Well, not exactly. We're in Paris attending second round matches at Roland Garros - the French Open tennis tournamant. We will be eating and drinking and generally having fun. Stay tuned.
These are just a few examples of the timber and brick/stone construction typical of this very beautiful region of central France.
A faded flower setting seeds.
A hook of some kind stuck in the marsh - not sure what it was for.
This is at l'Etang de la Mer Rouge, where the interplay of shadow and color caught my eye.
Another gift from Cheryl, this "brown" tower is like the one from Las Vegas in that it opens up, revealing...
... a tiny bottle of "champagne" and two teeny glasses. Yum!
This is the first stop on our short drive around the Brenne regional park. It's one of the many man-made (hundreds of years ago) lakes in the park that has an interpretive center and blinds for observation and photography. It's called l'Etang Cistude.
The walk out to the observation blind.
A veiw from the blind out onto the lake.
A pair of Pochards, female on the left, male on the right.
Ken, Cheryl, Sue and I spent a day wandering around, visiting bird blinds, and taking in the sights. Oh, and we ate lunch in a town called Mézières-en-Brenne.
Shadow play on the château walls.
The ramparts of the medieval citadel.
Looking through a window across town.
Another gift from Cheryl, this glass tower came from a shop in Amboise. She gave it to me for xmas in 2001 after our trip to the Loire Valley (Vouvray) earlier that year. We were still living in California then. My, how time flies!
We celebrated with a magnum of Ruinart. Boy, was it good. There are only five glasses because one of us (no names, please) doesn't drink. It's not me...
A cat watches to ensure order in the neighborhood.
A pigeon rests in a modern-day gargoyle high on the castle wall.
The photo (above) shows the church of St. Ours, in the middle of the medieval town. Construction began sometime in the 12th century, I think, with more added up until the 15ht century. The two conical structures between the steeple towers are hollow and are called dubes.
Above, the donjon of Loches rises amazingly high. It was built here in the 11th century by Foulques Nerra. It's a fascinating example of medieval architecture and worth the entry fee to climb around in.
There is also a renaissance château in the citadel, well worth visiting, that holds paintings, furniture, tapestries, and suits of armour. The body of Agnes Sorrel once rested there, but it was moved into the church of St. Ours in 2005.
Next in the series: a tower given to me again by Cheryl, who is visiting now. This one came from Pottery Barn, and it came it 2 sizes. Coffee table size and large. This is the large size. It's at least three feet tall and occupies a spot in our dining room. The little wire guy hanging off the side was a present from Sue's daughter Rachael a number of years ago. I thought he would love showing off his daredevil skills, and since he is made of wire like the tower, it's a perfect match.
Sue is here with us until the end of June, and she and Cheryl will be in Paris together in a couple of weeks.
Clothes drying from a window in town.
Geraniums in a window.
Stained glass in the renaissance Logis Royal.
This will be the last post from the Dordogne trip. Just a few more images from Collonges in Corrèze. It's basically become a tourist town, although not in the same vein as Sarlat. Many fewer people, shops, everything. There are a number of artists who've called the place home for 15 or 20 years now, and a few eateries, like this one (right) offering sandwiches.
A ceiling inside the church at Collonges.
Stained glass detail inside the church.
Technically, none of these pictures was taken in the Dordogne. They're all from Collonges-la-Rouge in Corrèze. Take a look at Ken's post from Collonges for a more comprehensive view of the town.
This was a gift from my friend Cheryl in 2003 when she visited us here. I thought now would be a good time to post this one because she arrives tomorrow for her second visit!
The museum of pre-history in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil. A beautiful little town, by the way, surrounded by pre-historic sites of interest, including many caves and this museum filled with bones, arrowheads, and other artifacts from the days of early homonids. The most famous of the caves, Lascaux, is north of here at Montignac.
Seen in Montignac, on the Vézere River.
Since they are alike, I decided to group them. Oh, and there is this pencil I acquired at one point that fits neatly inside the smaller tower-bottle. At the end of the pencil, in place of an eraser, is a tiny Eiffel Tower. So cool. Can you tell yet that I'm into this? It's a sickness...
Le Château de Beynac.
Nuages sur Sarlat.
The central nave.
Candles, mostly red.
Stained glass forms projected on the floor.
