Au revoir!

Oh, it's the end of the adventure.  Today is to be spent packing, cleaning, and we'll squeeze in a swim at the lake, I'm sure.
I will miss this beautiful area so much, and I wish I could indoctrinate all of my friends into the religion of the French countryside... the lunch hour.  Or hours.  From noon until 2, everything stops.  Shops close. Restaurants are open but will stop serving food after 2 or so until evening. There is imposed quiet, tractors and mowers are to stop, and people go home for the sacred two hour lunch.  School children also get a two hour lunch.  Most go home for the most important meal of the day, a hot lunch.  Those children left at school due to working parents are served a three course meal there.  :)

Life is obviously quieter and more simple here, and one can get used to it!  The people have been wonderful.  "My" neighbors across the road have told me that there are never Americans visiting in this area.  I've also been gently informed that not all areas of France are as full of friendly as they are here.  I feel that I have stumbled upon a really beautiful, verdant part of this country!

It was a special time with my boys, especially Luis, who hung out with his mom the whole time!  Thank goodness he can read a map!

Well, there will be many stories to tell.  I'm sad to go, but I do miss my friends, my dog, my own kitchen, and a hose to water the garden.  But if I had the money, I'd buy a little, old farmhouse here in the Ain countryside of  France in a flash.  Imagine the fun and adventure of fixing it up!!

Au revoir!  See you at home.

Keep Manhattan, Just Gimme That Countryside! (photos!)

Andy did it!! My hero figured out how to get my photos onto this computer... exactly one week before going home.  :)

Every day, I get up and take a walk in a postcard. 

Then I come home and pick some raspberries from the vine here and put them into my creamy french yogurt!

There are so many things to do, even though it isn't the big city, and it is simply green and beautiful every single day!  It is exactly the simple, relaxing vacation I was looking for.  And the excitement comes from managing it all in a language that isn't exactly the first thing that wants to pop out of my mouth.  However, I'm doing OK, and can manage to get my questions across, and buy the things I need for... the essentials!

Who could ask for anything more?!

le Vin

Sooo many wines, so little time!!  Actually, it is really interesting to learn about the restrictions placed on wine makers here.  It makes California seem like it is filled with radical vintners running around doing whatever flies into their heads when it comes to harvest times, and barrels, and little things like, oh, irrigation. I'll try not to make this sound like a lesson.
We have been lucky enough to meet two wine makers who speak English.  Jacques Bartlet, the first, spent 4- count 'em 4- hours with us, taking us into his caveau and showing us around, then breaking out the bottles for tasting.  By the way, tastings here are free, the amount they pour is about twice the amount in CA because, they say that there needs to be enough in the glass to really taste the wine's true essence, or flavor (I'm no expert, as you can see), or whatever. 
There are regions, and wine makers have to grow the type of grape for that region.  They are not allowed to  irrigate!  So the way around that little regulation is to seed the clouds.  Yes, to make rain.  One will hear big booms when it looks like a storm is coming.  It's the wine makers (they take turns) shooting fireworks full of some chemical (Luis would know but he's asleep right now) into the clouds so it will rain.  They are told when they can harvest, down to the day.  Wines, as you have heard I'm sure, are cheap here.  The average bottle is 4 - 5 euros.  That's about 6 bucks, folks.  Most wines in this region are whites, champagnes, and lighter reds such as gamays and pinot noirs.  Then the vintners are told how much wine they can sell!  They should charge more, but their regular patrons will complain, so they are caught between a rock and a hard place, so to speak.

Here we are at the Caveau Quinard, a 10 minute stroll from the house.  We walk past their chardonnay vines on the way down!  Let's see, we can bring back 6 bottles each, that's times 3 now that Andy's 21, so figuring the weight of the bottles in our bags, I could toss out......  

