Happy Place

We arrived in Lake Tahoe last Sunday and it’s been beautiful. Our son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons joined us on Wednesday. So now our time here is perfect!

The first day here I spotted several birds fly back & forth to a tree near our deck. 

Then I noticed that they were tending to a very small cup shaped nest. With my telephoto lense I could see three little heads pop up. 

Two days later one of the baby birds was out on the branch next to the nest. He was flapping his wings to practice flying.  Mom & dad were still flying back and forth with food and encouragement. He moved further and further from the nest as the day turned to dusk.  His siblings inside the nest were standing up and flapping their wings too. 

Within minutes all three left their nest and were jumping from branch to branch and before we knew it they were gone. 

Oh yeah and Maggie is loving being a mountain dog!
 

Home Sweet Home

Song - Home by Jack Johnson

 

A friend recently wrote to me saying that I left you all hanging back in Paris!  And that would be almost two months ago!  Yikes - sorry about that. But I have truly had my arms full......

 

 Our new grandson Charlie arrived on May 20th to the delight of all! And...

 

Just a few days later Mr. B flew to Colorado to pick up our new Westie puppy - Maggie!

 

 

 

 

So I am now painting in a "puppy safe" zone!!!

The deer recently discovered how to get into our backyard and destroyed my newly planted veggie garden as well as most of my rose bushes. We put in some extra fencing around our property and I moved some of my veggie garden into our old chicken coop area. That area has been a garden dumping place for years now and it's so nice to have it all cleaned out......

 

 

...well, I still have a few pots to clean before putting them back in place.

 

Hope to see you again soon!  I've missed you all.....J

 

 “Life takes you unexpected places, love brings you home.”

 

 

 

 

Back to Paris

 

Sunday we returned to Paris after deciding to skip our two day stay in Rouen. Mr. B had been sick and was still recovering so drove on a few country roads because we love seeing the little villages but by Orleans it was the freeway all of the way. 

Monday we went back to the Musee Jacquemart Andre to see the paintings from Finland. Then we headed over to the Palis Garnier but decided to take a break and eat lunch at the Cafe de la Paxi across the street. Had a great waiter from County Cork. 

Dinner was at a little restaurant on Ille de Saint Louis and we walked back past Notre Dame and viewed the construction going on there. 

Tuesday we enjoyed Market Day on rue Raspil in the 6th and guess what?  

Strawberries are in season and they are delicious !

The Rodin Museum was interesting but too many new pieces that made it hard to enjoy. I did love viewing the few Van Gough paintings!

Lunch was at Cafe Deux Magot so I could take some reference photos of waiters for future paintings. It was lovely sitting in the warm sun, drinking a glass of wine and watching all of the interesting people walk by. 

Mr. B’s French language skills have been so great. He converses with everyone and gets complements from most. Occasionally someone will correct a word and he happily thanks them and puts it into his vocabulary. 

We strolled to Cafe Varenne for dinner that night. It’s a small confortable place with a friendly staff and delicious food. 

Castles & Princes

 

We are staying a few days at Château de la Bourdaisière in the Loire Valley. Mr. B has been sick so I have been playing princess at the castle and on my terrace overlooking the gardens. Yesterday I took a long walk through the gardens and into the forest. 

Today I drove to Villandry and enjoyed strolling around the amazing gardens at my own pace. It got a bit crowded after 2 pm as the tour buses rolled in but it is Easter week here so it’s to be expected. 

So you have seen the castle now for the Prince…

There is a real Prince here and our first night here Mr. B tried to make dinner reservations in town through reception. There was a very nice man there who offered to call the restaurant and set it up for us. It was the Prince!  He actually is a hands on kind of guy and is a big part of the gardens around the castle. Tonight I had to change our dinner reservation at the castle to just moi and once again it was the Prince!  He also is known as the Tomato Prince because he has worked very hard at saving heirloom tomatoes in France. I just wish I could bring home some of his seed packets to try at home. 

