Soar-Dream-France

Some Spring in Cadrieu

Home and enjoying the beginning of spring, I went out the other day with my camera in my pocket and caught a few shots in the hood. The foliage and flowers set the barn off nicely, but I was particularly drawn to the home of my friends the Alberts.  Everything is so beautiful now that I thought they might enjoy seeing just how gorgeous their place is looking at the moment.  I missed my plum tree blooming this season, so I know how nice it would have been to see what I had missed.  Being back with my birds, bells, butterflies, barn (almost) and other bits and pieces of here, bring peace to me each step of the way. It is so good to be home.

Lavoir Luxury

The medieval lavoir behind the Chatette is an incredible perk to living in just this space.  It isn't always rushing like this, so unless you come to visit at just the right time...you miss it!  It's another one of the wonderful things about living here all year long.  The strength of the water pushing down the hills, through the well beside the Chateau, into the lavoir and then under the road into a canal that runs straight to the river; is so loud that I sometimes think it's raining.  It can be loud and thunderous or soft, sweet and melodious.  We are surrounded with water music on two sides of our triangle with the lavoir and the river. 

Pissenlit Partout

 

These splashes of yellow were waiting for me everywhere when I arrived home last Saturday night.  It was an incredible sight...whole fields of yellow dandelions blanketing the countryside.  My garden and environs were not excluded as you can see...Dandelions in every direction! I'm out cutting the grass and getting the garden in shape, so many are disappearing if only for the moment.  I've decided that they are very beautiful and particularly breathtaking blanketing the fields and hills.  I guess you could say that one person's weed is another person's flower! 

Stumbling into Treasures

 

Continuing my wander around Montmartre from Chez Marie, I stumbled on this patisserie and couldn't resist going in.  I picked up a tiny chocolate cupcake left over from Easter (evidence: the tiny white chicken and foil eggs on top) and a pecan tartlette for my dessert.  The supermarche has turned into a Carrefour after a brief stint as a Champion, and I was able to find my salami, swiss cheese, and a warm baguette to take back to the hotel.  I put my Louisiana Drivers License to work once more and enjoyed my snack, as I watched the sun set over Paris from my two French windows at the Ibis. When I registered, I asked the man at the desk if I could have room 708.  I love the view of the Eiffel Tower from there.  He said it was taken, but offered me 704.  Imagine my surprise when not only did I have a view of the Eiffel Tower from 704, but two windows from which to enjoy it with!   

Share With Me or Else!

Catching my two young men together proved much more difficult than catching  Monsieur Excusez-Moi on his own. I stood across the street from the two of them as they ran in and out of the establishment right next door to Chez Marie. So much in and out and back and forth, I was dizzy.  I tried to blend into the crowd or the building, but this was the only shot that I could get of the two of them together. Those tiny prying fingers seemed to say: "Please share with me...and if you don't, I'm going to just take it from you anyway!" I guess you could call it the "share with me or else" approach.

"Excusez-moi, Madame!"

"Excusez-moi, Madame!"

Getting ready to have some time alone with Paris soon, I wrote recently about the surprises and how important it is to let my Paris come to me. This post is an example of that. I want to share it with you again today to say: The surprises are better than anything I could have planned. When I plant myself in Paris, see what grows. Happy Friday!

 

This will be the last one from the archives in my Montmartre, Chez-Marie series from April 14, 2010. I've done a little more with the photos, but the sentiments are the same. (I should add here, that Dad gave me permission to take these shots and share them.) Enjoy!

 

 

4/14/2010-This young man turned me into a Ruffles Potato Chip photographer.  Maybe you remember the ad-"I bet you can't eat just one!" Well, I can't eat just one ruffle and I certainly couldn't take just one photo of my sweet, young man here. His perfect "Excusez-moi, Madame" pulled at my heartstrings and made me laugh out loud. I've been hearing those same words in English without the "Madame" a lot recently.  I've teased my friend Kate, that her Clare is our little "Miss Excuse Me".  Every time she wants to tell you something she says "Excuse-me." We've giggled about it because it has now become almost every other word. 

