Here's our new slideshow of photos from San Miguel:
Hope you like them!
We can't believe we have been here almost three weeks. Finally recovered from my bout of San Miguel "gripe" (sore throat and congestion), I'm back into the swing of things full steam and enjoying every moment. The town still holds much charm for us, and we love the slower pace of life in Mexico. Our neighbors are friendly and it's great to start out on our jaunts into el centro greeted with "Hola," or "Buenos dios..."
Days begin with sounds: the doves cooing on our rooftop, the garbage man hitting metal on metal, like a pair of musical symbols. Garbage service here is free three days a week. We can hear the local school children walking by on their way to the Primeria (Elementary School) up the street and the rich timbre of church bells from San Antonio church just a short block away. There are different street noises for all the services: the water bottle delivery man blows a whistle, the gas guy bangs on the door to see if we need more propane and the local herrero(iron smith) calls out for scrap metal through his loudspeaker on his truck. Occasionally a man with a donkey comes by selling herbs. On Fridays we hear a loud tap on our metal front door downstairs around eleven o'clock. It's Yalanda, the flower seller. She carries a big basket filled with all sorts of beautiful fresh flowers. Last week I bought a bouquet of orange and pink lillies for 40 pesos (about $3). They're still adorning our coffee table in the.sala (our living room).
The Mexicans are entrepreneurial and the informal economy thrives while the formal one shows signs of slowing down. Restaurants seem more empty, real estate values have dropped considerably and food prices have gone up. While they are still cheaper for us than at home, it's hard on the Mexican families. Good jobs are getting more scarce.
The most joy for us comes from the simple pleasures of people watching. Yesterday, walking across the central plaza I watched a beautiful little girl chasing the pigeons. Each time she would sneak up on one of course it would take flight to her delight. She'd throw her hands up as if trying to sprout wings herself.
Both Gary and I are enjoying the many cultural offerings here. We have been attending the weekly lectures and film offerings of the Global Justice group. Last week it was a lecture entitled "The End of the Middle Class in America," presented by Jeff Faux, a nationally known economist. He has a new book coming out this summer The Servant Class. His talk was excellent though sobering as he presented his views on our economic downfall and what the future holds. Following on the film we saw the previous day, "The End of Suburbia" we felt a bit gloomy. The gloom was lifted by a night out dancing to a superb Salsa band with friends we met here two years ago. We attended a music concert which was a fundraiser for a local orphanage of abandoned young girls from 4 to 14 years of age run by some generous Catholic nuns. The gringo community has done much to raise awareness of their needs for books, art classes, and scholarships for continuing education. Sunday we hiked up in El Charco, the amazing Botanical Garden and Canyon where one can see flocks of migrating birds hanging out in the renewed wetland.
I'm involved in a weekly Literary Sala which presents interesting readings by local authors, and recently, a Video presentation of interviews with the celebrated Canadian author, Margaret Atwood. She will be one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming 7th Annual San Miguel International Writers Conference to which I will be going in February. In preparation I have been trying to work a little each day on my novel and a couple of short stories, also. I'm really looking forward to hearing the other speakers as well: author, social critic and political activist, Naomi Wolfe, celebrated Mexican writer, Elena Poniatowska and well known Native American poet and musician, Joy Harjo. I will be taking several intensive writing workshops over the four days of the conference as well.
Gary is enjoying the lectures and films, photographing the interesting and beautiful street scenes and doing some of his woodcarving. He also brought his uke down and tries to practice a little a few times a week. Our friend, Luisa, a San Miguel resident for over twenty years has come over the past two Sundays to join us for dinner and then to watch the excellent Masterpiece theatre production of Downton Abbey, Part II. We were pleased to discover we have a large flat screen TV in our casita and cable access which allows us to watch PBS from Florida! What a luxery---we don't even have cable at home and this series has caught our fancy since we watched Part I last Fall. The acting is superb with a grand cast of characters and interesting historical references to pre and post World War I England.
So, you can see there is never a dull moment in San Miguel!
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Ushering in the New Year-Feliz Año Neuvo!
Our first days in San Miguel
Click on "our first days in San Miguel" above to get our photos and/or slideshow.
It's been a great beginning of 2012 with one exception. I came down with the famous San Miguel "gripe", or flu. Everyone says "oh, esta el combio del clima," which translates "it's the change of weather." Admittedly it's very cold in the mornings and evenings and quite warm and nice during the day, but I think maybe it's a bug I picked up on the plane. Heard a lot of coughing all around us. Luckily, Gary has stayed well unlike last time when he came down with a bad case of bronchitis.
Enough about sickness. I'm feeling much better today and anxious to share with all of you some of the highlights of our first week in this fair city. We were invited by neighbors to join them for a big New Year's eve celebration on Saturday night but I was just too sick to attend. It was fun hearing the music wafting up through our window, at least for awhile. It finally halted at 4 am and we were glad to get to sleep sadly without the benefit of the partying and dancing going on downstairs. Everyone greets us on the street with "Feliz Año Nuevo" and we're enjoying our friendly "barrio," including the local grocer up the street, Antonio, where we can shop daily for fresh fruits and vegies and just about anything else we need at very reasonable prices.
