A Day in Our French Life

                                               A Day in our French Life

                                                   An afternoon walk out back of the house

Our daily routine goes a little something like this.  We sleep entirely too late, til around 10, We open all the windows (no screens) and the back door and the top of the Dutch door in the kitchen.  We make coffee, slice our baguette or French bread, toast it, slather on some delicious French Burre (their butter truly is different) and top it with either Speculoos (graham cracker paste that we thought was peanut butter) or fig or fruit jelly.  Most days, we do a load of laundry and hang it out to dry, then we sip our café’s and sit at the long farmhouse table and plan our day.  Shall we tour a castle?  Shall we look for depot ventes to shop for junk/antiques? Shall we go to the daily street markets? Shall we go to churches and scour the tombstones looking for our ancestors?

 Some days, we don't plan, we just pick a direction and choose to have an adventurous day, just see what we see.  Those have been some of the best days.

After our daily adventures, back at home in the afternoon, we sit outside and each do our thing.  I blog, Chelsea facebooks, and Kurt usually plays the guitar until dinner time.  One day, Kurt took his guitar down to Redon Espic, the church we love that has the most resonant sound.  He recorded some hauntingly beautiful music.

 Kurt  is chef, Chelsea and I assist by cutting veggies and bread.  Chelsea sets the table and I clean up afterward.  Kurt is such a good cook that I am happy to do the dishes.  

This has been the vacation I dreamed of.  It is as close an experience to actually living in France as I can imagine.  A truly lovely old and comfortable house, welcoming neighbors, slow paced living is all I could have hoped for.  There are roosters crowing, chickens and cats wandering around the little town square, donkeys braying, sooo many birds singing, and beautiful country views all around.  There are old stone houses, tile roofs, roses at every turn, small but full garden plots, bonjours here, and  bonsoirs there.  Baran is quiet, save the birds, donkeys and roosters.  Boyntanac (our house) is lovely and I am happy here.

 View from upstairs bedroom

 Close up view of the floor stones

 Skillets hang from wood built in the stone wall

 Most used kitchen tool. I bet I've washed these 50 times each.

 Where I write

 View from the bread oven porch

Beautiful, even at dusk

Fete' - Brocante

Went back for the last day of the Brocante Salon, hoping that the piece I’d found and wanted on Friday was still there.  It was!  I have no idea how I will get it home, but in my home, it will be.  It is a Louis XVI style tapestry frame.  The tapestry is now gone, the frame is stripped down to bear wood, and it is just calling for a magnetic chalkboard.  A lovely find, indeed.  I purchased a few more gifts, more linens, a chandelier and a bracelet.  Chelsea had taken a liking to all the old silver on Saturday, but some of the sets were $800 for just the tiny spoons, so when I saw a pretty silver plated fancy fork and spoon set for $10 Euros, I swiped it up for her.

I bought from several of the dealers, but a lot from one couple in particular.  I had purchased a few things from them on Saturday, and they had the tapestry frame I wanted.  They were kind and friendly and so helpful.  Her husband,  who speaks a little English, was no where around when I arrived.  Speaking no English at all, she just smiled, took my hand, and lead me to the opposite end of the hall, to a lady who could translate for us.  Kurt and Chelsea had dropped me off for the day to do their thing, so I had packed a backpack full of supplies, prepared to sit on a hillside and paint the lovely view from Domme.  I asked, through the interpreter, if I could leave my backpack under her  table while I shopped.  Of course, she agreed. From then on, when she’d seen me purchase something from another vendor, she’d walk over, take it from me and put it under the table in her booth.  So sweet.  Lots of “Merci’s”. 

After going through each booth with a fine tooth comb, I was back at their booth to complete my shopping.  I was down to my last $100 bill that I had taken with me that day.  Her husband would quote me on each piece that I inquired about which added up to over double what I had left.  I even showed him my empty purse and said “No more money” He asked me which pieces I wanted, to which I replied, “Hmmm, I don’t know.  I want all of them!” To my great surprise, he thought for a second, smiled and said, “D’accord”, which means “OK”, I said, “really?” and he said “really, Madame!”.  Oh, how I love these wonderful kind French people. 

I left my things there, strapped on my backpack and hiked up the hill to Domme.  Spent the rest of the morning browsing the little shops and with the coins I had left, I was able to buy a coca and a croissant for lunch.  I didn’t care. Who could be anything but at peace, sitting in the perfect weather, gently breeze blowing, having my snack and watching the vacationing families, speaking their lovely language, going about their day.  It was so crowded there that I decided not to try to paint, so I just sat there, counted my ever mounting blessings and thanked God for this once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky, experience.  Thank you, God, thank you.

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 My favorite dealer. You can see my frame on the lower right.

                                   I purchased the chandalier hanging low in the middle.

 One of the many views from Domme

Back at home, the three of us laid out on blankets, listening to quiet music, soaking up the sun.  The air really is different here, even without the smell of flowers, it smells sweet and clean.  Then we made a quick trip to the grocery to pick up some needed items for dinner.  It just so happens that it is right beside McDonalds.  Kurt said that sounded good and Chelsea had really been wanting to try the McBaguette.  She chickened out at the last minute.  We sat there, like the Americans we are, eating our fast food and fiddling with our I-phones. (they had weefee).  We even had ice cream for dessert, which I tried to pay for by swiping my drivers license.  I must be losing it.  More laughs at Mom’s expense.  Came home to watch Coco before Chanel, not realizing there were no English subtitles, so we watched Sherlock Holmes again, instead, then turned in for the night.

