A Window of Opportunity

 

Heading to France for several weeks.  Three weeks in Paris with two of my friends and then Mr. B will join me and we will take the TGV to Avignon where we will rent a car and travel through the South of France for several weeks before returning to Paris. 

Hope you will join me for the journey!

Yellow

Song - Yellow by Coldplay

Bright yellow mustard flowers blooming near Dijon, France

Photo taken from the TGV train which can travel 

up to 186 mph in commercial service 

and 320 mph under special test conditions.  

I so wish we had fast, clean, efficient trains like that in America!

Viva le Moutarde de Dijon

"Almost anything is edible 

with a dab of French mustard on it."

--Nigel Slater

Come on in.....

Song - Close the Door by Teddy Pendergrass

My favorite knocker of all time (at least so far) is this one above from a door in Paris.

So interesting and elaborate!

 A man & a woman's hand knocker

Both are from France - the one on the right was taken in Brantome.

You can put your letters through the slot on this knocker from Lacock, England

A simple but elegant knocker found on a beautiful wooden door in Tuscany



"The ache for home lives in all of us
the safe place 
we can go as we are

and not be questioned."

Maya Angelou

It's Open

Song - Open the Door Richard by Louis Jordan

What looks like a woman's face and a serpent tail door knocker was found in Pisa, Italy

This little guy is holding a window shutter open in Honfleur, France

A door pull with wolves

found in Paris




"The front door continues to appeal to our sense of arrival. 
Call it the ceremony of coming home."

--Akiko Busch

Percy

Song - You're So Vain by Carly Simon

Percy the Peacock could not get enough of his reflection 

standing in front of a glass door. 

He kept displaying his feathers for the glory of all 

but mostly for himself.  

This photo was taken at Chateau et Jardins du Rivau in the Loire Valley.

Spring 2018

"Like a peacock, dance with an open mind 

and a loving heart to reveal your incredible beauty."

--Debasish Mridha

Who's There?

Song - Step Inside This House by Lyle Lovett



 Still knocking......

This is a pair of beautiful gate grill ornaments from Paris, France

And a fire breathing door latch on Josephine Bakers home in the Dordogne.

 An elegant door knocker from Umbria, Italy on a beautiful wooden door.



"Personality can open doors,
 but only character can keep them open."

--Elmer G. Letterman

How Old???

Song - The Memory Of The Trees by Enya

The Old Olive Tree - Pont du Gard, France

A plaque has been set in the ground near this tree and it reads: 

“I was born in 908 AD in Spain and was planted by the Pont du Gard in 1988 – 1080 years later.”

How would you like to be the gardener responsible for replanting this tree???

Pont du Gard - A Roman Aquaduct

Built 1st Century AD

"Learn character from trees, 

values from roots and change from leaves."

-- Tasneem Hameed

Knock, knock, knock

Song - Keep a Knockin' by Little Richard

Love this door knocker from Pisa, Italy. 

Imagine being a little kid and having to touch this knocker?

It certainly would of given me nightmares!

 These were on the same door and look like orators possibly?

From a door in Venice, Italy

A lion head knocker or pull from Sarlat, France on a beautiful blue door.

Bread Bridge

Song - Bread and Butter by the Newbeats

This is the little village of Estaing in Southern France

The bridge over the Lot River is a UNESCO World Heritage Sight

And she is quite a sight!

Later in the day I saw the village men coming across the bridge after work
bringing home the bacon bread!



 “The smell of good bread baking, 
like the sound of lightly flowing water, 
is indescribable in its evocation of innocence and delight.”

 —M.F.K. Fisher

Someone is at My Door - Surprise

Song - I Hear You Knocking by Wynonna Judd

A decorative piece on a door in Provence

I love the patina of the various colors its been painted

 Our hotel door in Avignon including a letter slot and talking grill

Hotel Garlande

This ornate knocker was locate in St.-Cirq-Lapopie

which is a commune in the Lot district in Southern France.

It is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association

My grandson Henry has learned to push open doors because
sometimes there is a surprise on the other side!

I Hear You Knocking

Song - Knock on Wood by Eddie Floyd

I'm still knocking.....knock, knock, knock......come in

A striking knocker from a door in Umbria, Italy

A worn bedroom window lock inside the Saint Paul Asylum

in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France

where Vincent Van Gogh spent some time 1889-1890

And modern door pulls from Paris, France

Watch for a delightful surprise in tomorrow's post!

Knock Knock

Song - I Hear You Knockin' by Fats Domino

Come in.....

I have a love for windows and doors wondering what might be behind these portals.

And the hardware that goes with them is very interesting as well!

The hinge on the red door above is from the Cluny Museum in Paris and it looks like a dragon spewing out three fires....maybe.

And this pirate looking door knocker was found in Pisa, Italy.

I guess he got knocked one too many times and the owners nailed him shut!

 And the final knocker is a woman's hand on a dark green door in the 

Bouches-du-Rhône, Tarascon, France (home of the Tarasque monster)

Blues

Song - Walking Blues featuring Keb' Mo' - Playing for Change - Song Around the World

Blue glass window at the Hotel California in Cabo.

Blue sky in Chinon, France

Blue eggs in a nest in our front yard

Blue Atlantic Ocean in Nantucket

Blue wildflowers near Loch Ness, Scotland

 A proud little Bluebird...

And the blue waters of Fallen Leaf Lake (foreground) and Lake Tahoe

Sail Away

Song - Sail Away by David Gray

The boat cart in the Luxembourg Gardens.  

It's always a tough decision to figure out what color boat and sail you would like. 

Usually it's the one your sister just chose!!!

Notre Dame Cathedral

Song - Je T'aime by Lara Fabian

I have no words......