Category Archives: France

Just say, “Oui!” — Part One

5 September 2019 Sunny Bridge 2 Comments

I’m having a hard time lately–really sad and missing David like crazy–but I did promise more about France, so maybe this will redirect my thoughts for a while. It’s all day-to-day and learn-as-you-go, this grief thing. The 29th of August was the three-year anniversary of the day we learned David’s diagnosis was terminal. Certainly all the anniversaries have their own sting, but that’s one of the worst. And unfortunately, you can’t count on the sorrow magically shutting off when the calendar changes to the next day.

So . . . (deep breath) . . . in an effort to focus on the positive, I’ll tell you about a couple of adventures in France I was not at first sure I would enjoy.

I shouldn’t have doubted. Pascale ALWAYS plans excellent adventures, but when she suggested driving down to Royan to see a 1950’s concrete cathedral, I was skeptical. Fortunately I know better than to turn down anything proposed by Pascale and Jacky, so the morning of June 9th, we were on the road again.

The church is an impressive feat of engineering, so huge I never really got a decent photo, but here’s the best I’ve got. It’s a moving story of building something great after senseless tragedy. On January 5th, 1945, Allied forces launched a heavy bombardment, believing it was a final stronghold of the Germans. Sources differ on the exact numbers, but all agree the bombing raids killed many more civilians than German soldiers and 95% of the town was destroyed, basically for nothing.

But Royan rose again. It’s very different from La Rochelle and most of the other French cities I’ve seen, so well worth the trip. I loved the wide flat beaches that made me think of long walks with David on Folly Beach . . .

. . . and these carrelets . . .

. . . that reminded me of Jacky’s 70th birthday “cake.”

Then we headed down the road to charming little Talmont-sur-Gironde, one of the Plus Beaux Villages de France, where there are beautiful little details like this . . . .

Their church is pretty much the opposite of 1950’s concrete, ancient and barely hanging on to the edge of the cliff. The access to take the cool scary photo from below is now so dangerous we weren’t allowed down there.

Eglise Sainte-Radegonde, Talmont-sur-Gironde, France

Definitely a lovely, interesting day, but the best part was simply spending time with my friends, who with unflagging generosity, share the beauty of la belle France every time I see them.

So glad I said, “Oui, merci !” Even writing about it is making me smile. Thanks again, Pascale and Jacky!

Next up: Grilled eels — Stay tuned!

France, New Adventures

Île de Ré Blues

26 June 2019 Sunny Bridge 2 Comments

Only a few more days here, and I’m not even close to caught up, so you’ll probably be hearing about France for a while yet. Hope you don’t mind! This mini-adventure actually happened on June 6th.

I’ve always loved blues, the color in all its various hues and shades, and the music, whether haunting or funky. Not so much the emotion, but I suppose even that can have a certain tender poignancy sometimes.

Jacky, Pascale and I headed back to Île de Ré a few days after I moved into Le Patio. Fortunately, this year was mostly about the color.

Shimmering, shifting blues and greens so stunning I could barely catch my breath. I had to remind myself to put down my camera occasionally and just soak it in.

We started with lunch in Saint-Martin-de-Ré in Le Belem, the same restaurant where we lunched with David in 2017. Then on out to the western end of the island. where I took the picture that you sometimes see at the top of these posts (and most of those above). A lot more cairns now.

Ile de Ré Photo Redux — Low tide, so not quite the same view, but still stunning.

Pascale and I climbed the lighthouse this year, something we had not done on past visits.

Gorgeous views in every direction. . .

The island that day was an absolute celebration of color. And not just blues and greens. The coquelicots were carpeting the fields in bright orange-red.

Then just as we were leaving, we caught a glimpse of the famous donkeys of Île de Ré that wear pants and give rides to children. Jacky obligingly stopped to let us jump out AGAIN for photos. None of them were wearing culottes, since they were off-duty, but this one was posing like a model. I couldn’t resist. The more traditional shaggy ones were all dozing in the sun, facing away from us. Not the ideal photo angle.

This post, with the uncooperative photo subjects and the blues and reds, is starting to remind me of an old post from our adventures in Key West 2015. Another memory that makes me smile.

There was certainly a moment the emotional kind of blues threatened, when we came upon the tree where David and Jacky sat for this photo in 2017. . .

I even took a photo of the empty branch with the beautiful sea behind it, but it’s too sad. I had to remind myself to be grateful we were even able to get back to this place he loved. I am.