 

It was also the constant refrain of many of the very young children I was working with over the last couple of months.

 

 

Excuse me-s abound in the very young as they are learning to be polite people. Repetition is important.

If that leads to more polite adults, I'd say it's a very good thing...in any language!

 

 

Chaneling Robert Doisneau

 

Yesterday, I posted this unaltered, favorite shot above from one of my visits in Monmartre, while I was resting at a sidewalk table at Chez-Marie with a red wine.

My friend Glenn commented on how much he loved that shot, and so I thought a trip down a favorite memory lane was in order.

 

I'm going to share a couple of old posts with you over the next couple of days. Pay attention to the stories and the changes. This post was originally written on April 13, 2010, entitled Channeling Robert Doisneau...

 

 

4/13/2010...began here for me. I don't know how many times he ran up and down on the street in front of me and then moved closer to me on the sidewalk curb at my feet, with his "Excusez-Moi, Madam". This sweet young man flashed a flood of Doisneau's photos of children taken in Paris and other parts of France. Of course, today there are blue jeans and tennis shoes.  But...those moving feet, that mischievous smile, the tiny clenched, determined fists, and hair blowing in the afternoon breeze had the photographer in me from hello.

 

 

Related articles

The Gift of a Day...

Revisiting Old Friends

Magic, Pianos and Paris

An Undiscovered Gem

A Fancy Address Plate

Alone in Robert Doisneau Moments

 

 

 

Another blast from

the past from 2010.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

4/13/2010-As I came down the staircase to Chez Marie on Friday, this young man was hard at work cleaning, polishing, and maybe even varnishing these outside tables.  It was too early for dinner, so I chose a spot on the sidewalk and ordered a red wine.  He continued working and we would chat from time to time. It was a lot of fun for me.

 

Of course there are the where are you from, what do you do questions, but the one that is always asked and still throws me is:

"Are you alone?"

 

 

There is always an element of surprise from the other person when I say "oui". For me, I want to scream at the top of my lungs: "Yes, I'm alone and loving every minute of it!"  Traveling alone brought me to the Paris and the Lot I love. I've discovered that when I travel with others, I don't reach out in the same way that I do when I'm on my own.  On my own, I meet new people.  My world expands and grows.  I may live my life and travel alone, but I am the most un-alone person I know.  As I continued to sip my red wine slowly, some Robert Doisneau moments snuck in.  I'll share them with you tomorrow.

 

Facade Favorites Revisited

A few posts back, I shared this photo of a tiny place in Montmartre that I discovered smack at the bottom of one of those steep, endless staircases.  The red sucked me in.  I knew I had to return.  As much as I love "facades", it is the stories within that speak to me and add spice to my own life when I am able to discover them.

I arrived in Paris on Friday afternoon, after working in Germany.  It was a perfect April in Paris day...warm, sunny, people out and everywhere.  I was a little loaded down on this leg of the trip.  I'd added a rolling suitcase to carry all those winter clothes that I had layered on the trip in.  As I got to the Ibis Sacre Coeur, the crepe man next door waved and asked: "ça va?" before I could open the door.  We remembered each other and shared huge smiles. I got checked in, shed a few layers and luggage, put my hair in a ponytail, and I was off on foot up the butte. I'm going to share my stories and ramblings with you over the next few days.  I'll leave you with a hint of where we'll start below.

Living Along the Lot

Last spring, I fell in love with this rose highlighted by the flowing Lot river behind it.  I was wandering around in Mont Brun with my friend Rob.  He's going through a rough patch these days, and I'm hoping he might see this post and remember a wonderful day of shooting shots of everything in the valley together. Living on a river reminds me of the constant movement of our lives.  I'm grateful for those reminders.