East is Eden

Our trip to the east continued with a visit to Karen and Bob Wildau in Aix-en-Provence.

The farmers' markets in Aix are plentiful and fascinating, and Karen was the perfect guide to all the mysteries of French ingredients.  She is an outstanding cook and has discovered all sorts of interesting things to prepare which we sampled at their home.

There was a restaurant which kept it's wine cold in a lovely old sculpted public fountain.

During the plague years, parishioners were afraid to go to church and be in any crowds.  So religious shrines were placed at street corners.  Priests then celebrated mass at the corners, and the people poked their heads out of their rooms.

Next we drove around the Luberon area near Aix.  Rolling hills - picturesque.

Lunch at a perfect little outdoor spot in a sleepy village

We enjoyed dinner seaside with Karen and Bob's friends

Our visit ended with attendance at a jazz concert.

We discovered a 15th century fortress to visit, Chateau Codignat, near Clermont-Ferrand

The dining room had all its original character

Here's another memorable meal

Two amuse bouche servings

Entrée (appetizer)

Lamb course

 Lobster

Desserts

Aprés dessert

Go East Young Travelers

We set off on a trip eastward.  Our first stop was in Lyon.  A familiar play was being performed.

 Sights around Lyon

One thing we missed in France was bagels - lo and behold in Lyon

Lyon has interesting old mailboxes all about.

One of the major squares.

Then onto a restaurant that is truly world famous.

Paul Bocuse is one of the grand masters of French gastronomy who has taught a myriad of well known French chefs.

Fish en croute.  The crust was intricately carved with scales, fins, and gills.

One of the most amazing cheese courses we have ever seen.

Then came a parade of desserts.  We could partake in all of them.

We hope to go back for a longer visit to Lyon to explore it's Roman ruins.

Home is Where the Heart Is

We thought it would be fun to show our neighborhood some national pride on the 4th of July

Several people wished us well on our national holiday, and one neighbor came over with a bottle du vin as a gift.

Another evening we were relaxing, and suddenly we heard commotion right out front of our door.  Lo and behold, a renaissance parade marched right past our door, which you can see is about 6 inches from the street.  The parade was almost in our living room.

A band was included in the festivities

Ron found a project down in our basement to fill in some cracks.  Observe the beams which are a few hundred years old.

Then he took on a new project.  Helping Lotte and Alexis renovate an actual cave for a home.  There are thousands of "troglodyte" homes in the Loire Valley.  Here are pictures before their work began.

Then the work commenced and is still in process.  Someday we will show the finished project.