A highlight this week was attending a poetry reading at the Bibliotecha. I was happy to learn about SOL, a literary magazine specifically for stories by Americans living in Mexico. I'm going to check it out and perhaps send one of my stories eventually. On Wednesday we were invited by our dear friend, Francisca Vasquez, with whom we have lived the past three visits to San Miguel, in the cute apartment she has rented to us. We have become very fond of her and her family since I first met them in 1999, when I came to San Miguel to study Spanish and she was my "host mother." They were having an early celebration of Dia de los Reyes Magos, Day of the Three Wise Men. Here in Mexico it is even more important than Christmas day. It is the day when the children look forward to receiving presents like the Three Kings purportedly brought to baby Jesus. It is on Jan. 6th but our friends were celebrating a day early since Francisca's daughter and her family, who live in Texas and who had been here for the holidays had to fly back on the 5th.
The tradition is that everyone gathers around a manger scene, where the children rock a small doll sybolic of Jesus while everyone sings and several prayers are offered. We were forgiven for not participating in this ritual. The chosen children walk around with the baby Jesus in the cradle (in this case a scarf) and everyone leans down and kisses the head and is given a candy. Afterwards we all gathered in the dining room for a big feast of tamales, both with pork and sweet ones for dessert, chocolate and a delicious drink made with strawberries. We enjoyed their comraderie and the warmth they all showed towards us. We felt like part of the family. My throat got some extra exercise translating the Spanish for Gary, which probably wasn't too helpful for my recovery. I spent most of next day, laying low, reading and trying to get some writing done. In the afternoon we walked down to our favorite coffee spot, Monet's (think I mentioned it in the last Blog) and low and behold there were Los Reyes Magos, the Three Wisemen on horses and in costumes throwing candy to the throngs of children lining the street. A flatbead truck was decorated with a manger scene with a live Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus. It moved along slowly towards the center of town, El Jardin and people in the parade passed out baloons and more candy. One more fiesta in our collection of enjoyable holidays in Mexico.
Josafina came today for the third time since our arrival. She's the maid that works for Kathleen and Ron two days a week, cleaning the casa, doing wash and helping keep the terrace plants thriving. She is a sweet woman and it's another nice opportunity for me to practice my Spanish. She doesn't speak a word of English. I've never had a maid in my life but realize how important this is to helping the local economy and we are happy to contribute in this way.
I've created a slideshow of photos from our first week but am having quite a time downloading them onto my blogsite. I need an IT person to help but should be able to figure it out soon. Bare with me, por favor!
Buen Año Nuevo! Sher
Click on "our first days in San Miguel" above to get our photos and/or slideshow.
It's been a great beginning of 2012 with one exception. I came down with the famous San Miguel "gripe", or flu. Everyone says "oh, esta el combio del clima," which translates "it's the change of weather." Admittedly it's very cold in the mornings and evenings and quite warm and nice during the day, but I think maybe it's a bug I picked up on the plane. Heard a lot of coughing all around us. Luckily, Gary has stayed well unlike last time when he came down with a bad case of bronchitis.
Enough about sickness. I'm feeling much better today and anxious to share with all of you some of the highlights of our first week in this fair city. We were invited by neighbors to join them for a big New Year's eve celebration on Saturday night but I was just too sick to attend. It was fun hearing the music wafting up through our window, at least for awhile. It finally halted at 4 am and we were glad to get to sleep sadly without the benefit of the partying and dancing going on downstairs. Everyone greets us on the street with "Feliz Año Nuevo" and we're enjoying our friendly "barrio," including the local grocer up the street, Antonio, where we can shop daily for fresh fruits and vegies and just about anything else we need at very reasonable prices.
A highlight this week was attending a poetry reading at the Bibliotecha. I was happy to learn about SOL, a literary magazine specifically for stories by Americans living in Mexico. I'm going to check it out and perhaps send one of my stories eventually. On Wednesday we were invited by our dear friend, Francisca Vasquez, with whom we have lived the past three visits to San Miguel, in the cute apartment she has rented to us. We have become very fond of her and her family since I first met them in 1999, when I came to San Miguel to study Spanish and she was my "host mother." They were having an early celebration of Dia de los Reyes Magos, Day of the Three Wise Men. Here in Mexico it is even more important than Christmas day. It is the day when the children look forward to receiving presents like the Three Kings purportedly brought to baby Jesus. It is on Jan. 6th but our friends were celebrating a day early since Francisca's daughter and her family, who live in Texas and who had been here for the holidays had to fly back on the 5th.
The tradition is that everyone gathers around a manger scene, where the children rock a small doll sybolic of Jesus while everyone sings and several prayers are offered. We were forgiven for not participating in this ritual. The chosen children walk around with the baby Jesus in the cradle (in this case a scarf) and everyone leans down and kisses the head and is given a candy. Afterwards we all gathered in the dining room for a big feast of tamales, both with pork and sweet ones for dessert, chocolate and a delicious drink made with strawberries. We enjoyed their comraderie and the warmth they all showed towards us. We felt like part of the family. My throat got some extra exercise translating the Spanish for Gary, which probably wasn't too helpful for my recovery. I spent most of next day, laying low, reading and trying to get some writing done. In the afternoon we walked down to our favorite coffee spot, Monet's (think I mentioned it in the last Blog) and low and behold there were Los Reyes Magos, the Three Wisemen on horses and in costumes throwing candy to the throngs of children lining the street. A flatbead truck was decorated with a manger scene with a live Joseph and Mary and baby Jesus. It moved along slowly towards the center of town, El Jardin and people in the parade passed out baloons and more candy. One more fiesta in our collection of enjoyable holidays in Mexico.
