Coming Soon

Haven't all movies been remade? I can't think of a single movie that needs to be remade because I don't think that there exists a singular movie. Even Titanic has been remade in the sense that they released it in 3-D and that is in a sense a remake. Nothing is new under the sun and certain things should be left as originals, not that it would happen because it seems to be human nature to take something and put your own imprint on it. I will be interested to see if anyone can think of a movie that hasn't been remade already.

A day trip to Arcachon and Cap Ferret by train and boat

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boats, France, pictures, postaday2012, resorts, train travel, travel

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My goal for this day trip was to show the baby girl that you didn’t have to have a car to go to the beach. All that we needed was a train ticket and some patience.  We took the train from Begles and we changed over at Bordeaux Saint Jean and it took us all of an hour to get to Arcachon.

Personally I prefer Arcachon to Cap Ferret because I find that Arcachon is much more lively than Cap Ferret. My cousin of course has a house at the Cap but before that he always took me to Arcachon and that is where we went out to restaurants and nightclubs, that all happened way before I was married and before he was married as well. It was during the days of youth, no sleeping, no responsibilities and no worrries.

The boat ride that links Arcachon and Cap Ferret is about twenty minutes and Cap Ferret is small enough that you can easily walk around the whole town as well as you can Arcachon. This is the lesson that I wanted to impart on the baby girl, a car isn’t a necessity, it is a luxury. Public transport and other transportation can easily substitute a car any day of the week.

 

I know that Cap Ferret has a wonderful market but I had never visited the one at Arcachon and I was really happy that we hadn’t missed it, the smells were divine. You could smell all of the cut flowers and the fruit. The seafood was just out of the water fresh and that is not an exaggeration, Arcachon and Cap Ferret are known for their fishermen and the oyster and mussel beds. All I ever want to do at these markets is to buy everything and go somewhere to cook something and therein lies my dilemma. I don’t have a house there or else I would be cooking up a storm and baking as well. Who would I feed all the food to? I would have to make a lot of new friends and invite my family on a daily basis  and my hubby would have to retire permanently so that he would be on hand to eat everything that I dish up. Lovely fantasy don’t you think?

 

The only regret of the trip was that I didn’t allot enough time to make the side trip to the Dune de Pyla. The baby girl wanted to climb it all the way to the top and I didn’t see that happening with the train schedule that we had. I told her that she would have to plan a future trip with friends and conquer the Dune on her own. Not bad for a goal if she chooses to accept it.

This day that we spent together was a lot fun and I hope that it will rank as a lovely day in the baby girl’s memory log because it definitely rates as a fantastic day in mine.

My pictures of Bordeaux

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Bordeaux, city life, France, pictures, postaday2012, travel

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Bordeaux is a wonderful city and I hope that with these pictures, I have been able to give you a sense of how beautiful it is, both the old and the new. I know that I had written about the Tram in a previous post and how modern it was and I think that the pictures above, show exactly how the Tram puts a modern feel throughout the city.

I fell in love with the gardens off the docks (Quai) and how much they complement the majestic facade of the buildings facing the Garonne. The Bridge of Stone, Le Pont de Pierre,  from the beautiful backdrop of the manicured gardens all along the docks is now seen at a much better vantage point, the gorgeousness of all the colors combine in a tapestry that was naked beforehand.

I know that my memory is fading but I couldn’t get over how much I had lost of my memory than when I was blanking on the name of the Place at various locations. I apologize but even if you don’t know the exact names you can still appreciate the beauty of it all. I feel like such a ninny, me and my forgetfulness, oh boy.

One of my favorite pictures is the small series of the Miroir d’Eaux, the water mirror, on the docks. Seeing all the children running through the cool water and seeing the water spouts surprise the little ones was, I thought, adorable. I don’t know who was the architect of the whole project but they deserve a lot of recognition, incorporating modern elements into the historical landscape of a grand city is a feat that many have tried and failed. Kudos to the team who pulled this masterpiece off.
The transit system really makes it easy to leave your car at home and explore Bordeaux either by bus or by Tram, the tickets are interchangeable and the stops are very close to each other. There isn’t a good reason for taking your car unless you really want to pay high fees for parking.

I tried to show how the pedestrian streets were full of shoppers and the whole city was abuzz with people in cafe’s, in stores and just walking about taking full advantage of a beautiful day in the neighborhood. I keep reading about doomsday economic scenarios regarding the Euro but I think that someone forget to tell the good people of Bordeaux. No one was panicking, they were calmly sipping their Perrier’s, their glasses of Chateau Haut Brion or their Kronenbourg. I even bought something; I found this English all natural beauty shop and I bought an exfoliating facial scrub made with citrus and Breton sea salt. The company is called Lush and I really love my facial scrub, I am going to look into purchasing more facial products online because my skin is feeling pretty wonderful these days.

