It's very weird. It's starting to sink in, mostly because my bags are mostly packed and I've started cleaning my apartment, but it seems strange to think that I'll be leaving early Tuesday morning. It's also stressful to think that. I don't like packing, and this is a particularly stressful packing situation because I need to get everything into my backpack and a carry-on size suitcase (which my purse needs to fit into). I filled two boxes to send home, so I think I'll be fine, but I won't feel relaxed until I'm on the train on Tuesday.
The point of this blog post, however, is to take a break from packing and cleaning and to post some pictures and thoughts I have about Périgueux. I took a bunch of pictures this week in town and on the path along the river so I could have a pretty last post about Périgueux.
Of course I have to start with the marché. I will definitely miss the market - both the fresh food and the atmosphere. As much as I detest grocery shopping, I enjoy going to the market!
So much color!
Monbazillac and Bordeaux wine for sale in the market.
The main square of the market in front of the cathedral. There are also stalls in two of the other squares in the old part of town.
Because it's spring, there are tons of fresh flowers in the market now, too. All of which are very pretty and very cheap.
The market is Wednesdays and Saturdays, so I usually went at least one time a week. I guess I'll be able to go to farmer's markets at home, but it won't be as easy. Here all I had to do was walk out the door and turn the corner and I was right there in the midst of it. Apart from the language, markets are probably my favorite thing about France.
I also took advantage of the sunny day to take some pictures in the pedestrian roads of town. I took a bunch of photos like this when I first got here, but I figured it would be nice to take some more before I left.
A shot of the garden within the remains of the old Roman amphitheater.
Some of the little streets.
And old antique book store - there are actually quite a few of these in Périgueux. I got a cool book about the origin of different French words in one of the stores.
This street definitely shows how old Périgueux is.
I'm definitely feeling more favorable toward Périgueux than I did for a lot of this winter. Everyone keeps telling us how the assistants are unfortunately here for the worst time: October to April. I guess between the end of April and September it's much prettier and much livelier. That's unsurprising because already we've had some really nice days and there have been a lot more people in the streets. And of course the fact that I'm leaving makes me think more favorably toward the city. It's definitely a pretty little city, and I would like to come back and visit someday. But I'd like to visit for a weekend...not for much more.
One of the other things I liked about Périgueux was the path along the river. I went running there with Eve a lot and sometimes Katie and I would go for walks. We went for a really long one on Wednesday so I could take photos of the path and the river.
View from one of the main bridges into Périgueux.
All the baby ducklings are out in full force!
There are yellow flowers all over the place - it's really gorgeous! And this is to prove just how deep into the country Périgueux is - horses right next to the running path.
The view of the cathedral as you walk back toward Périgueux!
Unfortunately the weather hasn't been nice since I took all these pictures, so these might be some of my last shots of Périgueux looking pretty. It's been kind of gray and rainy for the last couple days and it doesn't look like it will be too nice tomorrow or Monday. But, hey, that's been part of the experience here as well!
And, to finish, a few shots of the monstrous cathedral that dominates the town:
Definitely a cool cathedral - very different than many that you see in France.
So that is my ode to Périgueux, if you will. Tomorrow (when I need a break from cleaning) I want to write a little bit about my last week of teaching and a few other things I've done this week - the rest of the goodbyes. And then I guess my next post will be from Nice as I start my big and final trip. Pretty exciting!
In all, thanks, Périgueux. We may not be best friends, but if given the opportunity in the future, I'll at least stop in to see how you're doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment