Vehicular Hiking

The primary reason for our recent weekend up higher into the Alps was to just get away for a few days.  We wanted to go in a direction we don't typically spend any time in so might be fun to explore.   We didn't want to get too far away, yet we wanted to go far enough away we weren't still in our own backyard.

I left it up to Doc Leo to pick a spot perhaps two to three hours away.  He thought he had an area all picked out, so we headed in that direction.  But we'd gotten a later start than expected (I wanted to finish up a particular yard project!), and that ended up changing most of the itinerary.

However, what we ended up doing was mostly exploring the awesome mountains around us and a few little gems hidden within.  I realized it was almost like hiking by car, so I'd like to take you along on our drive.  Roll down your window and enjoy the fresh air!

Une Fête Médiévale

As I mentioned previously, on our recent camping trip we came across a medieval fair taking place in a medieval town.  We've been to two different ones over the years, in much larger settings, so it was kind of fun to check out this much smaller venue.

The first one we ever went to was probably in the first medieval town I ever visited, and it was fascinating, especially coming from the New World that didn't have such old history in the first place.  I think that one is now considered the granddaddy of them all in France, will celebrate 35 years next year, and we went the first time when it was less than ten years old!

The second one was in one of the Loire Valley castles we stumbled upon while on vacation with the family many years ago.  Somehow, we've never taken advantage of checking out others when we've seen them advertised. 

But come along with me now and see how an old Alpine town brings back its history.

Little surprises

Sometimes, life takes a few unexpected twists; and sometimes, those twists lead us down paths to adventures we really hadn't planned on or expected to have.  Our walking into a sports store in search of some new sandals for Doc Leo provided one of those twists.

Instead of finding him some new footwear, we ended up walking out with a new tent we'd been searching for during a number of years.  Our old faithful started rotting in storage, but newer versions 25 years later were far from an equal replacement. Every year we've been so disappointed we couldn't find anything we liked.

While it was frustrating that we had no time to try it out, at least we'd have something for the future.  Then another twist allowed us to actually go away for a weekend.  Here's how it all turned out!

An evening with Carmen

Some British friends of ours decided to treat themselves to a trip to the opera when they came down for their annual winter visit.  After booking about six months in advance, they found that they were going to be unable to attend after all.  However, rather than letting the tickets go to waste, we were asked if we were available and interested.

Well, let's see.  Would it be interesting enough to skip one of our two weekly chorale practices?  What a hard choice! 

Thus, we ditched sweaters and jeans and decked ourselves out in more fancy duds and took ourselves into the Old Town for a delightful evening of culture.

Dual Thanksgivings

Once again, another American Thanksgiving has come and gone.  While it has always been a special occasion for me as an American, it just happened to be our first American holiday we experienced as new foreigners living in a country where it was meaningless.  We shared it with our new French neighbors, and we’ve been sharing it with the French ever since.

This year, as last year, was interesting in that we were also guests as non-Americans put on a big spread, too.  Here’s how we enjoyed both events!

An afternoon choral songfest

As if conversing and reading in French weren't enough of a challenge, Doc Leo and I are now part of a local chorale.  Not only do we sing in French, but we've also had to belt out tunes in Spanish, Italian, Latin, Niçoise, German, and Greek! 

I tend to feel a bit smug at my perfect pronunciation when we get to sing something in English.  I also provide a bit of linguistic coaching, especially on our words that follow absolutely no grammatical rules at all.

Our group was recently invited as guest performers to a regional concert of five different groups.  I thought you might find it interesting.

Alpine trekking

Every year, our church holds a fall retreat at the camp we volunteer to help keep nice up in the mountains.  One of the annual activities is a fairly substantial hike on one of the numerous official trails.  As I belonged to a hiking club for a few years as part of our village activities, I look forward to participating in this scheduled activity.

Unfortunately, I’ve never been a very sporty person, and every year I keep getting older while there are always plenty of younger people, so it gets harder and harder to keep up.  But I continue to plug along, and I thought I’d share some of the views I captured at this year’s event last month.

When work is joy

Last month, we participated in the annual fall clean-up at the children's camp we volunteer helping keep in shape.  Over the years, we've all managed to take this property that was falling apart from lack of attention and turn it into a space of beauty and relaxation, although getting and keeping it there hasn't been so relaxing!

We now pretty much do the same things every year, so it would be boring to keep showing you the same activities.  But I like to honor the various people who dedicate their time to this endeavor each year, plus give a bit of a progress report on how everything continues to improve.

I'll start off with my own pride and joy, the pretty fire pit I brought back from a horrible mess several years ago, and now just takes a bit of annual weeding.

Wheat & Lavender

Yesterday we ended up having a spontaneous fun experience I thought you might also enjoy.  French towns like to have fun activities in the summer to pull in the tourists, and our area is no exception.  It is possible to attend open air theatre and music concerts, and the old villages like to put on folkloric presentations harking back to their traditional heritages.

Some friends from church were aware of a village festival back up in the mountains, and we all decided to go check it out.  Here are some views of the scenery, the village, and the activities we enjoyed.

A French surprise

This past year, we became part of a new local community chorale group.  When the year was over, several of us decided we'd like to get together during the summer.  We had a group dinner early in the summer, a great way to develop new friendships. 

