Stories Collected While Living in France
A room with a view, or I should say rooms with a view. My Belle Mere's home faces an extraordinary buliding, Palace du Commerce, which astoundingly was not bombed during WWII. Across the street, where my Belle Mere lives everything was destroyed.
To think she sees this everyday when she wakes up.
What view do you have from your window?
Ahhhhh the view out my window! My favorite ever (so far) Our garden – where I have watched the trees grow since I was 9 years old. (My parents planted them and now they are so big they fill the frame) I just took some photos for you, will post them on fb soon, so you can see too.
that is a gorgeous building to see every day!
I’m on the 43rd floor and have a full sea view from every room as the sea line is only 200 m away from our building … but if could I would trade it for no view but in France 😉
I see the Garlaban ( the famous aubagne’s mountain)
I lie in bed here in Australia and I look out my window at a very different view than the one I grew up with. I see gum trees. I see my neighbours old house with it’s tin roof. The old lemon tree on the boundary line between our houses that I thought was ugly and mishappen until my neighbor told me her dad had planted it when she was a child. Now i see it in a different more flattering light. I hear the kookaburras cackle and laugh like monkeys at sunrise and sunset. I hear the loud hum of the cicadas in the evening. I wouldn’t swap it for the world …..!
It’s still dark, so I can only see some icicles dangling from the eaves just outside the window by my computer, as they are illuminated by my lamp.
Come daylight, however, we’ll see (out our back windows) a panorama of our and our neighbors’ back yards, including garden patches, home orchards and roofs, all clad in snow right now. It’s really beautiful — provided, of course, one can observe from the warmth of one’s own house 🙂
Every view out a window in France is gorgeous, in my opinion.
We do have a nice view though. We’re on the edge of hill and we can see the skyline of downtown Columbus from our front porch. It makes us feel like city dwellers in our little burg.
To the West I see our lake, now frozen. Only the small area, where the spring water comes from deep within, is open. Hundreds of wild ducks and Canadian geese are warming themselves in the spring. To the East I see our yellow stucco buildings with red tile rooftops, the barn and the guest cottage, reminding me of the Po River Valley, Italy.
Corey, how are you and your mom explaining the American mindset to Sacha in the wake of the Tucson, Arizona, assassination attempt on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the killing of six innocent bystanders, and the wounding of 13 others? It’s hard enough even for us native-born Americans to wrap our heads around; I can’t imagine what people from other countries must be thinking.
Snow, snow and more snow. A giant eiderdown blankets everything…
jackie
bliss farm antiques
Beautiful view. It’s fascinating to think how many others have enjoyed that view over the years. I am very lucky with my views. I live in Phoenix, the 5th largest city in the U.S. and yet I have mountain views from both my front and back windows – yes I live right in the city but the best view is the one I wake up to every morning, my sweet husband.
Out the back of our house, only trees, trees, trees.
Out the front, the road and neighbor’s homes.
I live in Phoenix and wake up to a view of
a corner of my house. I like how the tile roof looks in the early morning sun. In our front is a very large, old saguaro cactus.
It has many arms and is about 220 year old.
It is so beautiful.
From my bed, the sky through a skylight and all its delights. Oher windows in the front a partial view of the Pacific Ocean, and from the back a hillside and houses.
Ah, from the back of the house I see trees and, since its winter, snow, and, because it is winter and the trees are bare, a huge UPS sign a mile away.
Out the front, however, is where Paradise lies; several acres of mature trees (ours and our neighbor across the road) and my garden, silent for winter. Our cocktail table is glass and I can see the reflection of geese flying in formation overhead as they come in for a landing in our neighbor’s pond. Most days, I see deer, sometimes sixteen at once, foraging (ah, my poor plants) and playing and even enjoying some afternoon delight during rutting season. Come spring and summer, horses come past and trot into the woods nearby. It all makes up for the UPS sign.
Your mother-in-laws view is amazing. What horrible destruction of buildings, of lives, went on just across her street.
Your view reminds me of my favorite building in Paris, but the name escapes my memory at the moment.
We live twelve minutes from the busy highway, but that twelve minutes takes us far away – over a mountain and down into the valley. It takes us to paradise. We live on wooded acreage, with lots of wildlife. Our home is on a point, so we are surrounded by water on three sides. The back of the house looks across the lake, down the valley. We can also see the mountain ridge. I never want to leave.
Broadway, in Manhattan. A gray sloppy mess right now, but an ever changing view, daily entertainment!
A beautifully large back yard that I see at through a giant picture window. Everything is more beautiful now that it is covered in snow. This is my bedroom window and I always try to find a reason to hang out in there. I even do my paperwork on my bed so I can have that tranquill view.
It depends on which one I look out of, but nothing as ornate as that. What a room to play hide and seek in, your husband was lucky!
Darkness in the winter and the sunrise in spring, summer and fall.
I have a gorgeous view of Pikes Peak and can also see Garden of the Gods which “lights up” in the morning sun. It is great to visit other parts of the US and I enjoy going to Europe, but here is where I want to be!
I see tree’s that are bare, a few houses with snow on the roof, and a snow covered golf course.
Out the back french doors, I see a big yard covered in snow and many tree’s and my hibernating flower garden buried in snow.
I can pretty much see into my neighbor’s bedroom window. Her chest hanging out her bathrobe as she flings opens her shutters every morning is not always the thing I want to see most when I’m just waking up.
Oh my heart is captured! Alas my view is not as lovely.