Josafina came today for the third time since our arrival. She's the maid that works for Kathleen and Ron two days a week, cleaning the casa, doing wash and helping keep the terrace plants thriving. She is a sweet woman and it's another nice opportunity for me to practice my Spanish. She doesn't speak a word of English. I've never had a maid in my life but realize how important this is to helping the local economy and we are happy to contribute in this way.
I've created a slideshow of photos from our first week but am having quite a time downloading them onto my blogsite. I need an IT person to help but should be able to figure it out soon. Bare with me, por favor!
Buen Año Nuevo! Sher
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Back in San Miguel de Allende
Waking up again in San Miguel de Allende is such a treat. After a rather arduous trip down via two stopovers, one in Las Vegas and one in Mexico City, we were happy to arrive at Casa La Amarillo, the house of our friends on La Palma in the barrio of San Antonio last Wednesday morining. Our amigos, Kathleen and Ron Hughes, met us with open arms, conducted us to Monet's, their local hangout. Charming like most San Miguel cafes and restaurants, Monet's offers a wide assortment of delicious foods and beverages, including "Unhappy Hour" from 8-11am with a special 35 peso breakfast. With our current good exchange rate that's only about $2.50. See why we save money living in Mexico? Que bueno!
Coming back to the house after some fun catching up over breakfast, we poured ourselves into a big comfy bed in our "new" bedroom and snoozed deeply until 3:00 in the afternoon. Kathleen and Ron realized we needed the sleep and were so quiet. When we woke up we went downstairs with K and R to meet our neighbors, Kim and Harry. We're in a two story casita with our own entrance and a rooftop patio off the kitchen. Lots of light streams in from front and kitchen windows. Love it! Everywhere there's something interesting to look out on. Distant hillsides and closer rooftops, some pretty with colorful pots and others with just the typical rebar sticking up, grace our vistas. That's one of those "only in Mexico" stories I may not have told you before. In order to avoid higher property taxes, Mexicans keep their houses in a slightly unfinished state with the rooftop terraces never quite finished. Clever! We also met our Landlady, Margarita who lives down a side alley next to our casa. Her whole family shares the space along with a couple of other charming rentals. Kathleen and Ron have been renting this place now for nine years and love the mostly Mexican neighborhood. Up the street is San Antonio Church and a beautiful square with scattered park benches and flora. Our local shop for groceries, abarrotes, is right on the square and we've already struck up a friendship with the owner, Antonio, who's very nice and full of fun. We can get everything there including fresh vegies and fruits. We paid only about 75 cents yesterday for five delicious big grapefruits, one of our favorite breakfast foods along with papayas, bananas and pineapple. Ummm!
Our local favorite restaurant is Rincocita a few blocks from us. K and R took us there for dinner the night before they left on December 30th. A very pleasant couple own and run it. The ambience and food are superior. Our neighborhood is quiet---well, most of the time, until locals decide to set off celebratory firecrackers or have an all night band for New Year's Eve. All part of the Mexican experience.
After our friends left early Friday morning, we walked into town and went back to some of our favorite haunts like El Jardin, the big and beautiful central plaza of San Miguel where families stroll and gather to share stories, children play and birds chirp. We walked the side streets, small cobblestoned calles, and stopped to say "hola" to a couple of shopkeepers we remembered from our past stays here. We got back at the casita and enjoyed preparing dinner in our sweet and accommodating kitchen. K and R have equipped it with everything one would need: French Press coffee maker, waffle iron, blender, a wok,great utensils and knives(sharper than the ones I have at home),and beautiful Mexican pottery. We feel very fortunate to be able to live here for the next three months.
New Years Eve we were invited to Margarita and Luis' party downstairs but, unfortunately, I came down with a sore throat and just didn't feel like mixing with the crowd or spreading my germs. Gary, too, felt tired. We realized we were still catching up from our activity filled holidays. Staying in felt good. We enjoyed the flickering lights in our window that Ron had put up for the holidays and those across our street, the music wafting up to our terrace where we indulged in a couple of margaritas with our homemade guacolmole and chips. We had a good dinner of local roast chicken we picked up earlier in the day and then just curled up on the couch to watch a TV movie on R & K's big wide Flat Screen TV. We ushered in the New Years with a hug and a toast and t;hen fell into bed, sounds of the music below lulling us to sleep---well, lulling is probably not quite the word, but you get the picture.
Yes, we have everything here, except our family and friends and that's why we will enjoy keeping up with your activities, too. We hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season and the New Year brings you good health, wonderful adventures and peace and prosperity!
Abrazos, Sher
P.S. Stay tuned: I'm still trying to figure out how to load my photos onto my blogspot.
Coming back to the house after some fun catching up over breakfast, we poured ourselves into a big comfy bed in our "new" bedroom and snoozed deeply until 3:00 in the afternoon. Kathleen and Ron realized we needed the sleep and were so quiet. When we woke up we went downstairs with K and R to meet our neighbors, Kim and Harry. We're in a two story casita with our own entrance and a rooftop patio off the kitchen. Lots of light streams in from front and kitchen windows. Love it! Everywhere there's something interesting to look out on. Distant hillsides and closer rooftops, some pretty with colorful pots and others with just the typical rebar sticking up, grace our vistas. That's one of those "only in Mexico" stories I may not have told you before. In order to avoid higher property taxes, Mexicans keep their houses in a slightly unfinished state with the rooftop terraces never quite finished. Clever! We also met our Landlady, Margarita who lives down a side alley next to our casa. Her whole family shares the space along with a couple of other charming rentals. Kathleen and Ron have been renting this place now for nine years and love the mostly Mexican neighborhood. Up the street is San Antonio Church and a beautiful square with scattered park benches and flora. Our local shop for groceries, abarrotes, is right on the square and we've already struck up a friendship with the owner, Antonio, who's very nice and full of fun. We can get everything there including fresh vegies and fruits. We paid only about 75 cents yesterday for five delicious big grapefruits, one of our favorite breakfast foods along with papayas, bananas and pineapple. Ummm!
