Follow Me to France!

This is France. I will be spending the winter in the red piece of the puzzle. While I'm in France, Musings from Red Bell Farm will be on holiday as well. Follow me to France at Melanged Magic!

My Side of the Story

I gotta tell you guys...all this practice stuff is really getting on my nerves! First, she has me practice walking on a leash. A leash! Doesn't she know I'm a country dog? I don't do 'leash!' I have a very keen nose, and I have to roam around so I can sniff every blade of grass, every bush, and every post I see. It's my job! Okay...then she puts me in that crate to practice. She mumbles something I can't quite understand about an airplane, a trip, being a French doggie. What the heck is an airplane? If it's anything like that crate, I already don't like it. Oh sure...I'm a good girl. She keeps telling me that. Who's she trying to convince anyway? I already know I'm a good girl. I take great pride in that.  Anyway, into the crate I go...sigh! Doesn't she know if I'm in there I can't jump with joy and twirl in circles when I see her like I usually do? And tell me this...just how am I supposed to roll over and show people my cute belly to entice them to scratch it? People can't even see my adorable little self in that thing! Today was the worst. We actually went into town so she could 'practice' with the crate and all her other junk. Can you say 'mortified?' That's how I felt when people drove by. I know they were laughing at us. This being a little French doggie is going to be harder than I thought!

Practicing

Lucie and I made a trip to town today to practice for our trip. I wanted to make sure I could secure her travel crate on my suitcase, pull on the backpack and still keep Lucie under control on her leash. It was harder than I thought it would be. There weren't any really good places to hook the bungie cords for starters. Lucie kept wanting to go sniff the grass. Once I got her crate attached, its weight kept pulling the suitcase over. I think that happened mostly because the suitcase was empty and there wasn't any weight to counter-balance the crate. Lucie did okay walking while I pulled the 'circus wagon' behind us. We were by the Imes covered bridge and its little park which gave us a variety of terrain to practice on...cement sidewalk, boards on the bridge, gravel and grass. We made turns, stops and starts; not once did she tangle up between my legs. I'm not holding my breath that won't happen in the airport, tho, as we dodge other travelers. I even practiced putting her in the crate and carrying her...just in case I have to do that. It's do-able, but it's a workout! I can only imagine what the people driving by thought of our spectacle!

Getting From Here to There

Getting from Iowa to Cadrieu is a journey of three distinct parts. The first part takes me from Red Bell Farm to Chicago by rental car. The second piece is the flight itself from O'Hare to Charles de Gaulle. The third part is the piece that worries me the most....Charles de Gaulle to Cadrieu. I arrive at 8am after a long day of driving and a long night of flying. I'll be tired and jet-lagged. I'll have to figure out how to find Lucie, get her out of her crate and haul her, her crate and my suitcase to the rental car place (which I have absolutely no idea how to find!) Then I have to drive a strange car from the northeast outskirts of Paris to the southwest suburbs to connect to the A20 autoroute that will take me to points south. Throw in confusing French signage, a foreign language, and who knows what else and you have all the ingredients for disaster. Laury to the rescue! She's making plans right now to take the midnight train to Paris, connect with the RER to the airport and meet me on arrival! She'll be my navigator, read the maps, read the roadsigns and generally point us in the right direction. Plus she'll be there to help lift, tote and reassure. Could I do this without her help? You bet! but having her there will make it SO much easier and SO much more fun!