I wanted to invite you over to Fabulous French Fridays at the Metis Linens blog as I know you too love the French lifestyle.
Your presence would add a bit of oh la la. 🙂
http://metislinens.blogspot.com
Au Revoir!
I live in Illinois, “The Prairie State”. No hills. I can see ten miles in all directions! I also see eight thousand bunny footprints running to and fro in my yard…and the places they paused to nibble on the apples I left for them…
We used to be able to see a beautiful, unobstructed sunset. Until around 100 homes were built in the way that is. It’s still beautiful, just not unobstructed.
My view when I wake up is so beautiful in every season but the cold of winter. So I use my imagination. I see the pool sweep going, I see the hummingbirds feasting, I see the cat stretching, I see the squirles running the fence line, I see the morning sun coming in, butterflies, flowers and the start of a brand new beautiful day.
THAT is a gorgeous view! So very Parisian.
From my front window, I see my neighbors across the street, the nice guys who sneak over and snowblow for me after I give up shoveling and shoveling and shoveling.
From my kitchen window, I see my HUGE garden, which I dug up with a single shovel the year I got divorced, and the gate and fences my nice brother made for me, all covered in climbing roses.
In other words, views of a completely different kind of beauty.
Oh a Parisian view – I think I would gladly give up my panoramic view of San Francisco for the Eiffle tower.
Diana from San Francisco
nothing extraordinary…..our lovely garden which we work on all the time. From the front window, our front garden and the neighborhood with all the old trees and brick tutor houses….people walking by with their dogs, our three cats roaming and playing….
Dang…yer life is sweet. My views. Nice driveway(ours) that I try to tart up with plants in pots and other eye catching stuff. Back garden out of bedroom “French” doors. v. pretty. Front windows..street, cars, neighbors ugly house.
Out the living room window, I see my porch, which is set up as an outdoor living room. Past that, the plum and cherry tree along the walkway, and people and dogs strolling down said walkway. To the left, the dome atop the Capital building, and to the right, the 3 year old neighbor playing, weather permitting. In all, a lovely view!
From my old farmhouse sink I see 28 inches of snow covering my “potager”…a little kitchen garden of raised beds containing sleeping herbs, flowers and come spring…veggies. There’s a tall post with a handcrafted purple martin birdhouse that only barn swallows and sparrows seem to use, and some picket fencing along the side facing the road. Of course I can partially see my neighbors home too through some trees, and an ever changing assortment of birds and wildlife. Life is good!
i live in the estrella foothills of az,,,,out my front window, from my computer desk, i see my pot of herbs, graceful ironwood and mesquite trees and one of the hills in the backdrop….at sundown, we have spectacular sunsets…it is idyllic now….but when summer comes, i dread the heat….
the woods, the pond with a flat bridge hand built by my son as a surprise….snow mixed with leaves…….birds,squirrels,birds,racoon,………………….sanctuary……….
You mean aside from the neighbor who walks around in his backyard naked? Well, other homes and the beautiful mountains in the distance.
Mountains…trees…I’m very lucky!
Your belle mere’s view is very nice and her home is so beautiful! I laughed so hard at your question today, as I had just opened an email from my daughter with a photo of the view from her apartment in Le Panier – black “granny” panties hanging on a clothesline.
She has an incredible view, one I would love. I look out on my backyard where we have grass, a large silver maple tree, and two large cherry trees. We have bird feeders hanging from one of the cherry trees and I love watching the birds and the squirrels snack constantly on the seeds we put out for them.
The view from my window is trees, trees, trees….and a green hill across the way. I am ignoring the fact that between me and the hill….and interspersed among the trees… there are houses. Still, if I sit on my porch, I can’t see them, but only the green….
Your photos of your visit are so lovely…
I see Sierra Nevada rangeland. Sheep, cattle, hunting coyotes and bobcats, quail, red tailed hawks circling high above. There is snow on mountains 100 miles in the distance. It’s pretty quiet here.
Looking out my favorite window – kitchen window – I see the ivy that is creeping across the glass pane – causing a lacey effect of the sunshine peeking in. All the trees are bare of leaves and I remind myself that they are sleeping until Spring. Still mourning the 5 trees destroyed by Ike Hurricane a few years ago. Love to watch the shadows cast by the morning sun – time to get my camera and capture a few shots.
Belle Mere is sweetly blessed, as you are!
Sitting on my sofa, (or sometimes at the dining room table with my laptop…)
Through wood blinds, opened to let the light flow in, I see my iron furniture I inherited, arranged on the front porch. Graceful crepe myrtle branches swaying in the wind. On top of the large columns is a “perch” that has a cement angel sitting there so the birds will not make another nest there! The dining room view is evidence of all the hard work showing, the planting and mulching I am so glad to have spent the extra time on! The bedrooms large windows open out on the French bricked courtyard with an iron fire pit and carefully picked out salvaged pieces brought back to life!
My view that most visitors comment on is the flower fields and hillside where strawberries used to grow and now it is the beautiful, colorful begonias and calla lily. The land is owned by Golden State Bulb Company, just south of Santa Cruz, California. The agricultural fields (especially floral) are lovely but I also would love a southern French village scene.
well, yeah, belle mere has me beat by a city mile! all i have now is two rivers coming together, and a tidal flat outside my garden fence. on the other hand, in brooklyn, i had a good deal of manhattan and the harbor to be seen from the pillows on the bed……. m
The skyline of a mountain with an abandoned Olympic skijump shifts each evening as the sun plunges every evening. The typical light show can be enhanced by a moondance for ludic enchantment.
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