The Village of Auvillar

So, I'm supposed to be writing. What I'm doing, actually, is immersing myself in the novel that's already written, going through sentence by sentence, connecting some dots, filling in some blanks, you name your metaphor for the revision process. But I can only take so much of that in one sitting. So this afternoon I took a walk up the hill to the village proper. Our house and studio building actually sit in the "port" section of Auvillar, down by the Garonne River, but the town is up on a hill--fortified with walls, etc. It must have been a pretty tough little place back in the middle ages.

It's a beautiful village that seems pretty sleepy. There are several restaurants, but some of the shops--the bakery, the small grocer, a few others--are closed for the August vacation. It's a good thing I'm here to get work done!

And there's a cool old church, too, as there is most everywhere you look in France, it seems.

And here's a picture of the village Espalais across the river, seen from the park on the hill.

So, it's wonderfully idyllic, right? It sure seems that way, except for one little detail that I've failed to mention up to now. The plant pictured here is about 5 kilometers away.

I took lots more pictures, which I'll post on my Facebook album: Residency in Auvillar.