However, I was surprised that one couple was aware of my birthday, but they sent me this adorable birthday card.  As we are both into music and cats, it was so appropriate!

Then, another couple invited us to dinner, which I thought was just a continuation of making friends.  In reality, they'd all conspired to throw me a little surprise birthday party!

It was such a fun evening, I thought I'd share my French celebration.

Beach Blanket Birthday

I have a very good friend who happens to be the same age as my second daughter.  She is a Brit married to a Frenchman and now has three kids.  You've seen them in some of my posts, as we've been involved in a number of their family activities or we have just gotten together.

It turns out that her husband and I share the same birthday, although a generation apart.  Normally they are off on vacation at this time, so we never get to celebrate together, nor do I just get to celebrate mine with my friend.

This year, however, they happened to be around, she threw him a beach party, and I was invited to participate.  So I got a beach party, too.  I thought you might enjoy the ambiance.

Another village tribute

Once again, France has had to hold an official moment of national mourning.  Communities all over the country, from small villages to the largest metropolises, gathered their local residents together for the traditional minute of silence and the laying of wreaths by the communes and other groups.

Our village was no exception, and we joined in to show our personal sympathy with many of the local friends we've made.

Nissa la Bella

Once again, my adopted country is in a state of mourning because some individual thought he was more in charge than anybody else of the personal destinies of as many people as he could touch.

While there have been recent similar tragedies in both my home and my adopted countries, now both my home state and my current region have been specifically targeted.

Yesterday, we took a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice to pay our own homage to the fallen along with many other locals.  I thought I would share the photographic impressions we brought back home with us.

Creating a Provençal Fête

Every year, usually in May, we are standing house guests for an annual wine festival held in our hosts' region.  While the cold buffet is just on Saturday afternoon, we arrive on Friday and stay until Sunday.  Not only does it make a lovely weekend get-away for us, but it provides an opportunity to visit with a dear family at least once a year. 

Sadly, last year's event was cancelled due to the death of their oldest son shortly beforehand, but we were still invited to visit a bit later.

Two years ago, I shared the afternoon's event with you.  Last year, I took you on a tour of the area instead.  This year, I thought I'd show you just what goes on behind the scenes to succeed at this marvelous event.  Doc Leo and I do our best to earn our keep!  Even the youngest generation is getting schooled on how to continue posterity.

Le Zouave de Paris

If you have been paying the remotest attention to the news recently, you will be aware that massive, disastrous flooding has been going on in multiple areas of the world all at the same time.  While I don't happen to live in one of those zones, my adopted city of Paris is definitely experiencing major flooding, more serious than the several instances that occurred when we lived there.

You may have been hearing about or seen pictures of our famous Zouave.  But you probably don't really know who he is.  So let me introduce you, as my native Parisian neighbor did to me so many years ago.

A springtime restoration

For a number of years now, we have participated in the upkeep of a camp facility.  As there is nobody local to maintain the camp, there are generally two work weeks scheduled during the year -- one in spring and one in the fall. 

As we have no full-time obligations elsewhere, Doc Leo and I usually volunteer for the whole time period.  Sometimes, we're the only ones, sometimes there's a really nice crowd.

Having been neglected since the growing season began this year, nature gave us quite a bit of exterior work to do in preparing for the summer camp season.  Here's a little of what we faced last week and how we tamed it!

PR Meet-up Monaco

Last weekend, my favorite sewing site, Pattern Review, held their annual meet-up weekend, this time in Chicago.  It must be a fabulous opportunity to meet various members who support the site and have a common interest, especially ones who are actively involved and have thus become virtual acquaintances. 

I will probably never get to find out, although I was quite sad last year when they met in Los Angeles, as I would have loved to double the trip and see all my family.

However, I did get to do the next best thing last month and participate in probably the first meet-up in Monaco!  I thought I'd share the experience as well as a little virtual tour of the second smallest country in the world.

A beach picnic

Yesterday we had a church function held down on the beach, which was followed by a picnic.  It was a really pretty day, so I thought I'd share a little Mediterranean beauty for those who can't just pop by whenever you feel like it.

The weather was actually threatening to storm, so there was a bit of wind and periodic overcast.  I'm assuming these helped to contribute to the wave activity and the super pretty color of the water.

The Twelve Days

As a child, I heard about the 12 days of Christmas in a song every year.  But nobody ever explained what it meant.  Because my grandmother's birthday was on January 6, I at least learned that that was the twelfth day itself.  When I moved to Europe, I learned about Epiphany, the official name of the twelfth day.  More importantly, I learned about the Galette du Roi, or King's cake in English. 

As we did not end up entertaining at all during the Christmas season, we had company for both New Year's Eve and Epiphany, keeping the Christmas theme.  Here's how we did the two dinners, keeping the same menu because it was so interesting.

Noël 2015

Christmas for the French is very much like Thanksgiving for Americans.  It's a very family oriented event, and it often includes very specific dishes for their big meal.  While I see these foods in the grocery store every year, I'm not too sure what they do with them, as we've never been considered family to anybody and been invited to share.

Until this year.  We have now experienced our first French Christmas as guests in a French home, and I thought I'd share it with you.