FIRST: the end of the vacation.
At this point we are still in Cluny, in Burgundy where we left off the last time.
Here is a dog ‘coin’ (corner) because the French don’t understand the phenomenon of poop and scoop (and yes it’s nasty but what’s nastier picking it up or watching the sidewalk where you walk because it’s covered in the stuff?! Have you heard they call the streets here craptoirs not trottoirs… yes yes yes.)
Flowers beautiful flowers
Awww cute dogs starring me down wanting me to rescue them!
Another dog guarding his restaurant
Here is some samples of what’s in Alice’s wine shop
(in the far right corner next to the provence pastis is ABSINTHE!!!)
after we left Cluny we had lunch at A&C’s with Cathie’s 87 year old dad Patrick who explained to me and Daphne when we told him about our crazy ferry trip that the Mediterranean is often dangerous because it’s very shallow and therefore more violent in storms (?) but we also saw the Mediterranean sea in the Borne Identity and they were on a much smaller boat than our ferry and they got out ok so ça va. Anyway had lunch. Relaxed chatted enjoyed great conversation. Said goodbye to Patrick and Dominique. I napped to knock the vertigo out of myself and Daphne enjoyed the paysages and then we had dinner at Cathie and Alice’s again later and watched the news in English (and we realized how out of tune we are (me and Daphne). Yikes!)
The next day Alice was working in the shop in the morning and Cathie was leaving for Paris. So we took a walk with ross down to a cow pasture one last time (*sniff) and there I found FOUR FOUR LEAF CLOVERS! I thought this was quite cosmic because there were four of us – one for each of us to remember this short holiday in Oct-Nov 2007. Then Cathie went to Paris and I read in my beautiful kitchen nook.
And after Alice arrived (ooo A’s!) and we ate lunch we went on a church extravaganza. I will probably mess all this stuff up… but anyway. First we went to Chapieze to see a classic Medival Romanesque church
The best part for me was that there was a harpist and violinist practicing when we walked in. it was made after Cluny I think but still a very very old church. The pink stone is particular to the area we were in. and the stone roof is special to the period but was recently re-tiled (but in the same fashion they used when the church was originally built).
The steeple of this church is also much taller than normal and can be seen from very far away. And there is a ‘green man’ on the church which is a symbol that often turns up on churches of this period but is not a normative catholic symbol but more of a druid or celtic symbol thus signifying some other influences being represented in the architecture (oo I think I almost sound like an academic! Good work!)
There’s a green man up there but he’s pretty hard to see. Fortunate for me Alice found me a postcard with him on it! Ya!!
Then we went to Brancion, which is a medival village! Really cool! It’s being renovated right now and people are moving in to it as well… which is a bit weird because it’s sort of a ghostly little village. Also typical medival architecture is small, dark, cold and damp… not the homiest place to live! No big windows like we are used to now! Anyway here is some parts of Brancion
So the church here is also typical to the period but has an Egyptian guy buried in a tomb inside but I can’t remember the details of him now :( so I’ll have to find that out! Anyway I do know that he was brought back to France in a pickle barrel. And he’s in the church. His feet are resting on a dog, which represents loyalty. Also they were doing some reparations to original frescoes that have survived in good condition all this time.
And here is the view of the paysages from Brancion: another little medival village
also we took a roman road through the woods of Brancion to get here.. you can tell it’s a roman road because it’s straight!
Then we went into the chateau at Brancion with some more nice views as well as this beautiful field of cosmos
Brancion from above (it's a huge place, Brancion is!)
Then we went to Tournus where if you are studying medival and Romanesque architecture you start here. It’s much much bigger than the previous two churches and it’s a bit fancier. There is a big nave at the beginning and other features I forget. We saw the crypt where there is an old well too and then we discovered where archealogists have recently unearthed period mosaics! Cool… the cancer mosaic (ie the crab) was very bizarre looking! Wish I had taken a photo. Oh well here is one of the inside of the church
Then we walked around Tournus a bit which is kind of a dying/dead little city/town however it was also Sunday which is not a good day to explore a place you don’t know – nothing is happening and nothing is open. But found some cool little signs and stuff. Here is one for a bar:
And I found a dog of course
We also looked at lots of baskets and antiques. Then we went home and had dinner again with mia and had a good enriching discussion and I also checked my email and found some interesting things awaiting me and we watched the news again. Then we went to bed and both me and Daphne couldn’t sleep – probably because we were leaving the next day :(
So Monday rolled around and we went up the lane a little cleaned everything up and I took some last photos
Goodbye villa bambi :(
Alice drove us into Cluny where we met Sonia who works at the shop with Alice and said goodbye to Alice and Mia. We also of course had to say goodbye to Ross at the house :( then we went exploring, saw beautiful boots in a shop that was closed damnit and an amazing pastry shop (they are never closed!) And then we caught a bus, after sitting in the sunshine for awhile, to Macon where I found a million trillion beautiful bikes (actually three but you know)
Orange and red peugot TWO AT THE SAME TIME!!!
Then we got our train to Marseille (we are back again but not for long again). And did as Alice taught us – something cultural for the brain aka we went to see the cathedral majeur …
Then we went to a café for tea and we managed to find a CORSICAN CAFÉ what luck! I mean really… the chances!
Then we went down to the ferry dock … and got our ferry. Other than the brats our ferry ride was uneventful and we arrived safely and not vertigo-ed in PV at 8am (right on time too!) when we disembarked the first thing we saw was this heron on this huge rock in the perfectly unmoving waters (salt marshes I think). Beautiful
And then a lovely lady said ‘where are you goin?’ and we said ‘the lycee’ and she said ‘the lycee of PV?’ and I said ‘mais oui’ and she said ‘oh no I’ll drive you get in!’ and we we were like ‘oh mi god I love you.’ It was super nice.
