I'm busy and preoccupied right now, so I'm glad to finish this series of posts about the village of Montréal in Burgundy. I obviously really enjoyed the hours we spent there last October.
Part of it was probably that there were no cars and few people. We could walk and take photos as we liked, and we didn't have to worry about Callie. She's a good dog and stays close to us anyway.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to live in Montréal however. There seemed to be little or no business activity or shopping opportunities there. There was a post office down on the main road, and also a café, but I didn't notice a bakery, a restaurant, or a grocery store.
Most of the houses in the old town were just beautiful. They came in several different styles, and the sunny weather made the old stones just glow. Some fall colors, flowers, and painted shutters added to the atmosphere.
The church and graveyard were also highlights of the visit. Somehow those parts of town and the houses and streets were immaculately maintained without making the place feel too much like a theme park or just replica of something authentic. It felt genuine.
As my title says, "parting glances" — above is a final shot of the Porte d'En-Bas, the lower gate to the old town, that I took as we were arriving back at the car to continue our route toward the village of Noyers.
We drove on to the nearby village of Thizy for a short stop. I just wanted to see what it looked like. As we got there, I noticed this sign that seemed to be inviting us to return to Montréal. Maybe someday we will. On that day in October, we turned to the left.
I'm of course preoccupied and busy because I'm getting ready to buy a car. The time has come, and the car I inspected and drove yesterday is probably the one I'll get. Walt is leaving it up to me to choose.
We don't need a new car. Unless I'm mistaken, we drove the Peugeot a total of 9,000 km over the past two years — that's less than 6,000 miles in 24 months, and it includes the trip to Burgundy as well as trips around our region: Blois, Tours, and the villages where friends of ours live. Having a different car won't change our driving habits.
I went and drove the car yesterday but I forgot to take my camera with me. Maybe I'll get a photo of the car today.
Ken...
ReplyDeleteif you and Walt had decided to move to Montréal...
you'd confuse all your American friends... and some others...
they'd think you'd moved back to the Americas!
Good luck with the 2CV...
I hope it has a good chassis!!
Tim, this is my third attempt at replying to your comment. What is Blogger up to? No indication as I posted that there was a problem but none of the other two replies showed up.
DeleteWhat I was saying is that, no, this is not a 2CV that I'm buying, but a more modern car, not an antique. If I wanted an antique, I would look for a Renault 4L, like the one I had in Paris many years ago. But I wanted a "newish" Citroën this time.
I have enjoyed your posts about Montréal and would like to go there myself one day.
ReplyDeleteA new car is exciting - it will be nice not to worry about reliability and repair bills for a few years.
Well, it's not a brand new car by any means. More details later...
DeleteThanks for sharing all of these photos of Montréal with us.
ReplyDeleteBy now, it's afternoon there, and you may have a new car in your yard!
No, next Monday, Judy. It takes about a week for all the paperwork to get done and for the car to be prepped for delivery to the new owner. Things don't go so fast here in the French countryside.
DeleteGood luck with the new Citroën. Is it a C3? And what colour is it?
ReplyDeleteNo Martine, it is not a C3. The color is a subject of discusson between Walt and me right now...
Deletecongrats on the soon to be new car! a week to get it? wow! we got a new-to-us car this summer and we love it. i'm sure once you get everything settled you will be happy.
ReplyDeleteOFG, as part of the deal the owner of the dealership agreed to put new tires and a new timing belt on the car. The timing belt would have needed to be changed in about three years, and the tires maybe before that, so I'm happy. That kind of work would cost $1,000 or more later, and he's not charging more for those improvements. He also agreed to pay to cover the cost of having the car registered (nearly $300) as part of the agreed-to purchase price. He seems really honest and I'm happy. I also talked to my regular mechanic about the deal and he said he thinks it's a good one. I sure hope so. My regular mechanic could have said "don't deal with that guy" but he didn't, so I think he has a good reputation.
DeleteI'm trying to think what color car would make for a discussion. I have to think about colors I remember from France. I'll guess blue (devil) or
ReplyDeleteyellow. Maybe even silver which would make the two cars to similar. Whatever color it is, you will in time get used to it.
E., Walt hasn't even seen the new-to-us car yet. I told him what color I thought it was. This morning I took photos of the car, but not under the best conditions -- the car was covered with frost. He saw the photos and wasn't sure what color he would call it, but then neither was I sure. Walt and I have never agreed about what color the old Peugeot is. He says it's silver or silvery-green, and I say it's light blue. The Citroën is a kind of (appropriately) lavender charcoal gray.
ReplyDeleteI remember your car as silver, but there are lots of variations of silver now. I like them all. Lavender charcoal gray sounds like a beautiful color to me.
ReplyDeleteI've had a lot of light blue cars in my life -- a 1966 Ford Fairlane, a 1973 Opel (in Illinois), a 1973 Renault 4L (in Paris), and now the Peugeot for nearly 12 years. I've also owned a silver Subaru and a silver VW, along with two charcoal gray VWs (in California). At least I think that's what their colors were! I first saw this Citroën as charcoal gray, but now I'm not sure. The lavender color is muted and pretty attractive, I think. I think it's the kind of color that changes depending on the day and the light. I'll post pictures when I can.
DeleteI would say your Peugeot is light-silvery blue. I am familiar with the Citroën lavender. My former car - Opel Corsa - was of the same colour. Only Citroën and Opel do that shade of silvery lavender. It took me some time to get used to too. But it turned out to be OK. Finding your car in a full car park will no longer be a problem :)
DeleteI just had to chime in... 6000 miles in 24 months, hmmm. I put 20,000 miles in 6 months on my car. I do a lot of driving for work and pleasure. :^)
ReplyDelete-craig-