Shifting Gears

Lots of things remain on my 'to do' list as I get ready to fly to France on Sept. 22nd. I'm already beginning to shift gears mentally, though, as I let go of my American lifestyle and get ready to embrace a totally French one. I'd invite you to jump over to Melanged Magic to read about some of these shifts. While there is a supermarket in Cajarc, I will also be able to buy groceries in the weekly outdoor market. Almost every village of any size has a weekly market; this one is in Limogne. The one in Cajarc is on Saturday afternoon. The only limitation is how much you can put in a backpack and carry while you walk or bicycle home. Too heavy? you can always wait for the bus! Some things I won't be buying....tortillas! I don't remember ever seeing them anywhere. I also don't drink pop in France. Too pricey, especially when wine is SO cheap! Here's something else I'll give up...TV. Even if Laury had one (which she doesn't), everything is in French. I've already checked, though. I can watch whole episodes of "Project Runway" on my computer. Yes, I'll admit it...I'm addicted. "Project Runway" has it all...action, creativity, drama, and divas. Can you say Casanova?!? Everything else on TV including the news, I'm happy to do without. What do I gain in return for my American 'sacrifices?' Only the best cheese, best bread, best wine in the world! Only a lifestyle geared around great food and good company around the table! Only an opportunity to live steeped in history, art, and architecture! A good trade-off in my book.

Money, Money, Money!

I made a trip to Des Moines today to do the money thing. I gulped a bit as I transferred money out of my IRA into my savings account. It's a little scary to dip into those funds! I had to keep reminding myself that it's retirement money and THIS IS RETIREMENT! At least for now anyway. I put some money into another account, so I can buy some Euros to take with me and then shopped a little...there are a few things I need for the trip like new luggage tags and a new jump drive to load photos onto. I chuckled to myself as I picked out a backpack to buy. I've teased Laury so much about her bottomless purple backpack that she takes everywhere, but truly, she's got it right. A backpack is perfect for shopping when your transportation is your feet, a bike, or the bus. You'd be shocked at how much stuff you can stuff into a backpack!

Money and backpack....check!

Details, Details

As you can well imagine, closing up a house and organizing your life for 6 months in another country involves lots and lots of details. A mountain of details, acutally. I've been thinking about this all summer, so I had some things already in mind. This weekend I put together my master "to do" list and started a time line for completion working backwards from lift off for France.  I'm a woman on a mission! One of the first details on the list was: what to do with my houseplants? No problem finding lots of potential adoptive parents. My friend, Lacey was the first to offer, so she wins the prize. Here is the first batch stuffed into Miz Red Belle. They were delivered yesterday. Luckily the biggest plant that reaches almost to the ceiling is very flexible. I just bent over his top and closed the door. Lacey will receive the remainder of the pots next Saturday.

Houseplants...check!

The BIG Announcement!

Drum roll, please! I've done it; I've made the decision to close up my house for the winter and go to France. I couldn't be more excited! This is where I'll pass the winter....Cadrieu. I know you remember it from my month of Melange-ing Magic at Laury's house last September. No one was looking at, much less buying my property, so it was a relatively easy decision to take it off the market and maybe try again next spring. With some minor tweaking, I'll be able to winterize it and just GO! Lift off is scheduled for Sept. 22nd. I'll fly directly from Chicago to  Charles de Gaulle where I'll rent a car and drive to Cadrieu. And guess what? Lucie is coming along on this adventure! She's always said she wanted to be a little French dog and now she'll get her chance. More details to follow, of course, including an address and new email and maybe a new blog (haven't decided about that yet ) But for now, it's busy, busy, busy around here as I attend to the myriad of things that need to be done before I leave. This is truly a dream come true!

Friends Along the Way

When I read Laury's blog post over at Soar-Dream-France this morning, I was immediately reminded of this fine fellow whom I met one day last September. A visit to Rocamadour was on my agenda having seen it in my Eyewitness guidebook to the Dordogne and Southwest France. Finding the pilgrimage village wasn't a problem; finding a good place to park was, however. I pulled off on the first gravel road I saw and sure enough, it led me to a huge parking area that was mainly for RV's and trailers. It wasn't close enough to where I wanted to be, but this guy standing near the fence lured me out of my car for a quick photo op. I wanted so badly to stroke his soft muzzle and scratch that special place between his ears, but he was having none of it and backed away from the fence when I reached out to touch him. Do you think it's too much of a stretch to imagine that this donkey might be related to the one that traveled with Robert Louis Stevenson across this area in 1879?

