What If(?) in Geyssans...

11/02/2013

Bonjour mes amis!

I hope you had an enjoyable weekend!  We were able to make a nice trip this weekend to Geyssans, France, some five hours of driving from Orléans.  We arrived Friday evening to see friends, we met here in Orléans, who have now moved to a beautiful home in the Mountains.  We had a lot of fun talking, visiting sites, and eating...of course!  Let me share some of it with you today!

These first two photos are the views from the front windows of our friend's home!  Wouldn't you like to wake up to this every morning?

I was quite taken by this tree in the front yard...totally full of berries for the birds!

On Saturday, we ventured out to Côté Jacquemart, a very nice village nearby!

The little guy on top of this Tower is the Bell Ringer.  He was just repaired last week...seemingly for our visit...and we arrived just in time to hear him ring the Bell!

We enjoyed walking around town for a bit...
 

Down to the River...

Côté Jacquemart is known as a Village where Shoes are made...

So, we wandered into a shopping area with many Shoe Stores...

Our friends had treated us Saturday morning to a Specialty Bread from the area, called Pogne...

This is what it looks like.  It's made with an Orange Flour.  It was sort of a mix between a Bread and Cake...very tasty with a cup of Coffee!

This may seem like an odd photo to add in, but do you know those pretty, sculptural Ornamental tall bushes we crave for our landscaping in the U.S.?  Well, these are called, "If", and they are all over France.  They are tall and stately, and they grow well here.

 Time for a small lunch stop, so we stopped at "Antiqui-Thé".  Do you get the pun?  Thé is Tea in French, and this quirky little tearoom had a mix of antiques and food.

Then, we drove on for our next destination...that I'll tell you about tomorrow...

For now, enjoy these views!

Oh!  I have one more picture to share, taken in Côté Jacquemart...

Couldn't leave you without wishing you a "Jewel" of a day!
Jan

Come See Château d'Azay-le-Rideau!

08/02/2013

Bonjour mes amis!

It's the weekend!!!  What do you have planned?
The sickness at our house this week has somewhat made us live day to day in making plans, but I'm happy to report that all is well.  So, we do have plans.  I will probably miss writing to you tomorrow and Sunday, but I'll be here Monday to share.  We hope, Lord Willing, to visit with our "Pablo" and his family.  We lovingly gave "Pablo" his name when he visited with us from France some three years ago, and stayed with us through the Volcano "mushroom cloud thing"...do you remember that?  He even got to stay an extra week (and miss a week of School) because no planes were flying into Paris while the skies cleared.  We loved having him in Dallas with us, and now look forward to some weekend family fun with him and his family.

The other day, I was telling you about our family making a little trip to Amboise, France.  We stayed overnight, so we could do more in the area.  Here's the Inn we stayed at, L'Aubinière.  It was in a tiny little Village called, Saint Ouen Les Vignes...

They accommodated us well.  This was our room...calm and relaxing...

 We had a traditional French breakfast in the Restaurant...

I know you are all "eyeing" those pastries...

We had a nice view, despite the rain...

Today, I'd really like to tell you about...drum roll, please...another Château!  (Can you tell this is one of our favorite pastimes here!?!)

Dr. J and I visited this Château a number of years ago, and I remembered really liking it.  The Moat is awesome!  Well, let me show you...



Château d'Azay-le-Rideau!

I loved looking up...

Check out the Details...

Did you want to see the whole fireplace?  Sorry, I was so enamored with the stonework!

My girls look deep in discussion...

Ah, now there's a Fireplace...in French, it's called a Cheminée!  (Looks awfully close to our word, Chimney, huh?)

This Tapestry was amazing and vibrant...

I told you it had an awesome Moat!

There was Moss everywhere!

Such an enjoyable afternoon!

Well, my best wishes to you for an enjoyable weekend!
Infact, have a "Jewel" of a weekend!
Jan

New Car Smell!

07/02/2013

Bonjour mes amis!

We had to make a little Journey Today...

It was forced upon us...

We didn't really want to do it...

Because we LOVE the Car we are renting...

I've shown it to you before...

Our Renault Scenic!

But, alas, there are Rules...

So, we had to make a Trip to Paris ORLY Airport, to this Place...

We had to turn our beloved little "Gem" in (no pun intended!)...


BUT,

We got another Beauty...

Same Make and Model...

AND, it's Sleek and Black, and Brand New...

It has all the Bells and Whistles to help us maneuver our way around France and beyond...

It has Electronic Everything...

And a Sunroof...

And GPS...my Favorite...

And...the Vehicle had a whopping 5 kilometers on it when we took it into custody acquired it today...

 (Guess we forgot to close the doors for the pictures...sorry!)

But, the best News of all...


WE GET TO ENJOY THAT NEW CAR SMELL AGAIN!

(Oh!  And, we're renting this car until our time here is done...)


Ahhhh!

Thanks for joining me today!  I'll be back tomorrow!

Have a "Jewel" of a Day!
Jan

P.S.  If you see Dr. J, you can thank him for bringing the Camera along today.  He knew you'd want to see our new Car!

What did I miss?

06/02/2013

Bonjour mes amis!

How's your week going?  Mid-week again!  Things are improving here.

I got to thinking, though, about what I missed while I was sick in bed...

First, I missed out on trying these...

 

 Dr. J was in Japan last week, and he brought me these candies, all wrapped up in the paper below.  Think I'll have to wait a couple more days until my stomach is ready to fully enjoy them.

 

On Sunday Morning, I missed going to Worship...

(...and Dr. J reported that several friends gave their Testimony!)

 

 On Sunday Afternoon, I missed going to Jewelius' Piano Recital...

(So grateful Dr. J could go, take pictures, and record his playing!)

The Program (in French, of course...we are in France!)

Jewelius' Debut in France!

 

That's Jewelius' teacher right there in the middle...

Here's a shot of the piano we are borrowing from a friend, so Jewelius can practice...

On Monday, I missed out on writing my regular Blog Post...

Glad you came back!

On Tuesday, I noticed how many Petals have come back on my Poinsettia!!!

Amazing how many things happen while you are sleeping...the world goes on...

I hope you haven't missed out on anything special this week!  Still, it will be okay...especially if you have loved ones nearby to fill you in...

Have a "Jewel" of a day!
Jan