After we organized ourselves at Daphne’s we went up to town and sat at Au Bon Coin for two hours… alternating times… I went to the post office, Daphne went to look at Boots, I did an errand, she did an errand. Etc. we did reverse the previous rule of doing something cultural for your brain first before indulging but oh well! So after the tea we went to look at the church in PV – very typical to the Genoese traditions but inside different from the Romanesque – no stone work, it’s all hand painted to look like stone work. Interesting all the same.
Then we went to café les beaux-arts and had tea again and I saw this lovely shutter, balcony, laundry shot
My bus left PV at 2.30 pm so I’ve now been in Ajaccio for a few hours. It’s good and weird to be back. It was a fabulous and short first vacation now only five weeks till the next – count down begins now.
NEXT ON THE AGENDA: some random fun ajaccio stuff
One good thing about Black Hole of Evil school (aka Res des Iles) is not that the sun is beginning to set when school gets out (beginning too is the operative word!) walking home lends to some fabulous views of the sun setting over the sea and les iles sanguinaire in the background.
One day when I was going to Beth’s for dinner and a movie with Anna, I was walking by Monoprix and saw these three dogs tied up outside all looking in the same direction waiting for their owner! Awww!
Even on a cloudy day the sea is stunning
At Thursday evil school (only res des iles gets a special evil name even though it’s not even that evil… the other two evil schools don’t even get to have a name that’s how awful they are!) during recreation something was being stirred up outside – check out those clouds and the crystal blue sea!! Later a tempette came (aka a small storm) but school ended early due to the tempette. It was stunning to see the sea like this anyway
It made the news when snow hit the Mountains in Corsica. (look at the background)
Of course it’s still 20 degrees in Ajaccio but women walk around like this:
(is a winter coat necessary in any circumstances when it’s 20 degrees? Just cause it’s November doesn’t mean you have to give up on the flipflops!)
a party commencing at our house: candles are not a good idea around drunk people – apparently there was wax everywhere…
bottle carnage… this is a reoccurring theme here
then we learned the phenomenon of caps: thom instructing anna.
And the moral of the story: when drinking and maeve’s and thom’s you will end up sitting on the floor with your beer it’s that classy. Here’s clara!
As an added special: you know you are a primary teacher when you find The Jellybeans and Lollipops mallette’s all over your room plus you know you are an embittered primary teacher when you find a doll decapitated by a boot on the floor. (thus primary school carnage commenced on the floor of my room)
Clementine’s are abound – in person and as a fruit. See for yourself:
Clementine in little girl form
And fruit found on the street
Plus: circa last night (28th November) at The Jockey with all the assistants and some people from other random places and Corsica – we make quite a gang. The Jockey locals probably don’t know what hit Ajaccio! Plus, a teacher from my evil Thursday school was there… err awkward since it was Wednesday and now it’s Thursday so I have Thursday school today! Anyway here is the Jockey – a bar we frequent, where the patron knows us. I happened to be the star thanks to my new haircut, circa yesterday afternoon. Cher it was but nice it is!
Plus me and Anna (Alexia in the Background)
Who was there: I’ll tell you: Clara and Christina from Spain, all the Anglaise’s, (Thom, me, Anna and Beth), All the Italians (Evita, Valentina, Francesca and Emmanuel), Pierre-Paul (Corsican), Alexia (Corsican) and Prof of Valentina (Corsican I assume, also known as Mr. le Tutor!)
TO FOLLOW A LITTLE DABBLE OF: more partying…
DAPHNE’S 24TH BIRTHDAY CHEZ NOUS IN AJACCIO!!!
On the 18th Daphne came out from PV to stay with us for the weekend and celebrate her birthday. Thom prepared an amazing chicken dinner and we also had chocolate cake… but I didn’t realize (due to having had wine already) that you need to wait till the cake has cooled to put candles in them… and the candles melted in the cake… so we then had to dig out some wax… errr but it was still good! Anyway drinking happened… thanks to Tierry and Christoph (thom’s friends from the Lycée) who brought four cases of beer. Thom knocked one over though. But I think we only lost one beer.
Some more bottle carnage (bottle overload as well or bottle damage i supposse works too):
The happy birthday sign me and Beth slaved over… and then we didn’t get to show it to Daphne when her bus arrived! Oops!
Late in the evening, a discussion on sausages, and how two thumbs are not real sausages…. This is hard to explain… it goes something like that anyway
Maeve spilt a bottle of red wine! Oops! But to be fair it wasn’t corked… bad idea!
Then being the artist that I am, I wanted to document the carnage of the bottles, and thom decided to document me documenting the carnage… contemporary
And the best part of all… thom taking a photo of anna taking a photo of me and mike, anna’s bf leaning on the curtain thinking it was a wall and falling over!!!
I think we went to bed at 2am or 3am… and the next day a major clean up happened – the house was a disaster! (Don’t worry mom no parties when you are visiting!!)
TO FOLLOW AS A SPECIAL TREAT:
The day we discovered fire
Anna happens to live in a CLASSIC French apartment and it even has TWO fire places. So we tested out one of them the day after Daphne’s birthday party and ate copious amounts of marshmallows (or I did anyway).
Fire was made
Maeve and Anna with the fire
Thom, Daphne and Beth chillin’ out
Everyone enjoying the fire!! It was a really nice day
(this photo refuses to enter photobucket so you're out of luck!)
well photobucket just crashed so i'll have to finish this another day! but anyway here you are - another set of stuff to look at hope you enjoy! ciao bisous! xx
