I was up early this morning to accompany Rick and Sue to Maddy’s nursery school fete.  There are 3 classes in the “maternelle” and each put on a little show for us.  These included the weather, the world and other countries.  Maddy’s class, which comprises the youngest children, sang and danced nursery rhymes from different countries, their having one English, one Romanian, one Moroccan and one Marrakech in their group.  The English rhyme chosen was ‘Ring a Ring of Roses’.  The final song caused much hilarity as the final verse ended up with laying of hands on their partner’s backside.  This was danced again in a grand finale when all the parents and older school children, who had come out to watch the show, joined in.

After lunch, from 3 o’clock onwards, the fete would continue with the usual side stalls and picnics but Rick and I elected to walk back to Chantemerle from St Chaffrey.  As we passed by M. and Madame Puy’s épicerie, Jose recognised me and hurried over all smiles to kiss me and ask how we were enjoying life in Le Serre Barbin. 

Yesterday was very hot and unfortunately I had arranged to go walking with Denise and her daughter Lauren, who is now back from her 8 months stint in Gillingham where she was teaching French to primary school children.  We drove to a hamlet just above the Prorel and proceeded to walk up a track until we came to a canal.  It was not only easier from here on but also cooler as it was in the shade.  When we had reached as far as opposite St Chaffrey we then started up again, winding backwards and forward as the road wound itself up the mountain until we came to the Dauphiné path where we turned left and headed back to Briançon.  We were glad to at last be walking downhill especially Lauren, who is a bit out of practise since her stay in England.   We all soon ran out of water and Lauren took the risk of filling up her water bottle as a “source d’eau” which Denise was rather apprehensive but Lauren assured her she had drank water in all sorts of places and was sure it would do her no harm.  On one brief respite, we watched a female pied flycatcher feeding a chick.  This baby bird must have left the nest prematurely as it could not fly at all and its mother was calling out in panic as we were only a few feet away.  We had Cora Chienne with us who might have been too curious also.  This was a long walk for a young dog but she loved it, jumping in every available stream and puddle to cool, chasing insects and playing hide and seek with Lauren.  She is quite obedient but still nervous around other dogs and Denise had to put her on the lead several times.  When we arrived back at the car, the thermometer registered 37º, phew!  I ached a little this morning after this 4 hour hike, the first really long walk I have undertaken this year of about 8 miles.

Back to French class this week.  Last week had been cancelled, which was lucky, me being under the weather, as Valerie had to go to Turin in connection with her Italian classes.  Yes, not only does she teach French and speak English, but teaches Italian too.  We had a new member in our class this week; a young Swedish man of 40 who is has been here 18 months and who seems to be able to speak French as well as Rick and me, although I had a little trouble understanding his accent.  He had been thrown in the deep end, however, whilst working the winter season in a ski hire shop, being taken on because of his Nordic languages.  In fact, Chris thinks he met him one time when Peter was here and they were looking at snowboards.  Having learnt his French orally, he is using the classes to clarify spellings and enjoyed the fact that we were talking French in a controlled environment.  Of cos, being Swedish, he is also able to speak English perfectly.  His name is Dennis which confused Valerie totally to begin with as this is the same as Peter’s surname.

Today is the summer solstice and also the “[tag-tec]Fête de la Musique[/tag-tec]” held every year on the 21st June all over France.  Chris, still being incapacitated, I left him at home and headed into to town where I met up with Denise and Michel.  We walked the short way to the Parc de la Schappe where their son Michael was playing in his band.  They have now given themselves a name – ‘Eight’, which is apparently a play on words from the word ‘hate’ as of cos they don’t pronounce the ‘aitch’ - but they still have no singer or lyrics for their compositions.  They played for quite a long time, their longest gig ever apparently, and their influences being heavy metal, it was pretty loud.  Several people passed by with their fingers in their ears!  They had quite a lot of support and at one point, several male ‘groupies’ jumped up on stage and head banged with the band.

Later on we walked through town and were amazed at the number of people who had turned out.  We didn’t know so many people lived here!  There seemed to be bands playing on every street corner and in every café, including a calypso band outside the Eden Bar, a [tag-tec]Dire Straits tribute band[/tag-tec] by the Bar Centrale, and a jazz quartet by the side of the casino.  There was a great atmosphere with no trouble of any kind as the crowds were more family orientated ageing from 0 to 60 years old.  Chairs and tables had been set up in the streets, food stalls were plying their wares and a DJ was playing music in the main square.  The weather held too, all too often it rains for the music festival, and it was warm enough all evening for shirt sleeves.