Paris

Not your typical photo from the city of lights, but, this is the Paris Natural History Museum.  Thanks to Derek Smith, our family friend, and his request, we visited the Nat. Hist. and Paris Zoo.  It was wonderful, and a nice break from museums and typical tourist locations.  Quite impressive.  I guess what impressed me most about the city this time was just the age and beauty of the buildings.  I kept imagining what the scene would look like at the turn of the century, and who would be strolling through the same buildings and along the same streets, taking in the same sights.  You see it through quite different eyes as a 53 year old than you do as a 21 year old!!
We had a wonderful time, and thanks so much to our dear friends who let us stay in their rented apartment in Montmartre!  I know why French women don't get fat.  It's because they have to walk up the metro steps every day... 184 to be precise at the Abbesses stop near the apartment.  :)  Do that a couple of times a day, and anyone will be in great shape.
We all really enjoyed the Orsay Museum after having read Sacre Bleu, by Christopher Moore.  Saw so many paintings mentioned in the story, and that was great.  The Louvre - picking and choosing is the only way to do that, the Renoir Museum and gardens was another wonder. 
Our last evening, the boys and I spent time with Luis' friend Kevin who is living in Paris now.  He took us on what turned out to be a private tour of the Paris the locals enjoy.  Away from all the bustle of the Paris the tourists see, we had a picnic dinner in a wonderful park in the 19th, with a view of the Sacre Coeur in the distance in the evening light.  The vast park was built in the mid 1800s for the working class to enjoy.  It has every kind of tree found in France represented there, rolling lawns, waterfalls, ponds, and acres and acres of space for those who were not able to travel on holiday.  Then he took us through a typical neighborhood to a canal running through part of the city.  Young Parisians sat, lining the banks with picnic blankets, goodies to eat, and many bottles of wine.  Some small groups and other big groups were just out enjoying the evening.
I feel we really got to see a slice of Paris life that not every visitor is privy to, and it made the trip for the boys.
Again, I will share photos once I get home.
We loved the adventure, but are so happy to be able to go "home" to the quiet country side.

PHOTOS!!

A bit of a round about way, Ann emails me the photos, I download, then upload here.  Better than nothing.
Above is the village of Massignieu de Rives.  It's taken on a walk to there from my house. :)

The side of my house. Those are windows looking out from bedrooms to the lavoir (left).  A lavoir is where the village people used to do their laundry.  There's a big concrete basin that fills with water.
And below, in the garden!!

Bastille Day

National holiday, and you'd think it would be a bit more national holidayish.  Perhaps it is because we're in the countryside...
A busy day nonetheless.  We started with a brocante (basically a garage sale) early in the morning after a good rainy night. -- Picture the movie Ratatouille, in the beginning, countryside, rainy... that's it!   The deal here is that you can't just decide to have a garage sale.  You have to have it when your town has it, and everybody in the town who wants to participate does, and other outside vendors come in too.  Now realize that a "town" can be rally just a cluster of houses here.  There's usually some food, and at today's there was an old car show as well.  These have to be scheduled with the local government.  There is even a book printed with dates and locations of brocantes around this region.  Basically, it's garage sale stuff with some exceptions because the old stuff is French old stuff.  And the old cars are Citroens, Renaults (sp? I should know, I'm driving one, but...), and Pugeots.  And the food is... well,  :)
In the evening, we were invited to the town of Cressin-Rochefort's fete by our new friends Glenda and Mej, British ex-pats. The town gathers down at the pompiers (fire station), next to the school and mayor's place.  The firemen dig a pit for sausages, cover with coals, and roast.  Then there is the giant grill, where they get about 40 legs of lamb going.  There's a bar for before, but all the food and wine you can eat and drink is included in the price of your ticket (here, 17euros).  The mayor himself is one of the servers.  There's home made bread mounded in baskets on the tables, then the sausage comes around with a lovely horseradishy mustard. 
* At this point, about 9:30, I had to dash down the road to the next town of Culoz to pick up Andy and his friend Ned at the train station as they returned from their side trip to Spain and Portugal.  10 minutes there, 10 minutes back, didn't miss a beat!!
Next came the lamb and a gratin of potatoes.  Shall we say, more cream and cheese than potatoes, oh my gosh!  And it just kept coming.  More anyone?  Pass your plates down.  There was an old guy playing accordion and a trumpeter, and folks would dance when the mood struck and in between heaping plates of food.  Then came the cheese course.  We're in France after all!  Two local varieties, Comte and something else that I was too overwhelmed to remember.  After that, sweet, juicy whole white peaches.  Oh la la!
Everyone is comfortable with each other, everyone welcoming, friendly, mildly interested that we are new in town, nobody seemed to care whether it was Bastille Day or not, for, en fin, a wonderful time had by all!

