Playtime in Nice

I never get tired of seeing the boule (petanque) players. Why should I? Some of them have probably been playing the game for 40 + years and they aren't stopping any time soon.

And, an early morning swim club ~ just below the Promenade des Anglais in the incomparable Nice ...

Law students in Nice, France

We happened onto a graduation celebration in the middle of Nice, just as most of thee students were slinging their textbook into the air. The cobblestone street was covered in thick, annotated books ~ you can see one of them in the bottom photo. And, note how many of the students are women!

Boule, Collioure, France

Don't you love this?
A fourteen year old boy playing on the same court as ...

... this more "experienced" player.

And please, watch your step.

Weight Class

 It would seem that there is no
weight requirement to playing the age-old Boule.

Or ..... maybe there is?

Boule in Collioure, France

 What's your style?

The Brothers Van Gogh

Thinking about my visit last fall to Auvers sur Oise, where Vincent died. And his beloved brother and benefactor, Theo, 6 months later. We traipsed over muddy fields of wheat to find this cemetery perched at the top of a long sloping hill. The sky seemed to hover above like a cloak, appropriate to the mood of the place.

Triangles in Paris and nearby

This is Arnold, from the town Auvers sur Oise, just a 40 minute train ride from Paris. This is where Vincent Van Gogh painted a hauntingly beautiful Church and several magnificent wheat fields. This is also where he lived his last days.
Arnold lives and paints in this house ~ a house also painted by Vincent. He waved to us to come in as we passed by the picture window of his studio. Forty minutes and many stories later, he posed for this snap.

Triangle by I. M. Pei outside the ... well, you probably know where.

One of my favorite subjects - men playing Boule.
This time in the Jardin du Luxembourg.
Love locks! On the Pont des Arts.
Can you see the lovers' initials signifying undying love?

Mostly Nude in Paris

We were in Paris for a lovely week and I decided to visit some friends.
I remained clothed at all times.




A casual stroll through the park.

France in color

Just a few dreamy scenes from our drive through southwest France......

Saint-Cirq Lapopie ~ a United Heritage site. Possibly the most perfect example of a "charming village somewhere in France" that I have ever set foot in.

I can't tell you where this is but I do know it's called Chapelle Saint Roch (see my excellent memory below). We were meandering through a small town when all of a sudden this precious chapel appeared in front of us. I shouted to STOP THE CAR and hopped out in the rain to snap this shot.


The grounds of one of our stops along the way - Chateau de La Treyne.

Île de Ré, France

View from the lighthouse to the sea.


It was late October and we were driving through the Lot Valley in southwestern France. It was beautiful, of course. Lush and fragrant with fall. We had no particular plans, other than to end up in Cognac to visit a barrel making acquaintance. I studied the map (ok ~ the GPS on my phone) to see what lay ahead in that general direction. But something tickled at the back of my mind, percolating until it finally bubbled up to the top and I remembered ~ Île de Ré!! Just off the coast of Bordeaux, a tiny island of oyster farms, vineyards, a lovely harbor and this twinkling lighthouse. We spent the day there and now I dream of going back to stay for several soothing days of bike-riding and beach-walking. And ~ see above ~ café afternoons.

Lunch in Paris December 2008

We're in Le Comptoir for lunch. To snag a dinner reservation, we would have had to call months in advance. But (here's a secret) if you wander in around 4 in the afternoon, you can walk right in, sit right down, and have yourself the meal of a lifetime. You see here the menu, written on a mirror, and also Trygve and me in a few years if we move to Paris and indulge in 2 hour lunches of dishes that have never been prepared in such a way ever. Really. Unbelievably good. I could barely stay conscious.

If you double click on the bottom photo, you will see what could have been the woman some decades earlier, seated beside her.