Our local favorite restaurant is Rincocita a few blocks from us. K and R took us there for dinner the night before they left on December 30th. A very pleasant couple own and run it. The ambience and food are superior. Our neighborhood is quiet---well, most of the time, until locals decide to set off celebratory firecrackers or have an all night band for New Year's Eve. All part of the Mexican experience.
After our friends left early Friday morning, we walked into town and went back to some of our favorite haunts like El Jardin, the big and beautiful central plaza of San Miguel where families stroll and gather to share stories, children play and birds chirp. We walked the side streets, small cobblestoned calles, and stopped to say "hola" to a couple of shopkeepers we remembered from our past stays here. We got back at the casita and enjoyed preparing dinner in our sweet and accommodating kitchen. K and R have equipped it with everything one would need: French Press coffee maker, waffle iron, blender, a wok,great utensils and knives(sharper than the ones I have at home),and beautiful Mexican pottery. We feel very fortunate to be able to live here for the next three months.
New Years Eve we were invited to Margarita and Luis' party downstairs but, unfortunately, I came down with a sore throat and just didn't feel like mixing with the crowd or spreading my germs. Gary, too, felt tired. We realized we were still catching up from our activity filled holidays. Staying in felt good. We enjoyed the flickering lights in our window that Ron had put up for the holidays and those across our street, the music wafting up to our terrace where we indulged in a couple of margaritas with our homemade guacolmole and chips. We had a good dinner of local roast chicken we picked up earlier in the day and then just curled up on the couch to watch a TV movie on R & K's big wide Flat Screen TV. We ushered in the New Years with a hug and a toast and t;hen fell into bed, sounds of the music below lulling us to sleep---well, lulling is probably not quite the word, but you get the picture.
Yes, we have everything here, except our family and friends and that's why we will enjoy keeping up with your activities, too. We hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season and the New Year brings you good health, wonderful adventures and peace and prosperity!
Abrazos, Sher
P.S. Stay tuned: I'm still trying to figure out how to load my photos onto my blogspot.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Off to Mexico-December 2011
Well, its been a whole year and a half since I posted news on my blog. Hope you don't think the adventures have stopped. It's been a very busy, mostly fun time. I've been so busy with other types of writing that I just haven't felt the urge to enter a new post. I've been going to writers workshops, working on my novel and some short stories and enjoying life in general.
The travel bug is always biting us, and when friends asked "Why don't you come down to San Miguel de Allende and stay in our place for three months while we're away?"---well how could we resist that? We love San Miguel and it's a chance to attend the annual Writers Conference in February and to visit our old haunts, favorite restaurants,and practice our Spanish! Plus leave rainy, grey skies of Oregon.
After a wonderful family Christmas celebration, we're off to Mexico tomorrow. We'll keep you posted on our new adventures when there's something interesting happening. It may be intermittent, but hope you will enjoy whenever the epistles arrive.
Gary and I send you our best wishes for a Happy New Year with good health, plenty of fun adventures of your own and Peace.
Sher
The travel bug is always biting us, and when friends asked "Why don't you come down to San Miguel de Allende and stay in our place for three months while we're away?"---well how could we resist that? We love San Miguel and it's a chance to attend the annual Writers Conference in February and to visit our old haunts, favorite restaurants,and practice our Spanish! Plus leave rainy, grey skies of Oregon.
After a wonderful family Christmas celebration, we're off to Mexico tomorrow. We'll keep you posted on our new adventures when there's something interesting happening. It may be intermittent, but hope you will enjoy whenever the epistles arrive.
Gary and I send you our best wishes for a Happy New Year with good health, plenty of fun adventures of your own and Peace.
Sher
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Last days in France: visits with Michelle and the Ile-de-Re
Well, the last few days have been fun, catching up with Michelle and then we had a wonderful weekend at
the Ile-de-Re, the small island off the coast of France, near La Rochelle. We have gone there for years whenever we are in France, as Michelle's family had a small vacation house there since 1956. When I was 21 years old and came to France to work, met Michelle and was "adopted" so kindly by her family, we would often go there for weekends. Its charming small fishing villages, narrow cobbled streets edged by rose tremiers (hollyhocks) and white washed, tile roofed houses with their green and blue wooden shutters and doors are high on the registry of picturesque places. There are also the beautiful beaches, and lighthouses which dot the island, as well as winding bike paths. Needless to say it has always been one of my favorite places in France. Since Michelle's father died in 2003 at 91, when we were here, the property went to Michelle's brother who bought an adjoining lot, tore down the old house and has rebuilt a beautiful vacation home with four bedrooms each with its own full bath, a piscine (swimming pool), lovely terrace and garden. I had the joy of seeing it during a short visit in 2007 but Gary had not yet been there. . We are very close to Claude, Michelle's brothert (I have known him since he was 16 years old) and his wife Aline, their daughter Florence and husband Edmond and their two darling children, Camille (5 years) and Thomas (almost 3). We, in fact, had attended Florence and Edmond's wedding in 2003 and had not seen the childtren yet. So, it was so fun to go to the island along with the whole family and spend three days there. Luckily, we had beautiful weather on Saturday and walked the beach, strolled in the tiny "bourg", the center of their town of Le Bois and visited the other towns as well. Gary and Claude even got a chance to faire le velo, bike, while Michelle, and I visited with other friends.
