Sara and Robyn say “Bonjour”

June 22: Montolieu

The little village of Aragon where we are staying has a population of 433, and its community is served by one general store and a weekly visit from a mobile market. You know the market has arrived because it beeps its horn.

About 20 minutes drive from Aragon is the village of Montolieu, population 830(so, much bigger than Aragon).

As you can see the streets are very narrow, so it was interesting to see a 50-seater coach navigate its way through the streets.

It has built its reputation around books and art. Montolieu contains fifteen bookshops, mostly specializing in second-hand and antiquarian books. Many artists also live and work in Montolieu, with five workshops and galleries of painters and sculptors and three photographers’ studios. In 1989, Michel Braibant, a bookbinder in Carcassonne, initiated the Village of the Book in Montolieu. He created the Association “Montolieu Village du Livre”, and founded the Arts and Crafts Museum of the Book.

Starting in 1991, bookshops and craftspersons of the book such as bookbinders and calligraphers set up shop in Montolieu. A museum was created, the paper mill was reactivated, nearly fifty buildings were renovated, and about fifteen beds and breakfast progressively opened up. And in 1992, Montolieu reopened its primary school.

Each year, Montolieu welcomes over 52,000 visitors. Additionally, 2,000 students from primary and high schools learn about art at workshops in the village.

When we visited the museum, there were a group of schoolchildren who were going to learn about printing. In the room where the workshop was being held, the museum director had censored some of the more lewd artwork by covering over the offensive bits with paper.

Local produce could be bought from a vending machine!

The museum displayed all types of printing presses and old typewriters, including the old Gestetner roneo machines (remember them?)

And who can tell me the difference between the keyboards on these two typewriters, and why?

The reactivated paper mill was interesting, with lights made from old lab equipment, and street art showing the emigration from Spain to France at the beginning of WW2.

The best street decoration we saw was this creative use of books….a book kebab? or perhaps shiskabook.

I’m the cook tonight….making vegetarian frittata!