I have never been to a performance at the Grand Theatre but my Tantine L. has and she said that the night had been magical. I could see why because the building just looks so grand and majestic, right out of a fairy tale with all of the belles of the ball and the beaux dressed to the hilt in their hats and tails. Maybe some time in the future my hubby and I will be attending an opera performance or a ballet performance, I can always dream.

There is much history to the city, I know that the English held the city of Bordeaux for about four hundred years and then the French got the city back, my Papa once told me that the residents of Bordeaux actually wanted the English back because they lost much of their trade with England especially the wine, oops. The reason why Bordeaux was held in English hands was because Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most powerful women in Europe, was married to King Henry II of England. It was during the reign of Charles the VII, that Bordeaux was taken back into French hands and under the French crown.

According to Wikipedia, the 18th century was the golden era for Bordeaux, all the gorgeous buildings along the docks were built during this period. Victor Hugo, according to Wikipedia, found the city so beautiful that he said “take Versailles, add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux” Moreover, Baron Haussman, a former prefect of Bordeaux, used Bordeaux’s 18the century big-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor Napoleon III to transform then still quasi-medieval Paris into a “modern” capital that would make France proud.

See I wasn’t exaggerating when I said Bordeaux was beautiful, even Wikipedia agrees, lol.

Dating Scene

I have been married for almost twenty two years so my memories of my single days are really foggy. I don't think that I ever asked a man out on a date, I know that my husband made plans for our first date, he proposed and nine months later we were married. Before that, I was in college and working full time, so I was a little too busy to really take the time to ask anyone out on a date. I am also shy when it comes to asking anyone out so it wouldn't have happened anyway.

The family home at Begles

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family, France, memories, oictures, postaday2012, travel

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These are pictures of my Tonton’s house, he bought it from my grandfather sometime in the past but the house has been the family home for as long as I remember. My mother was born in this house, as was her youngest brother. My Tonton made all the changes in the interior whereas my cousin, his son, has made all of the exterior changes because he now runs the family business, Pepiniere Bontemps. A nursery business that my Tonton started himself with the help of my grandfather back in the 1950’s, I believe. My Tonton is very proud of the business and I am very proud of him as well, it is not easy starting up a business and it isn’t easy keeping a business alive for more than a few years, let alone over fifty years.

The house isn’t the same as it was when I was younger. Actually I always got a kick out of the changes because my Tonton would take me on a tour to show me the newest and latest improvements and how much they cost. He wasn’t ever bragging, he was just proud of the fact that through his hard work, he was able to have these amenities towards a better lifestyle.

The thing that strikes me every time I go to stay is how much smaller everything is now that I am an adult, when I was a little girl, I was convinced that the house was as big as an estate. It’s not, but for a little girl with the big family that I have, it felt like it. I have tremendous memories of the best smelling kitchen in the world thanks to one of the greatest cooks in the world, my Tantine. Her cooking is my comfort food, her soups, her pates and everything else she cooked for us. I would say that the two of them, Tonton and Tantine, are the heart and soul of the family. As long as they are still with us, the rest of the family will always come together for a family reunion and do the family business of catching up and remembering that we are all connected somehow. Facebook is great but it pales in comparison to the family celebrations that Tonton and Tantine have organized and gotten us all to do facetime in person.

These pictures are full of nostalgia for me, the areas which are now dominated by plant containers for sale used to be various plots of planted trees, a vegetable garden, a strawberry patch and two grassy areas with beautiful flower gardens in the middle. The house and gardens were more of a showpiece rather than a garden center. There is an actual nursery about 40 minutes away in Langon, specifically in Castets-en-Dorthe, if anyone ever wants to visit a lovely nursery. My cousin wanted to make the home property more accessible to the local clientele and he has established a flourishing local commerce in the past few years. I know that my cousin is doing everything possible to do his father proud and it is hard in these economic times, I am proud of him and all the work that he has done and is doing.

Kids Menu

I would have to say I have lost my taste for pasta, I used to love ravioli and tortellini and nowadays I can easily go months without eating pasta whatsoever. Even going out to eat at nice Italian restaurants, I'll pick fish or shellfish rather than pasta, I don't like the full feeling that pasta has given me in the past. I have made homemade ravioli and I found those to be lighter on the digestive system, I would make them again, it just involves a bit of work and time, good project for a winters day.

Ode to my Mamie

Tags

death, family, Grandmother, memories, postaday2012

My grandmother on my father’s side just passed away. She was 92 years old and I would safely say that she passed from old age. Her last few months were sad, she was no longer living at home. Due to her age she needed to be put in an elderly housing place. She missed her home but it was for the best since she couldn’t really take care of herself. She lived in Florida where she and my grandfather had moved to in the early 80’s. She loved Florida and she never wanted to move back up North which we all understood but unfortunately it made it more difficult in the end. She is now in a better place and it comforts me to know that she is probably reunited with my father in the great beyond, at peace and content.

