A doorbell

I don't know exactly what it was that attracted me to this shot. It's probably got something to do with the geometry. I like lines, intersections, balanced and neatly arranged shapes. Scenes that are out of balance (from my point of view) bother me.

It makes me want to go in and see what's behind the door.

This is the entry to a house's courtyard/driveway on one of the main streets through Le Grand-Pressigny. The sign on the right says Les Bas Jardins (the lower gardens), presumably the name of the property.

A post office

The iconic poste (post office) in France is a venerable institution and one that French people can still count on. When you mail a first class letter within France, chances are it will arrive at its destination the next day. When you want to refer to something as easy and quick, you say that it moves comme une lettre à la poste (like a letter in the mail). No problem, smooth sailing.

La Poste du Grand-Pressigny. Click to special-deliverate.

The post office was also a place to make phone calls back in the day when not everyone had a phone in their home. When I was a student in Paris in 1981, I went to the post office to make phone calls in one of the private cabines (phone booths), often having to stand in line until one was available. That service has dwindled now that most people have cell phones. But another service has grown: la banque postale. Yes, the post office is also a full service bank with its own ATMs.

The color brand of the la poste is bright yellow, as you can see on the signs above. Letter boxes are yellow. Mail carriers drive yellow cars and vans, and in some places they ride mopeds or bikes, also yellow.

Before the name changed to La Poste, the post office was called the P.T.T., Postes, Télégraphes, et Téléphones. In those days the post office was also the phone company; that changed in 1988 when France Télécom (now called Orange) was created to manage telephone (and now internet) service. On most poste buildings around France you can still see the ghosts of the old signs. In the photo above you can just barely make out the old words on the white band above the newer gray strip where it says "La Poste."

A restaurant

This little restaurant in Le Grand-Pressigny looked very inviting. I saw whom I assumed to be the chef milling around behind the bar when I was taking the picture. He actually came out to see what I was doing, so I said, "Bonjour! La lumière est très belle, n'est-ce pas?" (Hello, the light is very pretty, no?).

Chez Grand' Ma au Grand-Pressigny. The menu on the left is €17,50 and the one on the right is €20,50.

He smiled and went back in. It was way too early for him to have customers as most restaurants don't start their dinner service until around 7:30 or 8:00. He was getting things ready, I'm sure, as it was Saturday night. I wonder how full the place got? Here are the two menus:

Menu à 17,50€

Tarte fine de Ste. Maur et tomates fraîches, ou

Terrine de campagne maison et sa confiture d'oignons

Hampe de bœuf grillé, ou

Filet de lieu sauce au vin blanc

Assiette de fromages, ou

Dessert

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

Menu ã 20,50€

Terrine de chèvre et son cœur de tomates confites, ou

Tartare de saumon à l'huile vierge, ou

Salade frisée à la tourangelle et œuf poché

Cuisse de canard maigre cuisiné en confit, ou

Filet de sandre poché à la crème de safran, ou

Faux-filet grillé en Val de Loire

Assiette de fromages, ou

Dessert

A flower shop

Are you noticing a theme here? This is a fleuriste (florist) in Le Grand-Pressigny. And, again, I didn't see anyone in this shop. Although, I'm certain that if I had gone inside, someone would have immediately shown up to help me.

Lots of plants and flowers to choose from. Flowers are a typical "hostess gift" in France.

We just had a beautiful Saturday. Sunny skies, but cold. We turned on the central heating in the morning and I got a fire going in the wood stove, of course, in the afternoon. I guess we're in fire season now.

A bakery/pastry shop

While I really liked the butcher's red-painted storefront, the purple on this boulangerie (bakery) in Le Grand-Pressigny is my favorite. Even if the shelves aren't as full as they might be, I am still tempted to step inside.

I think the teal-colored marks on the curb mean no parking, but stopping is allowed. Normally they'd be yellow.

The bakery makes a specialty called une Pressignoise (the small writing on the left-hand side). I don't know if it's a bread or a pastry, but I'm sure some of my readers who know this place could tell me.

A butcher/deli shop

A couple of weeks ago we happened to be in Le Grand-Pressigny, a town about an hour south of us. We took Callie out for a walk in the early evening before dark and I had an opportunity to snap some photos around town. I wasn't optimistic because the sky was overcast and it was spitting rain.

A kilo of this and a kilo of that...

I was pleasantly surprised when we got home to find that most of my photos turned out okay. This is a boucherie/charcuterie (butcher shop/deli) in town. I was drawn by the warmth of the lights inside and the woman waiting on the sole customer. I think she smiled when she noticed me outside taking the picture.

How chard can it be?

This year we planted a fall crop of blettes (Swiss chard) and we've just started harvesting it. I made a quiche with the first leaves we picked.

Blettes in the garden. Yum!

I added smoked lardons (bacon) and chunks of goat cheese to the quiche. It was great. The chard should continue to produce until we have a hard frost. I'll probably blanch and freeze some of it for use over winter.

Blettes and goat cheese baked into a quiche.

We're also eating the collard greens that got planted at the same time. Again, we will likely freeze some for winter in the coming weeks.

Beautiful chard leaves. Tasty and sweet!

I may plant more in the spring, depending on what else we decided to put in next year. Stay tuned.