Safe and Sound

I mailed off my 'babies' for Laury's end-of-August vernissage last week. Today she sent me this photo...they arrived, safe and sound! No broken glass, no bent frames. It looks like Dean, the Postmaster, used lots of cool stamps to send my package winging its way to France. Wonder if he knew somehow that Laury is a big stamp fan? I'm relieved to know they made it. Now Laury gets the fun of figuring out just how to hang them in her cave. My guess is she'll send me a photo of their final destination if I can't get there to take one myself. I'm still hopeful...

Addendum: Laury wrote a blogpost about my photos. Check it out at Soar-Dream-France.

Toilets

Early during my first trip to France in 2005, my friend, Mickey, brought a very curious thing to my attention: French toilets. Not the toilets exactly...those are pretty much same the world over...but rather the flushing apparatus. As she said, 'You never see two that are exactly the same. Who knew there were so many versions of toilets?' Once she said it, I couldn't help but pay attention to every toilet I saw. She's right! Very rarely did I flush exactly the same way. During my month in the Lot last September, I decided it was time to record this phenomena digitally; I took photos in every bathroom I could. Yes, I know that's kind of weird. There were times it even felt weird to me, so I'd bypass an opportunity because it just felt awkward carrying my camera into the 'loo. The past two days I've shared a few of the ways the French flush their toilets. Here are a couple more images I captured during trips to the WC....

Bidets and things...

My least favorite toilet of all...the infamous Turkish toilet still found many places in France...I even used one in Paris!

And let me leave you with this last photo taken in Roussillon on that first trip to France. It's in honor of Mickey who set me on this journey of toilet discovery! You can see her leaving the Turkish toilet stall and walking past two urinals open to all the world. I was desperate for a bathroom, but hesitated when she found this one. "What if some guy is taking a leak when I come out?"  I gasped. "Just look the other way," was her wise reply!

A Few More Clues

More clues....guess again!

Guess!

Guess?

Sepulchre

I recorded this panoramic sweep of the mountains of southwest France from atop Montsegur. The view was breath-taking; I felt as if I could see forever! I was surprised at how rugged and rural so much of France actually is. I thought of this view last week as I was reading a second Kate Mosse novel, "Sepulchre." Like "Labyrinth" this novel is also set in southwest France, in these very mountains. And like "Labyrinth, the stories in "Sepulchre" slip between two different time periods: France in 1891 and 2007. It's a melange of tarot, magic, and music, good and evil, and the universal search for family and love. While the novel can certainly be read on its own without reading 'Labyrinth," there are some threads that connect it with the other book that add richness to the story. Having seen the wildness of these mountains makes me appreciate how truly terrifying the battle against evil could be in the remote setting of Rennes-les-Bains and the fictional country estate of Domaine de la Cade. Perhaps the sleepy mountain town had stone buildings just like this one I photographed in the mountains outside of Collioure?

The Choice is Made

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the photos that I was looking at trying to decide which ones to send Laury for the August 28th vernissage at the Chatette. I emailed some of the choices and arrangements to Laury, and she called me later with her comments and suggestions. She thought framing the photos without mats would make them much more dramatic. As luck would have it, my photography store was able to make me some 8x8 inch prints that would fit nicely into the frames I had already purchased. This morning I slipped my study of peonies into the frames as Laury suggested and voila! Here is my submission to the vernissage. It's hard to get the same look as they will have in Laury's cave where they will be hung against a gorgeous stone wall and lit from above. I also haven't quite decided if this is the order they should be in; I think I'll let Laury and Patrick make the final decision on that when they hang them the evening of August 27th. With any luck I'll be there in person to voice my opinion!

Montsegur

Blogging about "Labyrinth" and the Crusade against the Cathars in southwest France has brought back memories of Montsegur. This monument honors the Cathar men, women and children who were burned here for refusing to renounce their faith. I blogged about it last September at Dona Nobis Pacem. Click here to read my thoughts on this sad moment in religious history.