Aline is a wonderful cook and it seemed we ate all weekend, wonderful meals with wine, always ending with big plates of a selection of France's delicious cheeses (camembert, le chevre, bleu d'auvergne, conte, and many others), along with, of course, the crunchy crusted baguettes. We enjoyed the fruit compotes and confitures made by Claud and Michelle, the fresh tomatos from their gardens which were so sweet and the moules (mussels) and local fish. Every meal was like eatting out at the best French restaurants. We felt very spoiled and lucky at the same time to experience such gracious hospitality.
It was delightful, too, to be with the young people and the darling children of Edmond and Florence, wathing them delight in the small merry-go-round at Le Bois and swimming in the pool. They are so cute, reminding us of our own grandchildren when they were petit.
Good times must always come to an end and we are wrapping up this fantastic trip, preparing for our departure by train to Paris tomorrow where we will spend our last day before "take off" to the USA and home! It has truly been a grand adventure and we hope friends and family have enjoyed it, vicariously. Stay tuned for photos!
the Ile-de-Re, the small island off the coast of France, near La Rochelle. We have gone there for years whenever we are in France, as Michelle's family had a small vacation house there since 1956. When I was 21 years old and came to France to work, met Michelle and was "adopted" so kindly by her family, we would often go there for weekends. Its charming small fishing villages, narrow cobbled streets edged by rose tremiers (hollyhocks) and white washed, tile roofed houses with their green and blue wooden shutters and doors are high on the registry of picturesque places. There are also the beautiful beaches, and lighthouses which dot the island, as well as winding bike paths. Needless to say it has always been one of my favorite places in France. Since Michelle's father died in 2003 at 91, when we were here, the property went to Michelle's brother who bought an adjoining lot, tore down the old house and has rebuilt a beautiful vacation home with four bedrooms each with its own full bath, a piscine (swimming pool), lovely terrace and garden. I had the joy of seeing it during a short visit in 2007 but Gary had not yet been there. . We are very close to Claude, Michelle's brothert (I have known him since he was 16 years old) and his wife Aline, their daughter Florence and husband Edmond and their two darling children, Camille (5 years) and Thomas (almost 3). We, in fact, had attended Florence and Edmond's wedding in 2003 and had not seen the childtren yet. So, it was so fun to go to the island along with the whole family and spend three days there. Luckily, we had beautiful weather on Saturday and walked the beach, strolled in the tiny "bourg", the center of their town of Le Bois and visited the other towns as well. Gary and Claude even got a chance to faire le velo, bike, while Michelle, and I visited with other friends.
Aline is a wonderful cook and it seemed we ate all weekend, wonderful meals with wine, always ending with big plates of a selection of France's delicious cheeses (camembert, le chevre, bleu d'auvergne, conte, and many others), along with, of course, the crunchy crusted baguettes. We enjoyed the fruit compotes and confitures made by Claud and Michelle, the fresh tomatos from their gardens which were so sweet and the moules (mussels) and local fish. Every meal was like eatting out at the best French restaurants. We felt very spoiled and lucky at the same time to experience such gracious hospitality.
It was delightful, too, to be with the young people and the darling children of Edmond and Florence, wathing them delight in the small merry-go-round at Le Bois and swimming in the pool. They are so cute, reminding us of our own grandchildren when they were petit.
Good times must always come to an end and we are wrapping up this fantastic trip, preparing for our departure by train to Paris tomorrow where we will spend our last day before "take off" to the USA and home! It has truly been a grand adventure and we hope friends and family have enjoyed it, vicariously. Stay tuned for photos!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Last Days in France:Visiting friends in Auvergne
We arrived in Paris from Turkey on the afternoon of September 25th and proceeded to the train station,Gare de Lyon, to catch our train to Clermont-Ferrand, in the region known as Auvergne, where we have long time friends, Marie Claude and Guy Oziol and also, Theo and Viviane Le Calvez, two wonderful couples we have known for over 30 years. They have also visited us in the US so it's always a pleasure to les revoir ( to see them again). We have many shared memories of good times.
Our ami, Guy, was waiting for us at the station and whisked us off to their charming house in Plausat, a little village of about 1300 people where he and Marie Claude remodeled an old winery years ago to be their home. They are both artists and the house attests to their talents. In the living room they left an old grape press which is the centerpiece for a magical room filled with treasures from their travels and the textures of wood and stone. I will be adding photos soon.
