It’s the time of year when we are planning our next excursion to France, but looking back is a treat.
Here is a beautiful day from last year’s trip. The region is Ardeche in southeast France which is just west of the Rhone. It is one of our favorite places in France.
Our friend Jean, a resident of the area and a scholar, led us to two magnificent churches and some ruins and topped off by a wonderful dinner riverside in Vogue. Click below to see the photos from that memorable expedition.
When traveling this year, we spent a memorable afternoon at Giverny, Monet’s home and garden which is located not far from Paris. Although quite crowded with tourists, we lingered till the end of the day and caught some tranquil vistas that were quite familiar.
In honor of the last few weeks of summer, here is a photo of the Mediterranean traveling from Cannes to the peaceful Ste Marguerite, one of the Iles de Lérins, a group of beautiful islands in the bay.
Church hunt fans, don’t despair. The site was upgraded to a new version of Word Press, but now the beautiful theme is not quite working. I’ll be working on a new look that will appear shortly.
Also, please forgive the “pause” in posts. Years ago my fellow travelers instituted a “moratorium” on France talk from the end of our summer expedition till Thanksgiving. They became impatient with rhapsodizing about future trip possibilities immediate after arriving back home. So any discussions of the next summer’s itinerary waits till then.
But, most wonderfully, the moratorium is nearly ended. And, to celebrate, our group will be gathering at Les Halles in the financial district for a French-tinged thanksgiving with friends and family. Sante!
Tania came to visit today. It was very fun. I showed her how to write in this blog and how to post a photo. The photo of my little elfin kitty Squeaky looks so sweet I decided to share it with the world. As you can see, Squeak resembles a young Audrey Hepburn.
Meow, we’ll be back to Romanesque churches soon.
It was a thrilling two weeks in France–the first one in Drome Provencale and the other spent with friends in Ardeche. It’s always a little sad to be back, but it will be fun to post our adventures and talk about the new churches we have seen as well as recounting tales of the lovely French people we have met.
The Cathedral of Notre Dame & St Paul was classified as a historic building in 1841 then restored under Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870). Its construction dates from the 11th century and lasted until the beginning of XIIIe, i.e. at the height of the Romanesque architecture characterized by a “imposing sobrietyâ€.
Built out of calcareous stone, the dimensions are masterly: 45m length for 18m broad and 20m height. On the southernmost porch, principal entry of the Cathedral, one can note the presence of a sundial. Marks left by the stone masons, show the mode of remuneration of the time. Inside the Cathedral, one will be able to observe a mosaic paving the chorus and representing Jerusalem, of the Gothic frescos going back from XIVe and XVe century, many low-reliefs as well as the old wood furnace bridge covered with sheet with gold (1663) and Harmonium (1704).
Detail from the Cathedral.
I have used a small general European bird book for the last 4 years. I kept meaning to get a more detailed one, but luckily for me procrastination has paid off–there is a great “Birds of Europe” book by Killian Mullarney, Lars Svennson, Dan Zetterstrom and Peter J. Gran that has stellar reviews and has just come out recently in paperback. I have just ordered it and can hardly wait to see it.
No doubt, on our search for the hidden churches of Drome Provencale, we will see many birds in the countryside. I found this list of birds found around Mont Ventoux–we will need to be on the lookout!
Blackcaps, Blue rock thrush, Buzzard and Honey buzzard, Eagles – golden and short-toed, golden oriole, Hoopoe, House martins, Kites- red and black (circling low over the fields), Nuthatch, Pied flycatcher, Ptarmigan, Red-backed shrike, Siskins (at the peak of Mont Ventoux), Swallows, Three-toed woodpecker, Titmice – blue tit, coal tit, great tit, long-tailed tit, Tree creeper, Warblers.
Some possibilities:
Hoopoe — I WOULD LOVE to see this bird. I’ve been looking for it for at least 4 years.
We have seen magnificent birds circling overhead. In this part of Provence, there are several specials of both eagle and buzzard. Here is a short-toed eagle.
Here’s a shot of a honey buzzard aloft.
I found this simple map showing all the nearby villages. Notice how very close St Paul Trois Chateaux (our village, St Restitut is just several miles away)is to Vaison-La-Romaine (a favorite town of ours from past trips.) The big blank area at the bottom is Mont Ventoux.
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