Musings
Carrying her loaded market bags, this local lady is headed…I dunno, to visit her sister? She’s crossing the bridge from the medieval section of Entrevaux to newer occupations across this defensible walkway. Note that right before the towers is a drawbridge (squint), of strong oak planks. I don’t know how often it is raised these days….
In these parts, a lacet is a shoelace. In this context, lacet means hairpin turns. I traveled (with the Guru driving) along more lacets today than any other day in my life. Please note that although we saw the highest road in Europe, we didn’t embark upon it (let alone traverse it). The roads we did traverse were plenty high and serpentine. Grazed the treeline, saw evidence of storms that came through about two days ago, but no trees across our path (whew!).
Thanks, readers! I’m heartened that you request MORE photos. The last B&B we stayed at had…limited internet service, so what I did post was a stretch. Today, well, I’m just plain tired. The upshot is, teeeheee, I get to show you more photos when I see you next!
Posted at 4:21 PM |
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Canal beneath Pont Morland (48.84694,2.36578); every person on this boat (that we saw) was a women, and every one seemed to be a heavy smoker.
Following the Seine upstream for a bit, we discovered a canal! With a lock! And a boat going up into…the Bassin de l’Arsenal, where pleasure boats (that are not very tall) moor. It is the modified waterway that used to bring Seine water to the moat around the Bastille.
Posted at 1:57 PM |
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After our first visit to Montmartre, this is the church we look for to actually enter, the Église Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, the little church.
Okay, since you probably associate Montmartre with a different Catholic architectural wonder, here’s the big place (the basilica).
The other large building up here is ignored by most, skirted, and otherwise overlooked. Of course, it’s designed to disappear into the landscape, which is quite a feat considering its bulk and proximity to the two churches. It is the Réservoir du Montmartre—yes, a hilltop water storage facility.
If you’re wondering, we came up streets and steps from the northeast, and came down the “front.” Didn’t see Amélie.
Posted at 12:14 PM |
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We began the day (a bit late; time change, you know) with gorgeous sunshine, but by the time we’d strolled to Île de la Cité, clouds had rolled in, and were transitioning from white to grey. So, here, around the backside of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (so fancy architecturally—not from pure decoration like the door-façade—that it seems like this is the end that might make you want to become Catholic*), you can tell we’re probably about to get a message from gawd. Or something. (Meteorologists call it a on-again-off-again light rain, trying to become full-on light rain. Légère pluie here.)
Still, we persisted with our footwork, crossing the bridge to the other island, Île Saint-Louis. Here, the légère pluie lost its intermittent quality. We did manage to find the restaurant we’d lunched at aeons ago, and the “little” church I remembered (crane your neck; the streets are narrow, and the roofline is high).
Undaunted by the pluie, we turned southish, detouring through part of the Jardin du Luxembourg. We traipsed around the back of the Sénat (or maybe the front; qui sait?), where I lost count of the number of guards we saw (distracted perhaps by the flowers and their plexiglass guard-stations, with all their electronic communication gear quite visible).
We had quite a trek, in short. Then, The Guru got the SIM to start working, but it may be out of data-money—there’s always something.
* Consider that the exterior long was painted quite colorfully, which would have made this view POP. Note, too, that the building is owned by France (or is it the city?, at any rate, not the Catholic Church), although managed by the clergy.
Posted at 1:00 PM |
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Snail Shell Harbor, Fayette—such a poetic name!
In the absence of pressing chores, we headed off to boost the haul of the state park system with our admission fee—and visited Fayette and Kitch-iti-kipi (the Big Spring). We prefer to stroll the streets of this ghost town in bright sunshine—and today we were certainly sun-warmed!
Posted at 10:22 PM |
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The fire-folk are fundraising—to stabilize and upgrade Atlanta’s oldest firehouse. Old buildings are expensive to keep. In this case, I understand the urge to keep rather than replace. This one suits the neighborhood, with all its architectural detail and rich-colored brick. Time to buy a t-shirt!
Posted at 10:22 PM |
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Weather and remodeling over the decades mean that most of these concrete walks that were original to the Va-Hi bungalows in this neighborhood—including in front of our home—are now gone. I have walked past this house dozens of times, and this is the first time I have noticed that its walkway survives. I’ve always enjoyed the delicate rolled molded margins that no doubt stymie lawn upkeep.
Posted at 10:16 AM |
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That is: Spencerville Oh-Aich.
This canal, the Miami and Erie, was Spencerville’s economic lever for several decades. Today, sections of the canal sport duckweed and make “lazy river” sound like whitewater. This section has a bit more energy, but no more cargo.
Today, Spencerville was cranking up for a weekend of fried food and carnival rides, which took over the main street, but lacked attendants and patrons when we passed through before lunch-time.
We followed the canal for quite a ways, and even saw one spot where it flowed above a natural river—rather strange.
Economics two days in a row? Apologies!
Posted at 7:09 PM |
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View to southwest.
Hey, I’ve been escaping reality by spending time with Google Earth. Check out the 3-D version of the two-tiered Pont du Garde Roman aqueduct, northeast of Nîmes.
Posted at 12:23 PM |
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Carrier. Container. The side (shown here) and the top used different terms. Either way, you stack your devils if you buy one of these.
I didn’t.
Mental exercise: think back to pre-plastic days, when you had simple organic materials at hand. What did you do for containers? Most organic materials didn’t seal the way plastic does. What’s the impact of that? Submerging in salt water (think sauerkraut) or sealing in fat (a surface layer in a ceramic vessel)…that kinda sealed stuff. But a flexible plastic skin? Nothing like it. And…?
Now, eggs back in the day. Well, you could keep it at room temp, or hard boil it. I remember with great fondness boiled egg sandwiches we had the day long ago we toured Calakmul. Hit the spot!
Pardon for the wandering post; I could have…oh, never mind, I’ll save it to use in a day or two….
Posted at 7:02 PM |
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