We had a wonderful reunion with Marie Claude and Guy and the four of us stayed up talking until 12:30 am, finally going off to our beds to renew our energies for the next days' activities that they had planned,. On Sunday we had the pleasure of reuniting with our mutual friends Viviane and Theo, who also have a very interesting home in a neighboring village. They have been remodeling this very old stone house for several years and it is charming,also. Guy and Marie were very excited to share with us what they call "l'ermitage", now titled "Fontzeute" after its origin as an ancient Roman spring and grotto where a stone tower was erected. We first saw this seven years ago when we visited just after Guy had bought this 'pile of stones"--the ruins of the past structure. Guy has always had a profond intereste in historical places and restoration of old building as evidenced by his home. It was his intention to surprise us with the renovated state of the place and what a surprise. It is amazing and only photos will tell the story. Marie had prepared a wonderful French four course "dejeuner" (lunch) and Vivian and Theo joined us at this delightful spot filled with atmosphere (no lights or indoor plumbing yet). Also joining us were Vivian, the 25 year old son of Guy and Marie and his "copine" (something like a fiance) Vanessa. It was so much fun to see Vivian who we last saw when he was just 17 years old. He looks a lot like his father and has a delightful personality.
We ate under the light of an antique kerosene chandelier. Needless to say the meal was delicious and we ended with deliciious French cheeses, fruit and special custards which Viviane (notioce the feminine spelling of her name not to be confused with Guy's son's name) had brought. Gary was in seventh heaven as he adores the Frenches cheeses, and everything was gluten free. They even brought special GF baguettes for him. The meal was accompanied by an assortment of wines, the reds and whites starting with an apertif of champagen---need I say that we laughed a lot (rigole) and everyone felt quite gay by the end of the afternoon, We left there to visit Viviane and Theo's house and have a coffee and arrived back chez Guy and Marie after a wonderful day. The next day Marie had to work (she is an art therapist at a local hospital for people with mental problems) but Guy had planned a delightful siteseeing day. Vanessa joined us as she is currently unemployed, looking for work in Le Puy where Vivian has just been hired as a graphic artist in a computer business. Le Puy en Velay is located in the Haute Loire region about an hour and a half from Clermont Ferrand and the home of the Oziols. It is a charming small city. On the way there, we visited a beautiful village and old Romanesque church, Lavadieux, known for it beautiful cloister where Benedictine nuns had lived. We had a great tour with a guide, very fluent in English. Again photos will tell the story.
After another stop along the way to Le Puy, at an old Roman Basilica, we arrived at Vivian's office quite delighted to visit Vivian's new place of work. We went to lunch at "Flunch" (note the "franglais", mixture of French and English), a restaurant chain in France which offers quite good food, cafeterial style but with French flair. Gary and I got quite a kinck out of the name "Flunch" and the titles of various dishes, like
"Arizona Kebabs", a French open faced beef sandwish, and "Poulet Kentucky" (you can easily guess what that was). Our choice was a wonderful salad bar with a fabulous assortment of culinary delights. We ended with glace au chocolat (chocolate ice cream0 and cappucino. After lunch we had time to visit Vivian and Vanessa's brand new apartment and then said our goodbyes to the two young people and went back to Plausat for a fun dinner with Marie and Guy. Another late night of talking and laughing with me trying to keep up the translations for Gary. Marie makes a good effort at trying to speak a little English for Gary.
We ended up having a lot of laughs.
The next morning, at our request, Guy and Marie shared much of their artwork and photos from their trips to China with us. They have traveled to China three times in the last ten years and delight in the many things they see there as well as some treasures they have purchased. We then realized we had to pack our bags, eat lunch and leave for Poitiers. Although, we had suggested we take the train to Poitiers when corresponding a few weeks before our departure from the U.S. they insisted they wanted to drive us to Poitiers, where my dear girlfriend of 47 years, Michelle, lives. They had the opportunity to meet her many years ago when we were in France and looked forward to seeing her again and she, them. We had a delightful 4 hours drive in the car arriving at Michelle's at 6 pm. It was another great "reunion" and Michelle had prepared a wonderful dinner for us all beginning with an aperitif and delicion melon ---tres sucree (very sweet). Again, another late night and we all went off to bed very happy. The next morning, after petit dejeuner (breakfast) Guy and Marie said their goodbyes as Marie had to get back in time for a art therapy client at her studio in the afternoon. It was hard to say "au revoir" but we know we will see them again, perhaps in the USA in a year or two. They are planning to come and their son and his girlfriend, too.
Here, I must interrupt myself with a few comments about something which has come to our attention: many foreigners are finding it very hard to enter our country even after they have tried to follow all the necessary rules, applying for Visas thtrough the American Consulate, filling out the innumberable papers (they say it is a bit annoying as the 30-40 pages of questions of which many are quite personal and invasive take a long time to ciomplete. This was never the case in the past and it is discouraging for many and does not make them feel that America is a very friendly or inviting place. It makes us sad. Last night we were at another friend's house for dinner and she commented that friends of hers were even at the airport with Visas in hand and a trip planned to see friends in the US and they were denied passage to their flight with no reason given. It was very upsetting. They had electronic tickets which were non-refundable and now have to try to get their money back. They had to cancel their trip, of course. We will write to our Congressional representatives about this situation when we arrive home. It is sad to feel we live in a country with closed doors!
A bientot!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Turkey: Ahmet, Ismet and Mamet and of course, Ali
Turkey: Ahmet, Ismet, Mamet and Ali and a whole host of friendly people
As we fly through the air from Istanbul to Paris, at 35,000 ft., I am reflecting back on the last two weeks remarkable experiences in Turkey. How to best reflect the amazing experiences we have had, the many kind people we have met, both Turkish, and those from other lands who joined us on various excursions, the delicious foods we have consumed, the amazing historical sites we have visited and photographed to share with all of you at home. It is hard to encapsulate into one short partagraph or even essay but I will try my best.
