Today is a day to be thankful and to celebrate
the love in our lives.
My love affair with my husband Frank began in 1998 –
our marriage in 1999 brought two families
with four grown children together
and we now share six almost grown grandchildren
who all still live nearby in Portland, Oregon.
Our love affair with France began in 2000 with our honeymoon trip.
We have returned 21 times now to explore, traveling by car
with a trusty atlas to allow us to change our routing at a moment’s notice.
One of our favorite surprises was the wine-bottle fountain
in the church courtyard in St Nicola de Bourgueil,
which introduced us to a delightful wine.
"It just looks impossible…"
The amazing Millau bridge in the Midi-Pyrenees.
Driving over this bridge you are impressed by how solid it is.
This view, from the visitor center, makes it look flimsy.
It is as awe-inspiring as structures get.
Pont du Gard must have inspired the Gallo-Romans
in the first century, this bridge does to
the people of the 21st century.
Burgundy, France
This is a pigeon house on a farm near Agen, France.
We saw hundreds of these, some falling apart, some in use.
This is a pigeoniere, or pigeon house in Lautrec, France.
We saw variations on this theme all over southern France.
This one is in the yard of a school. It has been preserved as archetypical.
Watch that first step!
LaRoque-Gageac, Aquitania,France
We wander the back roads checking out the markets
and all things historical.
A Gallo-Romain aqueduct cuts through hard rock.
This would have been done with hand tools.
The Sep’t Ecluse.
A disused staircase lock in France.
Vaux-le-Vicomte has gardens designed by the same man who did Versailles.
When he was done, Louis had him imprisoned
on trumped up charges (sound familiar)
so he could not create another garden for anyone else!
Alsace, France, for a week at the Christmas Markets.
We stopped into Mulhouse to pick up some of the
annual fabric designed for the event.
Frank loves to photograph the Neolithic dolmens
and the lavoirs (ancient laundries).
In many towns, they are decorated and last year
we found one in use in the small village of Le Val in the Var.
This year would have taken us to the Basque country in October
and then to back to Alsace for our third visit to the Christmas markets,
a magical adventure that we will definitely repeat when travel is safe again.
We have had the pleasure to meet Corey and Yann several times,
seeing their treasure-filled home in St. Zacharie and
their fascinating Fisherman house in Cassis.
We just happened to be with Corey
the day that she had learned
that her dream of owning a home along
the harbor in Cassis had come true!
Thank you Corey for all that you do
to lift our spirits on a daily basis with your words and pictures.
Leave a Reply