Luis, the Navigator!

Oh, to have someone reading the map!   Today, after the boy rousted himself, we went out on another day of exploring.  We decided to go to the abbey at Haute Combe.  It's on the largest lake in France, the Lac du Bourget, so quite a view and is a 15th century monastery complete with bee hives and a forest.  I'm going to have to wire my mouth shut to keep my jaw from dropping all the time. 
After the  abbey, we made our way around the lake, past the fashionable Aix le Bains, which is a tourist draw because of its proximity to the lake, and on to the larger city of Chambery.  And I'm talking city.  Compared to the country side that I've been living in for the past 2 weeks, it is a huge metropolis!  We actually got onto a freeway, found our way into the center, and crammed the car into a parking place on  a side street.  We had a fun time poking around the very old city center and stopped to have a demi bierre (small beer) at a cafe.  I wish I could include the photo of the 1/2 liter glasses of beer we each were served!  For those of you who want to know how my French is coming along, maybe not so great...BUT in my neck of the woods, at the small cafe on my Lac du Lit du Roi, a demi bierre gets us just the right size, not a six-pack in a glass!
After drinking his own and most of my beer, my navigator and I made our way back to the car and pulled out the maps to figure out how to get back to our bucolic countryside from the big city.  I must say, the boy is a natural.  If he can read those maps, even after a beer or three, and I can drive a stick shift, we can go anywhere.
I sighed with relief to be back on the country roads that I recognized and "home" again in the small villages.

FINALLY A PHOTO!! From the Tour de France.  More to come.

Tour de France

OMG!  Quelle spectacle!!  Today was Tour Day.  The famous bike race passed only a couple of towns over from here.  The Smiths are visiting for the very purpose of getting to see this famous race.  So we did it, we saw the stage where they went up the Grand Columbier, along with thousands and thousands of other fans.  I won't go into the details of the race itself; you can easily find out all about that on your own. 
We, however, got up at 6, left the house at 7, and were turned away from our proposed way route up the hill to a watching point by gendarmes blocking the roads.  So what to do? Walk!  4 miles uphill (literally, like my driveway straight up).  But... it was worth it! And I  have to say, 6 months ago, before my hip replacement, I would not have been able to do it.  I'll need to tell my physical therapist.
I have never seen anything like it.  As the day wore on, more and more people arrived.  Many cyclists were riding the route for fun (?), and they were from all walks of life, all shapes and sizes.  Our lonely outpost quickly became crowded.  We ended up near some other Americans, and had a great time talking and swapping stories.  Then the parade of publicity vans came by.  These are sponsors of the race.  About an hour before the actual riders, these giant vans come up the hill and throw samples of their products to the crowds lining the route.  Music blaring, people yelling, fun, fun, fun!
Right after these float-like vehicles go by, helicopters start converging overhead.  This is the signal that the riders are on their way.  We are an arm's distance from them.  I, of  course, don't know who any of them are, but I can cheer like the best of them. 
We had a great, albeit exhausting, day.  I learned a little bit about bike racing, and saw a real spectacle!
Still, no photos on this computer.
More to come.