First, I must say that the Turkish people have shown us nothing but hospitality and kindness and at times, extraordinary support in going out ot their way to help us. An example of the latter means I must incriminate myself but so be it. In my enthusiasm and excitement a few days ago after a day and a half at Dalyan on the Mediterranean coast, as we were preparing to leave, I did a stupid thing---I left my camera on the hook of a bathroom door, not even the women’s but men’s restroom, to make matters worse,downstairs from the lobby of a lovely hotel where we were staying. I did this as I was in haste wanting not to keep our driver, Ahmet, waiting. He was arriving momentarily to pick us up and drive us to Dalaman, just twenty minutes away to the bus depot where we were to board the bus for Antalia, our last stop on our Turkey journey. Well, unfortunately, I did not remember that I had left the camera until we were just getting ready to board the bus. Ahmet called the hotel and asked if they had found it--- .I can only imagine the chaos this created for them as they searched and had to report it was nowhere to be found. Ahmet looked so sad and I quickly assured him it was not his fault but mine and not to worry but I boarded the bus with a heavy heart as I thought about not only the value of the camera but, perhaps more important, the many photos I had taken and the memories they represented for me. Thankfully, Gary had taken photos with his camera, also, but we often take different photos respective of our own individual interests. Feeling a bit crestfallen, we settled in for the 5 hour bus trip to Altalia on th southern Turkish coast. Shortly into the trip, the young man on the luxry bus, who helps the driver, approached me with a cell phone and said I had a phone call. It was from Ahmet who was calling to say he had a call from the hotel: they had found my camera and were sending it by Taxi to Dalaman where Ahmet would retrieve it and then send it by “cargo express” to me in Antalia. My mother always said I was born under a lucky star and indeed, my life has proved that inumerable times. How thankful for Ahmet and the lovely people at the hotel.. I could not help but wonder if the same trouble would have been endured by us in helping a foreigner in our country. A good lesson.
Speaking of helpful people, we were next to meet Ismet, who met us at the bus station, carried our suitcase to his car and graciously extended a welcome, taking us to the travel agency which was arranging a tour for us the next day. It turned out that Ismet would be our guide and how good that was. His English was perfect, he was knowledgeable about the place we would be visiting and we immediately felt a kinship with him. Arriving at the agency in the old town section of Antalia near our hotel, we were delighted to meet the woman owner who greeted us warmly and assured us she had received a call from Ahmet, also and that my camera would be arriving by the next day. Ismet then dropped us off at the beautiful B & B where we had reservations. We entered from a narrow cobbled street through old wooden doors into a beautiful courtyard and a kind man greeted us and showed us to our room which was lovely, decorated with Turkish rug, a lovely sitting area and round brass tray table, windows that looked out into the streets below, a huge comforatable bed covered in a lovekly cover of silk brocade, and lit by hanging Turkish lamps on either side. Our bathroom, though small, was delightfully coverd in blue, white and red floral tiles with the tulip motif we saw everywhere in Turkey.We settled in quickly and went downstairs passing the lovely courtyard swimming pool right next to the steps of our room and deciding on a swim later. We were hungry and decided to eat right there as it was quiet and peaceful and the gentleman who had greeted us said we were welcome to have dinner there. We enjoyed the solitude as there was only one other family eating at the moment on the patio. We later learned that they were family friends of the owner’s son, the manager. They had two small boys and we were reminded of the time when we were traveling in Europe with Dawn and Tiffany, ages 3 and ½ and 5, so many years ago. Precious memories. The little boys were curious about us and we soon struck up a conversation with them with our limited Turkish. The father spoke a little English and made a point to get up from the table and come over to welcome us to Turkey. These kindnesses extended to us were not the extraordinary, but the usual throughout our two weeks in this land of bright sunshine, hot tea (chai) and extraordinary historical sites and natural beauty. in Turkey. One cannot but hope we would do the same for a traveling Muslim individual or family in our country.
Speaking of courtesies, we must add, as we have just finished imbibing red wine and eating a delicious 3 course meal on our flight, that Turkish Airlines is the best. We have flown Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Cappadocia and now from Antalia to Istanbul and on to Paris. It receives our heartfelt endorsement.
Now, I must backtrack a bit to catch you up on our adventures since we left Pammukale to go southeast to the Mediterranean coast and the small seaside village of Dalyan, one of our favorite spots. We were only there for a day and a half but vowed to come back and bring our family and friends. The charm of Dalyan is its location at the intersection of the ocean and a beautiful big lake connected by a canal which one navigates by small covered boats back and forth from beach to lake. The small stone streets are filled with shops for tourists, good restaurants, small inns and boutique hotels and the small tiles roofed homes of the local residents who we expect are all employed in the tourist industry bringing happiness and joy to us lucky ones who can visit their beautiful spot on earth. Of course, the weather continued to be beautiful with 75-85 degree days.
Now we are in France and it is cold but we are warmed by the wonderful hospitality of our French friends in Auvergne in the center of France. They live in a charming small village and it has been a great day renewing our friendship and catvhing up with one another. There is much to tell but we will continue later. In the mean time "au revoir" for now!
