You're never too old to learn

Just ask Louise del Busto Gomez from the southwestern French town of Castres.

Louise del Busto Gomez swearing in ceremony (screenshot France 3)

 On Wednesday the 84-year-old - yes for the purposes of this story you might want to double check her age - officially became a lawyer at a swearing-in ceremony in the city of Toulouse.

And if that weren't enough, the octogenarian is not only qualified to practise in France but also in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

Not bad going for a woman who only began hitting the books after she had retired and had never even passed her baccalaureate or high school diploma.

Her story is one that must surely draw admiration from anyone and make us all sit up and take notice; a salutary lesson to us all.

Born in Barcelona in 1928, Gomez fled Spain during the country's civil war when she was just 11 years old, arriving in this country as a refugee.

"The day on which Franco entered Barcelona, I left the city on foot and made my way to the border with others who were escaping," she told reporters shortly after her swearing-in ceremony.

Gomez made a life for herself in France, meeting her husband Victor, bringing up two children, settling in Castres and over the years holding a variety of jobs and doing, "a bit of this and a bit of that" from helping out during harvest time, typing for a firm of solicitors, cleaning and a decade spent as a sales assistant at the local Monoprix supermarket.

When Gomez retired, she became involved in a local consumer rights association and that's when her late husband began encouraging her to pursue her studies.

 Maître Louise del Busto Gomez (screenshot France3 report)

She didn't choose the easiest of paths though; not only enrolling at the law faculty in Toulouse but also one in Barcelona at the same time.

"As far as I was concerned, Franco's Spain had deprived me of my childhood," she said.

"That's why I wanted to return to study in the city I was born."

"I had to retake all the exams necessary - in Spanish, and that wasn't easy for me because I had a French accent."

And now Gomez has qualified to practise here in France as well, attending the swearing-in ceremony in Toulouse on Wednesday.

'I'm especially moved because this ceremony made me think about my husband," Gomez said after the ceremony.

"He always encouraged me and told me I could do it," she continued

"And it's thanks to him that I can turn round today and say I'm a lawyer."

A slice of life in France - Lautrec, Tarn

As the website Travel France Online says, the French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec never set foot in the village of Lautrec in the southwest of France even though it was the ancestral home of the artist's family.

Lautrec, Tarn

But plenty of visitors tread its streets each year thanks largely to its status as one of "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France" (The most beautiful villages of France), its proximity to the striking city of Albi, and yes...the garlic.

Rue de Lengouzy, Lautrec,

Now it's not often you can say you've been to one of the garlic capital's of the world - and it's not something you might want to admit to - but l'ail rose de Lautrec (or pink garlic to the rest of us) is apparently "recognised by gourmets as prince of seasonings, with a flavour that is particularly sought after" and its growth and harvesting are strictly certified and confined to the clay-chalky hillsides surrounding the village.

For those Garlicophiles among you (there must be some) try checking out these sites for more information (both in English); the first one is a tourist site for Tarn and the second is dedicated solely to Lautrec's pink garlic.

Oh yes, and if that isn't enough, you might want to give the recipe for pink garlic soup in the photo a bash.

Yum.

Pink garlic soup recipe

Anyway, moving on rapidly from garlic, Lautrec is one of three villages in the département of Tarn (along with Castelnau de Montmiral and Puycelsi) belonging to the independent association of "Les Plus Beaux Villages de France" whose aim is to "protect and promote" French villages (of fewer than 2,000 inhabitants) which it deems to have "outstanding heritage" and which have "not turned into soulless museums or 'theme parks'".

Lautrec fits the bill perfectly.

A 30-kilometre drive from the département's main city of Albi, a Unesco World Heritage site since August 2010, and just 15 kilometres away from the second city of Castres, Lautrec is a gem with bags of historical and architectural interest for a place that boasts barely 1,700 local Lautrécois or Lautrécoises.

17th century restored windmill, Lautrec


Steps to windmill

Make your way up to 17th century mill almost near the peak of la Colline de la Salette and take a moment to catch your breath and admire how well it has been restored before going further for a panoramic view of the village.

Lautrec, Tarn - panoramic view

Lane to windmill

Take the steps down the village lane - mind how you go - and pay a visit to L'église Saint-Rémy (Saint-Rémy church) dating back to the 14th century, listed as an Historic Monument in France since 1999 and one of the village landmarks. You can't miss it.

Throughout the village you can admire the beautifully maintained traditional half-timbered houses, the 15th century market place and visit the underground grain silos all of which, according to the village's official website, "make it a veritable living history book".

Half-timbered houses

Clog maker and nature walk sign

Place des Halles, Lautrec

Place des Halles, Lautrec

For more of a taste as to what Lautrec has to offer, take a look at the accompanying YouTube video which is a diaporama of one visitor's impressions.

La Terrasse de Lautrec

And finally if you do pay the place a visit and are looking for somewhere to stay, then check out the 17th century La Terrasse de Lautrec, a bed and breakfast on rue de l'Eglise in the heart of the village, a member of the French Chambres d'Hôtes de Charme and whose magnificent front door is just asking to be knocked...very loudly.

Bon voyage.

A slice of life in France - snapshots of Castres, Tarn

Once the largest town in the département of Tarn in the southwest of France, Castres and its surrounding metropolitan area now has a population of around 44,000.

Once famous for its light industry - and especially textiles - the town is nowadays probably best known for its top flight rugby union team, and the Goya museum, which houses the largest collection of Spanish paintings in France.

With its distinctively colourful buildings, and the river Agout running through the centre, it's would be difficult for even the most hapless photographer to make a hash of the odd snapshot or two.

Statues of the town's most famous son - Jean Jaurès

Place Jean Jaurès

A square in the old town

Agout river

Town centre




A shopping street

A hairdressing salon with surely some of the most confusing opening times

A slice of life in France - Castres in Tarn

Here's a teaser for a piece that'll be coming shortly about the town of Castres, in the southwestern département of Tarn in France.

It's a beautiful place with a medieval centre and although its heyday as a textile town is well past, it's certainly worth a visit.

Perhaps most well known today for its top flight rugby team Castres Olympique, it should also be awarded a medal for a having a local hairdressing salon with what surely have to be some of the most confused opening hours around.

The salon is in the centre of the town, and all that can be said perhaps is that the good people of Castres (the Castrais and Castraises) must have more than a great deal of patience trying to work out when the place is open*...or closed.

Either that or they simply go elsewhere to have their hair cut!



*For those of you who don't speak French, mardi is Tuesday, mercredi is Wednesday and so on until samedi (Saturday).

The place is closed on lundi (Monday).