My grandmother was a strong and feisty woman. She was very opinionated and spoke her mind especially to my grandfather. She was also very capable and artistic, when my grandparents moved down to Florida, my grandmother took full advantage of retirement. When my sister and I spent part of our summer with her, I remember my grandmother showed us how to do macramé, she showed us how to make sea shell trees with plaster of Paris bases and twisted strands of wire as the trunk that we unraveled to make branches where we hot glued shells as leaves. We also watched the soap opera lineup at ABC, that was the great summer of the historic epic Luke and Laura sag. Every day we had to be home in time for 2:00 p.m, for the soap “One Life to Live” to watch bad boy Brad scheme his way back into good girl Jenny’s heart and then at 3:00 watch Luke and Laura battle against the odds for their true love.

During this summer, my grandmother also showed us how to fish for crabs in the canal right outside near her backyard. She gave us a pole with kitchen string, a net  and all the gizzards that we needed and my sister and I spent hours fishing and catching tons of crabs. I don’t remember eating them but we sure had a lot of fun catching them.

My grandmother was also a world class storyteller, especially of my father and my uncle when they were little boys. Those two were the biggest scamps on the planet according to her and she said that with a lot of love. She told us that one day she was in the kitchen making a cake and had left out the ingredients on the counter to go out and put the wash on the line outside. My father and my uncle wanted to help put the flour into the bowl but disagreed over who was going to pour the flour into the bowl and who was going to hold the bowl. The argument became a flour sack tug of war and the whole house was covered in flour, not to mention, both my father and my uncle. When my grandmother came into the kitchen from outside, she was horrified and in shock, without thinking, she grabbed the two flour covered scamps and threw them into the tub and turned the water on high. You can imagine what flour plus water plus hair and eyelashes mean. It took her forever to get the flour paste out of both boys hair and eyelashes. My uncle had thick ringlets, my father just had thick coarse hair, everyone was wailing by this time. My grandmother was beating flour out of the sofa cushions for months down the line. She did love those stories, not so sure if my father and my uncle had the same fondness for the stories, but they were accurate.

She will be missed and as I am writing this I have a smile on my face because I can hear her voice as she is telling me this story again. We all loved her very much and she was a one of a kind Mamie.

Party Time

I know of them, where they are being held, who is speaking but I don't watch them on t.v. I find the whole process to be reminiscent of a high school pep rally, I prefer to read and research what actually happens in our political reality than watch each political party's feel good theatrics.

Road trip from Rouen to Bordeaux

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France, postaday2012, road trip, Rouen

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The road trip that we took was to get to my Tonton and Tantine’s house in time for the family celebration that was taking place on Saturday, July 27th. Nicolas and Francoise planned the road trip very well, we stopped midway at Tours to have lunch at a wonderful little restaurant making the trip feel just 3 hours long of sitting at any one time. Rouen to Tours 3 hours and Tours to Bordeaux 3 hours, very doable from both a driver and a passenger point of view.

The views of the sunflower field are my favorite, I spent most of the car ride with my neck angled to the right and then to the left, just gazing at rapidly approaching streams of yellow. It is one of my strongest memories of France from way back when, those long stretches of yellow. Next spring, I am going to plant my own little patch of sunflowers somewhere in my garden to remind me of France.

The place where we stopped for lunch had signs that showed paths to walk along the river and picnic, we opted for the restaurant. I wanted to treat Nicolas and Francoise to show them my appreciation for all of their hospitality. There were also signs indicating chateau visits along the Loire. One of these days I am going to plan a trip down the Loire Valley for my hubby and I because I have heard rave reviews from many different people, French and American alike. Can’t go wrong when you have such a diverse bunch of critics.

The famous bottle of red at my Tonton’s house in Bordeaux is a Chateau Petrus, back when I used to drink wine, my Tonton opened a bottle of Petrus for my hubby and myself and the rest of the family and it was an exceptional wine, I do remember that. That was eons ago and another bottle of fine wine that my Tonton opened for me, way back when, was a bottle of Chateau Yquiem, a Sauternes, and that was in exchange for a lovely dessert that I had made for my Tonton. That wine, I will remember forever, because it tasted like the nectar of the gods.

I thought that the old chateau carved out from the surrounding cliffs needed to be photographed. I really love the engineering and the economy of thought that entails constructing buildings such as the chateau and its surrounding units from within the land around them. I find that it captures the essence of the people of its era, they were a hearty people and they worked their land very hard to maximize as much as they could from the land and their labors.

There is so much more to be seen in that region and I am looking forward to exploring it in the future with my hubby.

Home Games

It's not unusual but I like to go into my baby girl's room and solve the Rubik's cube that her friends consistently play with and leave messed up. It takes me a few minutes and reassures me that my brain still works.