As we fly through the air from Istanbul to Paris, at 35,000 ft., I am reflecting back on the last two weeks remarkable experiences in Turkey. How to best reflect the amazing experiences we have had, the many kind people we have met, both Turkish, and those from other lands who joined us on various excursions, the delicious foods we have consumed, the amazing historical sites we have visited and photographed to share with all of you at home. It is hard to encapsulate into one short partagraph or even essay but I will try my best.
First, I must say that the Turkish people have shown us nothing but hospitality and kindness and at times, extraordinary support in going out ot their way to help us. An example of the latter means I must incriminate myself but so be it. In my enthusiasm and excitement a few days ago after a day and a half at Dalyan on the Mediterranean coast, as we were preparing to leave, I did a stupid thing---I left my camera on the hook of a bathroom door, not even the women’s but men’s restroom, to make matters worse,downstairs from the lobby of a lovely hotel where we were staying. I did this as I was in haste wanting not to keep our driver, Ahmet, waiting. He was arriving momentarily to pick us up and drive us to Dalaman, just twenty minutes away to the bus depot where we were to board the bus for Antalia, our last stop on our Turkey journey. Well, unfortunately, I did not remember that I had left the camera until we were just getting ready to board the bus. Ahmet called the hotel and asked if they had found it--- .I can only imagine the chaos this created for them as they searched and had to report it was nowhere to be found. Ahmet looked so sad and I quickly assured him it was not his fault but mine and not to worry but I boarded the bus with a heavy heart as I thought about not only the value of the camera but, perhaps more important, the many photos I had taken and the memories they represented for me. Thankfully, Gary had taken photos with his camera, also, but we often take different photos respective of our own individual interests. Feeling a bit crestfallen, we settled in for the 5 hour bus trip to Altalia on th southern Turkish coast. Shortly into the trip, the young man on the luxry bus, who helps the driver, approached me with a cell phone and said I had a phone call. It was from Ahmet who was calling to say he had a call from the hotel: they had found my camera and were sending it by Taxi to Dalaman where Ahmet would retrieve it and then send it by “cargo express” to me in Antalia. My mother always said I was born under a lucky star and indeed, my life has proved that inumerable times. How thankful for Ahmet and the lovely people at the hotel.. I could not help but wonder if the same trouble would have been endured by us in helping a foreigner in our country. A good lesson.
Speaking of helpful people, we were next to meet Ismet, who met us at the bus station, carried our suitcase to his car and graciously extended a welcome, taking us to the travel agency which was arranging a tour for us the next day. It turned out that Ismet would be our guide and how good that was. His English was perfect, he was knowledgeable about the place we would be visiting and we immediately felt a kinship with him. Arriving at the agency in the old town section of Antalia near our hotel, we were delighted to meet the woman owner who greeted us warmly and assured us she had received a call from Ahmet, also and that my camera would be arriving by the next day. Ismet then dropped us off at the beautiful B & B where we had reservations. We entered from a narrow cobbled street through old wooden doors into a beautiful courtyard and a kind man greeted us and showed us to our room which was lovely, decorated with Turkish rug, a lovely sitting area and round brass tray table, windows that looked out into the streets below, a huge comforatable bed covered in a lovekly cover of silk brocade, and lit by hanging Turkish lamps on either side. Our bathroom, though small, was delightfully coverd in blue, white and red floral tiles with the tulip motif we saw everywhere in Turkey.We settled in quickly and went downstairs passing the lovely courtyard swimming pool right next to the steps of our room and deciding on a swim later. We were hungry and decided to eat right there as it was quiet and peaceful and the gentleman who had greeted us said we were welcome to have dinner there. We enjoyed the solitude as there was only one other family eating at the moment on the patio. We later learned that they were family friends of the owner’s son, the manager. They had two small boys and we were reminded of the time when we were traveling in Europe with Dawn and Tiffany, ages 3 and ½ and 5, so many years ago. Precious memories. The little boys were curious about us and we soon struck up a conversation with them with our limited Turkish. The father spoke a little English and made a point to get up from the table and come over to welcome us to Turkey. These kindnesses extended to us were not the extraordinary, but the usual throughout our two weeks in this land of bright sunshine, hot tea (chai) and extraordinary historical sites and natural beauty. in Turkey. One cannot but hope we would do the same for a traveling Muslim individual or family in our country.
Speaking of courtesies, we must add, as we have just finished imbibing red wine and eating a delicious 3 course meal on our flight, that Turkish Airlines is the best. We have flown Turkish Airlines from Istanbul to Cappadocia and now from Antalia to Istanbul and on to Paris. It receives our heartfelt endorsement.
Now, I must backtrack a bit to catch you up on our adventures since we left Pammukale to go southeast to the Mediterranean coast and the small seaside village of Dalyan, one of our favorite spots. We were only there for a day and a half but vowed to come back and bring our family and friends. The charm of Dalyan is its location at the intersection of the ocean and a beautiful big lake connected by a canal which one navigates by small covered boats back and forth from beach to lake. The small stone streets are filled with shops for tourists, good restaurants, small inns and boutique hotels and the small tiles roofed homes of the local residents who we expect are all employed in the tourist industry bringing happiness and joy to us lucky ones who can visit their beautiful spot on earth. Of course, the weather continued to be beautiful with 75-85 degree days.
Now we are in France and it is cold but we are warmed by the wonderful hospitality of our French friends in Auvergne in the center of France. They live in a charming small village and it has been a great day renewing our friendship and catvhing up with one another. There is much to tell but we will continue later. In the mean time "au revoir" for now!
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