Fête de Saint Michel

Saturday, Sept. 25

Peter and Margaret, a very sweet British couple who live in Ambialet, invited us to a Fête (de Saint Michel) held in a nearby village.  Apparently, these fêtes take place throughout the summer, and might last all night and well into the next day.  This particular fête reminded me a bit of an American-style county fair... held outside in a big open space...  with the main event (in a big tent) being a several-course meal consisting of roasted pork, salad, home-made bread, a local specialty called "aligot" (Lat: aliquot?) -- an elastic mass of cheesy-potatoes fed to medieval pilgrims who were on their way to Santiago de Compostela -- followed by Roquefort, ice cream.  I should add that the bottles of wine just kept coming... and, as were eating, a very lively band played on stage (umpapa-umpapa music).  I really wanted to stay for the dance as I had already lined up a partner (see below), but some of our group got a bit tired... 

 

 

 

 

 

  

My would-be dance partner at the Fête de Saint Michel (Photos courtesy of Melanie Dollar). Apart from French and Occitan, this gentleman also speaks a bit of English, Spanish and German.  I managed to carry on a conversation with him in French (wine helped!) Melanie conversed with him in Spanish.