Kurt and Chelsea are out and about for the day, leaving me a day of quiet to sit outside and write or paint.

Watering flowers - French Culture, St Cyprien, SNS

These pictures of me watering Monique's garden are the "cherry on top" of my summering in France.  I had been to Paris in 2008, traveling by Eurostar from London and had seen the countryside of France at 180mph. I knew then that someday, I wanted to drive down those roads and explore more of what I had seen.  For several years, I would think about it from time to time and finally when deciding how to celebrate my 50th birthday, I dared to start dreaming.  I dared to see myself there, living in a community of people and experiencing life, even just for a little while, among them.  From that vision, I began to make lists on what I would need to do to make it happen.  First, I began my search for a place to "fit in".  It so happens that the very first place I saw, was the one I would eventually choose.  After talking to the owner, Suki, I knew right away that this was the place I'd imagined in my dreaming.  But, I continued my search just to be sure. Next, I began the long year of preparations. I purchases Rosetta Stone and began learning the French language (un peu). I spent many evenings in bed with my headset on fumbling to pronounce these strange new words, but I loved every minute of it.  I would practice it in my daily life and drove my kids crazy.  "Mom, seriously, stop!"  Jeff and I are not wealthy, not even close, and when I would tell people about my month long trip abroad, I'm sure they wondered how in the world I could afford it.  But when you want something so badly, you find a way to make it happen.  I vowed not to take any of our "family money", so I came up with a plan to make the extra money myself.  I started buying up old ornate frames at yard sales and junk stores, I painted and distressed them, I had metal cut for them and painted them with coat after coat of chalkboard paint.  Jeff helped me with the assembly of each one.  I made them in all sizes so if someone wanted one, they could find one they could afford.  I hauled them to craft shows in Tennessee and Kentucky starting in the fall all the way up to Christmas.  I made a lot of money, but still fell a little short.  Determined to make all the money for my trip, in January, I took a seasonal job in a tax office, which ended of course on April 15th. That gave me just under a month to work out all the final details.  I had planned to go alone because Jeff had no desire to do such a thing.  People thought I was crazy.  In hindsight, I probably was, but I wasn't afraid.  My son, Kurt, was completing his graduate degree at Colorado State in early May and moving to Nashville, so it happened that he was able to go with me.  With no time to move into a place, he put his belongings in storage and planned to explore Europe while I "lived" in France.  I am so glad God saw fit to send him with me.  He was my rock and was such a help to me from the moment we landed and tried to get my rental car.  I would have been so lonely without him. My experiences would have been hollow without someone to share them with.  My daughter, Chelsea, my sister, Kathy and my mother were able to spend a week with us, too.  I wish I could have shared this experience with everyone of my family and friends and this blog was a way of doing that.

Watering my friend, Monique's, garden

And then...she became one of them...

Today we slept until 11 and drove to brickabrack in Le Bugue. We have to learn more about their culture. Lots of signs, lots of people, but the brickabrack, not much. As far as we could tell, it was just some little carnival type rides…hmmmm. 

Two cute children stopped us outside the house this morning asking for directions to Finsac. We were able to direct them ala gauche. As we headed to Le Bugue, we came up behind them climbing a big hill to Finsac pushing their bikes.

 We had seen banners for a Fete' in Finsac, so we decided to go. Well…there was a small pony ride in someone’s yard and a homemade wooden motorcycle merry-go-round in another.  That’s all…hmmm. 

                                                               

                                                                     *************

We took Chelsea to the Saint Cyprien church. Then home for a leisurely afternoon.

 St Cyprien Church

 Architecture

Roses, everywhere

 Even France's electric poles are fancy!

 No clothes dryer, just sweet smelling country air

 Suki, your roses are blooming!

Breakfast for SNS

 Again, caught not knowing the culture well enough, and forgetting that everything is closed on Sunday, we will have ham, French toast, and homemade hashbrowns for Sunday night supper. Delicious.

Chateau Fenelon

We spent the afternoon at Chateau Fenelon, one of the castles that was in the movie Ever After, where Prince Henry plays tennis with the Marquis De Limogue. It was one of my favorite castles yet. 

There was no French speaking guide, but we were given a pamphlet in English telling us about each room. Chelsea, our guide for the day, read it aloud for us as Kurt and I looked on, We took our time and enjoyed it inside and out.

 

Our cute little guide

                                                                      Foot Bath

                                    Pasta at home for dinner and Ever After again for Chelsea.

Domme, lovely Domme

The antiques show was held just outside Domme, a small town that overlooks the magnificent Dordogne valley. The view was so perfect that it resembled a scale model.  The Dordogne River winds through a valley of perfectly manicured farms, groves, and vineyards, splattered with barns, red roofed  stone houses, and winding country roads. 

The antiques show was held just outside Domme, a small town that overlooks the magnificent Dordogne valley. It looked so perfect that it resembled a scale model. With the Dordogne River winding through the valley, one sees the perfectly manicured farms, groves, and vineyards dotted with red roofed houses. 

                                                                                                  

                                                               Perfectly manicured

                                                               The entrance to Domme

My Louis XVI tapestry frame

Words cannot accurately convey the beauty of this place. We had planned to celebrate my 50^th birthday on the French Riviera, however, I can’t imagine a more beautiful place I would like to spend my birthday than here. 

Before we left, we made reservations for dinner on the terrace