City of "Labyrinth"

I recently finished a novel set in southwest France that was my kind of book.

"Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse is a 'timeslip' which the author explains is a story that slips between two different time periods. In this case, it moves between the 13th and 21st centuries. The modern part of the story begins at an archaeological dig deep in the Sabarthes Mountains just south of Montsegur; the medieval story takes place in this city, Carcassone. This photo shows the ancient walled city set high on a hill overlooking its modern off-spring below and to the left (not shown in this photo) I stopped along the Autoroute on my way 'home' from the Mediterranean shore last September when I caught a glimpse of this sight that looked to be straight out of a fairy tale. The informational plaque in the pullout told the story of Carcassone's siege during the Crusade against 'heretics' in the early 1200's. I debated....should I alter my plans and drive into Carcassone for a close-up look at this magnificent walled city or should I continue on to Cadrieu? Cadrieu won out as I had promised Laury I'd be back in time to help her set up for the vernissage. So I tucked Carcassone away for a 'next time' visit. After reading 'Labyrinth' next time can't come soon enough!

I've reviewed 'Labyrinth' over at Red Bell Reads...check it out!

Choices, Choices...

This year's vernissage at Laury's Chatette is Saturday, August 28th. I'm already hard at work figuring out which photos I will send Laury to hang on the beautiful stone walls of her cave. If you remember, last year I sent two large framed photos...a pair of Provencal shoes and an intimate close up of a luscious hollyhock. This year I've chosen to go smaller. These photos are all 5x5" and whichever one(s) I choose to frame will nestle in a matted 8x8" frame. The souls of flowers have been calling to me all spring, begging me to receive their beauty. I hardly had to be tempted at all! The choices now are which ones and how many? Should I go with just one or a cluster of four? Should a group be all the same color family or all the same flower or should I mix it up some with a yellow, a purple, a pink?

Here's the biggest choice of all....should I mail them via international post....or hand-deliver them to Cadrieu in person?

Gobsmacked!

I went to France in September last year with only a few expectations. I did that intentionally because I wanted to be open to whatever manifested during my month in the Lot. I expected to see some beautiful art and see historic places. I expected to have an adventure. Those expectations were certainly met, but as my Brit friends would say, I was totally 'gobsmacked' by the two things that were the highlights of my trip: people and pilgrimage.
I've dedicated several blog posts to pilgrimage...I feel very drawn to walking at least part of the pilgrimage path in France and I absolutely fell in love with Conques, a pilgrimage village in the Aveyron. I think it's safe to say I was 'gobsmacked' by Conques!

The people who became friends during my magical month truly were a gift. My cyber-friend, Laury became a true friend for life. I knew we were kindred souls from our blogs and our emails, but getting to know her has definitely melange'd some real magic in my life. Through Laury I became friends with Jean, Greg, Jean-Luc & Odile, Christiane & Jean-Paul, Josie & Patrick. If someone had told me that I was going to France to make friends, I would have scoffed...'no way...you don't go to France to make friends!" But make friends I did...GOBSMACKED! Laury and I continue to be in contact regularly by email and by phone. She and these others continue to melange magic in my life. It's too soon to share that magic, but let me tease just a bit...if everything falls into place, there is change in the wind.

GOBSMACKED again!

In Honor of Barns

Today I honor barns. Not this barn, though.

Nor this one.....

This is the barn that sits in the place of honor today. Because this barn, as of today, is now part of Laury's 'family' in the Lot. She signs the papers officially making it hers this afternoon...in fact, probably already has as I write this! This beautiful piece of Lotois history seemed destined to belong to the Chatette, and Laury has brought that destiny to reality. It's a magical, almost mystical place; the inside is dusty and dim, but you can feel its stories lurking under the dirt and between its ancient stones. You know the saying...'if only these walls could talk'? If only these stones could speak.... I know that Laury will hear their stories and uncover their secrets! If you want to know more of the barn story, click over to Soar-Dream-France....you won't be disappointed.