Thursday, 14 March 2013
I like this spot where the creek cuts through a band of roca madre*.
Has anyone else realized that the name the Pope-Hope has chosen means Daddy Frenchie (chosen by a Argentine of Italian descent).
* Literally, mother rock.
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Garbanzo-bean skins headed for the compost pile.
Today’s phrase: nuisance snow. Used to be: snow flurries, with no accumulation expected. In the lightest sense.
I saw nuisance snow at least four different times when I headed out today….
Thursday, 4 October 2012
Reminder: pain in French means terrific bread; it is not painful to eat!
By the time this was built, estimated to be between AD 10 and 25, the Romans aimed to construct a complete architectural façade against which to stage their theatrical performances. As I understand it, the thrust of this was not only to be massive (see the tiny people to the far right of the frame) but to promote their vanquishing of this region. The formal name these days of this wonder is Théâtre antique d’Orange, and it is one of two that survive in this detail. Back in Roman days entrance was free; today you pay (that’s okay, your funds support maintenance), plus have to exit a winding trail through their junk shoppe.
Thursday, 27 September 2012
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!
Thursday, 23 August 2012
My husband is my amanuensis.* Every once in a while.
Anyway, we passed this edifice, then he typed some “texts” for me, and voila!, we have a couples’-date for Satiddy-night fun!
* I learned that word from Rex Stout.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
The light at oh-dark-thirty this morning (Sunday version, and therefore later than on weekdays) was not muted by overcast, and I found the low-angle sunlight stabbing this mundane mailbox.
Several houses down a giant fig tree overhangs the sidewalk, and the fruit* is ripe and beyond ripe, pungent and attended by insects. Given the overpowering odor, I am not surprised that this food-producing tree was singled out early by desert people for harvest.
* Apparently not actually a fruit, but an infructescence, for those who do not want common usage to trump technical meanings. Speaking of meanings, our otherwise tame word sycophant has an etymological link to the fig, if the internets are to be believed.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
And fior di riso means fine rice.
Cute farm (that is: fattoria).
Monday, 13 February 2012
I wish I knew the backstory on this—I mean beyond the obvious….
Sunday, 25 December 2011
It’s a long story, but around here, “it’s a feast,” announced at the onset of a group meal, has a complicated history that’s become a bit loaded. We’re trying out substitute vocabulary: banquet.
The noun form works perfectly, but the wrinkle is in the verb—they aren’t as interchangeable.
The photo is at the pre-dessert lag when we all hoped what we’d consumed would compact to make room for…two kinds of pie! With fresh-whipped cream!
Friday, 8 July 2011
We all want to spiff things up, yet maintain continuity in the good parts. In Il Gattopardo (translated as The Leopard, but it really refers to a serval cat), Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa has Tancredi say “everything must change so that everything can stay the same,” and I think this is the marketing version of the same sentiment….
The fish, however, is making the big (involuntary) change. But not into my basket. We came home with veggies, citrus, and tofu—the kind of strange mix that comes from not having menus in mind when browsing well-stocked aisles.