It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It’s gratefulness that makes us happy. —David Steindl-Rast

Wishing you both gratitude and happiness!

France, Home is Where the Heart Is

Bonjour La Genette !

20 June 2019 Sunny Bridge 2 Comments

After our tour of Bretagne, it was time to give Pascale and Jacky back their own space. We returned to La Rochelle on Sunday the 26th of May. I was moving into Le Patio on Tuesday, so Monday we had a chance for a long walk around Les Minimes, the larger beach and port of La Rochelle.

It was blustery but sunny and we walked all the way out to the end overlooking the new port and the channel into the vieux port.

Looking across to La Genette where you see the trees on the other shore.

A channel is absolutely necessary, because here when the tide goes out, it goes OUT.

So I’m now on the other side of the port. It used to be about 10 minutes by car, but now much of the central part of town is restricted to buses, bikes and pedestrians, and it’s a LONG way round by car. I can walk to Pascale and Jacky’s in about 40 minutes, with lots of people watching on the way. They pick me up for adventures involving luggage or events happening on my side and beyond, like our day on Île de Ré (next post).

This, by the way, is NOT where I’m staying, as you know if you read the first Bretagne post. But this gorgeous place IS in my neighborhood, only about a block away, so I walk by it all the time. Most houses come right up to the narrow sidewalk, but a few have a bit of garden in front. It’s more common to save the garden for the private space in back. Still there are lots of tall roses trémières (hollyhocks) growing up from the tiniest cracks where the pavement meets the walls. Excellent reminder to never give up.

David and I used to love the huge marché in the center of town. We rented an apartment about three doors down from it the last time we were here in May of 2017. This year I walk around the corner and inland a few blocks to the cutest little grocery, about the size of my kitchen at home and not much larger than my kitchen here, actually. But it has everything I need, including all the fancy French cheeses, a surprisingly sizable wine selection, produce so amazing I’m always tempted to buy more than I need, and dozens of fascinating little jars of soups and sauces and who knows what.

Marché du Mail — Straight up this street a block and a half, then left to “my” house

I treat the place like a museum. I spend so much time perusing, eventually someones asks me if I need help. I don’t. I’m just enjoying myself too much to leave.

So like the roses trémières and these roses from the patio, I’m trying to bloom where I’m planted, no matter how temporary. Wishing you the same!

France, New Adventures

Au revoir Bretagne !

18 June 2019 Sunny Bridge Leave a comment

Here it is mid-June and I’m still writing about May, but there you go. Sunday, the 26 of May, we were headed home to La Rochelle in the afternoon, but in the morning we had a chance to tour a bit of the southern edge of the Golfe du Morbihan, including the Château de Suscinio, which was so enormous I couldn’t manage to fit it into one photo. Plus, the sky was rather dreary and it was breezy and cool, so I didn’t spend a lot of time trying. I promise you can find photos if you Google it.

The back section you see in the photo below houses an elaborate and creative exhibit devoted to the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Château de Suscinio, walking from the front section to the other building

Part of the King Arthur exhibit at Château de Suscinio

Turns out Bretagne has as much claim to the legends as Grand Bretagne has. This was news to me, probably because my main exposure to the legends was T. H. White’s The Once and Future King (which I loved) and Hollywood, including Disney.

Château de Suscinio was built to house various dukes of Brittany, and even housed Henry Tudor, later King Henry VII of England, for a while, but I found these two characters in one of the rooms claiming to be the châtelain and châtelaine! Although I’m not sure why they were not wearing these fab red shoes.

Another story of ruin and restoration, this château at one point had been completely abandoned and was in the process of being dismantled, serving simply as a source of stone. It is still a work in progress, but what has been done is very impressive, with various interactive exhibits (obviously–see Pascale and Jacky above). Well worth the price of admission. Bonus: No creepy, crumbling, dark staircases.

Pascale made sure to buy a final Kouign Amann to have at home. And of course she had the ice cream, the whipped cream and the caramel sauce to go with it. No tiny Breton flag though. Somehow, we managed to eat it anyway!

Our four-day adventure in Bretagne was an amazing whirlwind of beauty and history, although I have to admit that my ability to accurately take in thousands of years of history and legend, all in French, remains moderate, at best. Still. I loved every minute of it. Many thanks to Pascale for all the careful planning, and to Jacky for all the nerve-wracking driving around a bazillion roundabouts, while the GPS only sometimes helped. But what’s an adventure without a bit of losing your way? It was fabulous and I’ll never forget it.

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