Sue and I spent the day at [tag-tec]Embrun[/tag-tec] where I treated Sue to lunch as a belated birthday present, her having been in Spain for the actual day.  After weeks of unsettled weather, today was gorgeous and unusually muggy.  We sat in the main square of Place Barthelon named after a Eugène Barthelon who was born in the area in 1833 and who having made his fortune at Marseille bequeathed several properties to the commune in his will.  Originally this square had been called Saint-Pierre after the name of a church that was destroyed in 1585.  We enjoyed the menu of the day starting with melon with smoked ham, followed by fresh haddock in a creamy seafood sauce and “courgettes au gratin”, and finally a fruit salad for me and a fromage frais with a blueberry coulis for Sue, to finish. The house rosé was fruity and most satisfactory.
 
We decided to become tourists for the day and after visiting the tourist office and picking up an “intineraire de decouverte” made our way round the town discovering all its hidden secrets.  I have been to Embrun once before but had not learnt about its history.    We started off in the oldest quarters of the town where the storeys of the houses projected over one another over two levels.  Living on the upper floors was quieter and the extra space in the street allowed the carts to pass through.  Another explanation was that people were taxed on the square footage of the ground floor and the larger upper levels allowed people to live in a larger space without incurring higher taxes.    The late Renaissance houses erected in the 16th century were built from slate and featured arches, arcades and fanlights.  We also saw a “maison urbaine” from the 18th century housing three levels of arcades and columns.  These spaces allowed the drying of wool and other materials.  Bourgeois houses with gardens were built overlooking the fantastic views over the [tag-tec] Durance valley[/tag-tec] – Embrun is built on top of a large cliff.  We were also shown coats of arms over doorways, restored wall decorations in stucco such as two dolphins face to face, and relief sculptures of lions devouring goats or human heads, although many more of these were destroyed during the revolution.
 
Of course Embrun was also a military base and the old powder store still stands.  [tag-tec]Vauban[/tag-tec] was involved in the construction of the barracks one of which, called Delaroche, was named after a general in Napoleon’s army, a soldier since the age of 16.  He also ordered the building of a chapel on the site of the “palais delphinal” which had been demolished in 1633 on the orders of Richelieu.
 
Overlooking the valley is a large building, known as L’Archevêché (the archbishop’s residence) which was first mentioned as the Palais de L’Archevêché in 1238.  Constructed at the same time as the cathedral, this building has undergone a number of modifications over the centuries.  Today’s façade dates from the 18th century but parts of this have been removed to show the original columns and arches that have been found underneath.  This building was later transformed into barracks and has since been used as a court of law, a gendarmerie, an alpine centre for wood and a technical college.  It is presently awaiting its next restoration.  Attached to the back of this building is “La Tour Brune” which dates from the 13th century.  This keep was used as a look out, a prison and arsenal and tax office up until the Revolution.  Later, in the 19th century, it was used for storing water.
 
After a telephone call from Christine, Maddy’s nursery school teacher, we made our way back to the tourist office on her recommendation to see an exhibition by the Embrunnais artist Robert Giroud.  Christine, like many French, has high regard for all things artistic and natural so had arranged for M. Giroud to design and create an abstract ceramic mosaic on one wall of the school playground, depicting a walk through the mountains.   This was a small exhibition, some items more interesting than others and some just plainly bizarre.  We were not quite sure what to make of the picture called father and son which consisted of a small pair of shoes and a large pair of walking boots stuck to the square canvas by their soles!   This had a sold sign so presumably someone appreciated it.
 
We had returned to the cathedral later in the afternoon due to a memorial service.  Sue especially wanted to see this grand cathedral which was built between 1170 and 1220, for its interior architecture “romaine lombarde” built in a dichotomy of black slate and white limestone.  Outside the clock tower was decorated with ornamental arcades and a pyramid roof.  This building is very characteristic of religious architecture in the Durance valley and at the top are stairs made from Guillestre marble and in the west wall a 15th century stained glass rose window.  Over the centuries, Notre-Dame du Réal became known, above all, for its frescos depicting the Adoration of the Three Kings.  Unfortunately, this fresco was destroyed in 1585 by the Protestants, but we could still see other parts of paintings where the perpetrators were unable to reach.  But the most amazing sight to me was the absolutely hugest organ I have ever seen which was attached high up to the first pillar on entering the cathedral and seemingly held there at its V shaped base by elegantly curved wooden struts.  This was given by Louis XI but remodelled in the 17th and 18th centuries and when we were there, undergoing restoration.
 
Our final viewing was of a modern “cadran solaire”.  This wall sun dial was painted high on the side of a building in 1996 by a local artist named Rémi Potey.  At its base lies the inscription in provençal alpin, “How can you see through the water if you do not cease to stir it”. 
 
Sue and I both thoroughly enjoyed our day.  We had culture, good food and drink, good conversation and a little shopping.  At one point, whilst Sue was picking out some postcards, we received a talk from a local elderly gentleman, who regaled us with stories of the valley before it was flooded to create the lac Serre Ponçon.