Boys... or ha!, my boys

The boys arrived on the 5th. All 3 safe and sound, and here via wonderful Willi and Traudle who picked them up at the airport in Geveva.
Andy and Ned did a quick turn around and are in Spain now, and Luis is here hanging with me. I am so glad to have a navigator!  It seems all the roads are what we would consider back country roads, and we are making our way around some wonderful villages. Nothing touristy at all. 
This morning we walked the 15 minutes into OUR nearby "town" of  Massignieu, and bought bread from the wine maker who also is the one who makes the bread to sell on Saturdays only. The only one in town.  We'll see about his wine later, but if it's anything like his bread...  Heavenly, heavy, dense, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. *sigh*
The other, bigger town of Belley, a whopping 6 kilometers away, had market day today.  You can get anything from fruit, veg, fresh goat cheeses, home made sausages, mattresses, underwear, knives, fish, middle eastern flat breads hot off the griddle, Chinese noodles, flowers, you name it!  Bought a wine opener, of course!
A beautiful day, sunshine, the mountains are crystal clear, walking along a small road with a loaf of bread in hand.  It is a vacation.
No photos as of yet.

On My Own :)

Woke up and decided that after a walk, I would take the car challenge!
 I walked along the road away from the house along the hillside and found that it is indeed the short route to Massignieu de Rives.  Looking up at the mountains at the other side of the small valley: Dent du Chat (Cat's Tooth) and, looming large, the Grand Columbier, where the poor slugs who ride in the Tour De France have to ride up, and up, and up.  Everyone, it seems, has some sort of garden with tomatoes, beans, some grapes, and flowers.  The valleys are green and cross hatched with fields.
But, on to the drive.  It's been a while since I drove a manual shift, but it's like riding a bike isn't it?  Once you learn, you never forget.  True enough, once you figure out reverse.  I was seriously thinking I wouldn't even make it out of the lean-to, when , after trying everything I could think of, and cursing myself for not making Jonathan let me drive before he left, I tried pulling up then over, and voila!!  On my way.
Slowly, and much to the chagrin I'm sure of my fellow drivers, I made my way to Belley, the next town down the road.  Jeanine had pointed out a boulangerie just on the round-about (they are every mile or so it seems here), and I wanted to try it, so I slowed as I approached the dreaded circle of autos and plunged in.  I'm proud to say, I didn't have to go around and around as I'd predicted but managed to get off at the next spoke and into the car park.  Like a pro.
What awaited me inside, is like nothing you find in the US.  To one side of the open space was a closed case with at least a dozen types of sandwiches ready for the lunch crowd, all on wonderful mini loaves of bread.  At the end were the patisseries.  Tarts, chocolates, donut-y looking things, all mouth wateringly delicious looking.  Then on the other side were the breads.  How much bread can a gal eat in a day, I asked myself.  Can I take some home and freeze it?  But no, I'll just come back tomorrow!! When the sales girl approached, I asked for a baguette du mairie, pointed in case I'd mispronounced, and managed to get what I'd asked for!  It was still hot from the ovens in the back!  I took a photo of it, I was so proud.
I drove a lot today.  I tried the train station in Culoz so that when I need to take Andy and Ned there on Friday, I don't make them miss their train, and I got lost several times, but I obviously made it back home.
I am still trying to figure out photos on this computer.... sorry!

BONJOUR!

I am here, and have been so busy the last 2 days, that I haven't had a time to write.  My French "family" has been so incredible: meeting me at the airport, spending 2 days showing me around, introducing me to their friends who speak English, feeding me, taking me shopping and wine tasting!  They have now gone on to my house and left me alone in this beautiful locale. 
I am waiting for the boys to get here so I can post photos. 
There is an ancient wine press in the "garage" below, and a cow shed that dates back to the 1600s.  It's hard to keep my jaw shut when we drive around the district and see the beautiful old buildings that are still used today.  For instance the lavoir.  This is a big cement basin, sometimes fed by a spring, where people of the commune (or village) did their laundry. The one right outside the living room window is used these days as a place for a few of the kids to kick a ball around.  There is one in every hamlet.  I have seen many still full of water.  Then there are the ancient communal ovens.  Many are falling down, but the one about 100 yards from here has been refurbished and is fired up 2 - 3 times a year for village fetes.
EVERYTHING is so green and bucolic: corn fields, grapes, lazy buff-colored cows, and winding roads.  The only "traffic" is on the road at 12:00 and 2:00pm, when people are going home for their 2 hour lunch (including school children) and returning to work for the afternoon.
Ah...