It looks like we are getting some snow in Tahoe and rain at home!  Way to go California!

Travels to the Dordogne

 Bon Jour - From our lovely lodgings in the walled city of Avignon we headed west to Estaing.  

While Estaing is a Les Plus Beaux Village in France not much was open yet as it is still early in their season. We stayed about 2 minutes out of town at B & B Manoir de La Fabrègues where we have stayed before. Eric & Laurent we’re happy to see us again and they have done some amazing updates on their property. They upgraded us to a suite they just remodeled which was very comfy. Above is the village of Estaing and below that was our view from our living room across the Lot River. 

On our first day we traveled about 30 minutes north to the village of Languol were they make the great bee knives that are world famous. We found Michael who we have bought knives from in the past & he gave us a tour of his workshop and we had a lovely meal in town.  

The next day was spent going to other Les Beaux Villages and cathedrals  with dribbling gargoyles!

Excuse-moi

Sorry for not blogging for awhile but between enjoying so many sights, being Mr. B’s navigator, and packing and re-packing ( yes I brought way too much stuff!) I’ve been slightly preoccupied!

We enjoyed Avignon and took several day trips from there. We spent a day in Gordes (see above) and traveled over to Abbey de Senaque nearby. They had just finished a restoration and cleaning so it was a bit of a shock to see it glistening white!  Yikes what a change!!!

Another day was spent at Saint-Remy-de-Provence where we visited sites and enjoyed some shopping and lunch. 

We enjoyed some excellent restaurants in Avignon thanks to Mr. B’s internet research and suggestions from our inn keeper. 

Our last day there was spent across the Rhône river at a large Brocante and an Abbaye garden & Fort. 

Looking forward to to catching up with our adventures in Sarlat where we are right now!

Au revoir - J

Traveling South

 

Mr. B arrived safely in Paris on April 1st & my two girlfriends left on their own journeys on the 3rd. We packed our already stuffed baggage on the 4th and said goodbye to our friendly & cozy hotel in the 6th in Paris. Off on the train to Avignon for a week. Which is where we are now. 

This is our view from the front of our hotel. 

It is the Pope’s Palais

And this is our serene inner courtyard. 

Inside of our room sits a quaint little desk. On our first day here the hotel owner told us a very French story about our desk.

Several years ago a couple stayed in our room. She was 91 and her husband was 93. They had a lovey time in Avignon. 

Two days after their departure the woman contacted the owner and told him she had left something behind and would he please look for it.  She had left a special letter in the secret compartment of the desk. He found it and told her that he would mail it to her. She gasped and said No not to me, please send it to my friend and gave him the address. She told him it was a letter to her lover and didn’t want her husband to find out!  They had been lovers at 18 and rekindled their spark at 50 and have been writing to each other ever since.

The middle panel slides back and this is where the secret compartment is located.

Springtime

 Spring has finally come to Paris!  The trees are all leafing out, everyone is in the parks basking in the sunshine, heavy coats have come off and the outdoor cafes are filled to the brim! Most people have thrown off their masks and are enjoying the fresh air with abandon  

I just love pale pink & yellow together. The photo above may be used  as inspiration for a future painting when I return. 

This week we spent Sunday at the flea market- Les Puces de Saint Ouen on the outskirts of Paris.   

So many fun things to look at but being practical you need to figure out what will fit into your suitcase and how heavy it will be to cart around. 

We watched the rebuilding of Notre Dame from both near and far. Amazing undertaking!  They believe it will reopen in just two years. 

We went to a twilight concert at Saint Chapelle which was incredible to watch the stained glass windows change color with the setting sun while listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons surrounding you with lovely music!

We shopped until our feet ached but always having fun even when lost!  And we dined at several favorite restaurants including a new one - Chez Georges - in the 2nd where the maître de and servers were all so welcoming and even funny at times!  

Tomorrow we are taking the train to Château Chantilly and the weather should be perfect.