Mid-Life Crisis Travel Adventures: Music and History

If I had to choose a theme for my stay in Poitiers, it would be music and history. First, music; my friends Jean-Philippe and Regina are another Franco-American couple, and they are always making music of one sort or another. They perform in an Irish group, they give Irish music workshops, they travel to music festivals, they live and breathe music. Regina is always humming and singing around the house, and Jean-Phi plays his tin whistle or his guitar. Here is a sample of Jean-Phi on a lazy afternoon.

I arrived on a Sunday evening after surviving a “shortcut” to Poitiers from Barcelona, taking the regular highway instead of the tollway, which added an hour or two to my trip. After two hours on a tiny, curvy road with those who know the road well riding my tail, and my dodging small animals at every turn, the road changing speed limits every minute or two, I was ready for a drink, a little something to eat, and a bed. Even at 11:30, my gracious hosts were happy to oblige. A lovely dinner awaited me, and even though we were all tired, we stayed up until 2:30 chatting and drinking some gorgeous wine and eating a fruit crumble for dessert.

Monday morning we were awakened bright and early by the plumber, an appointment which my hosts had forgotten about. Fortunately, the plumber is the son of a friend, and we all had a coffee after he did his inspection of the water heater. He was happy to inform me there would be lots of hot water for my shower, and afterwards the three of us walked to a restaurant where we met a friend and former colleague of Regina for lunch, another American ex-pat. After lunch was a walk through the center of Poitiers, and a couple of photos of the interior of the Palais de Justice.

Palais de Justice

Poitiers is a fascinating town historically speaking, with one of the oldest universities in France (Rabelais and Descartes were a couple of its better-known students), dating back almost 600 years. Joan of Arc spent a little time on trial in Poitiers. It is the crossroads of two rivers, the Clain and the Boivre, and the city was found to be in a strategic spot since the time of the Romans. Jean-Phi and Regina live in the old part, and their house is also quite old. The back wall of their outbuilding abuts the Parc Blossac, a gorgeous park atop the rebuilt ramparts of old Poitiers.

The Garden

Monday dinner was started with pink champagne, foie gras (one of the most decadent foods on the planet), and finished with a sumptuous array of cheeses that Regina and I had picked up from the organic co-op. Tuesday was a busy day. Regina had to give a make-up exam (she teaches English at the university), and we had a late lunch at home.

My niece Aude is doing an internship for her hospitality program in Poitiers, so we met her during the afternoon at a Salon de Thé for big pots of tea. (Jean-Phi declined the invitation to what he calls “Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop;” when we arrived, I understood what he meant, because the place certainly could have been located in Hogsmeade. Pink, white and gold filigree dominated the décor, and the patrons were 100% female).

After tea, we made our way back to the house for a bit, then were invited to another friend’s apartment for drinks and take-out pizza. We had to rush to get to the Irish music workshop on time, but I got a chance to learn some new melodies. A long, leisurely walk through the calm nighttime streets of picturesque Poitiers was the perfect way to end my evening.

Wednesday morning I had to return, but not before I’d recorded the story of my friends’ surprise discovery in their front closet. A little trap door in the floor revealed a cavern below, a cellar of old Poitiers, with vaults to support the structure and a stairway possibly leading to a former passageway, that goes down at least thirty feet. Despite being visually impaired, Jean-Phi is a serious spelunker, and explored the space (pictured below).