New Year

New year is celebrated by most people in France. Here at the church there are games (and food of course).

In this game, you have to blow the cups off the table with only the air in the balloon. There were red faces for more than one reason.

Time for more food!

Cordialement
Terry

Cognac

As you can see, we are enjoying some fine weather in between the showers. True, June does still have her coat on, it is only 14 degrees, but with the sun and little wind, it is certainly good enough to have the plat du jour here in Cognac.

And it was good to catch up with old friends in the church. Can it really be nearly 2 years since we were last here? The pastor's son is no longer a baby, Emma got married, and there is a new, much bigger church building being built. We booked ourselves in for the new year celebration.

But for now I have to finish my meal, tandory chicken, a desert, and glass of wine for under a tenner.

Perfect


Terry

A Colourful White Christmas

It snowed. A couple of days ago now, and it was heavy for a while Since then we have had more snow flurries and a little thawing during the day. The snow is still there, but it is having little effect as the roads are mainly clear now.

Early morning snow down our road.

We wondered if we should get a tree, just for the 2 of us. Probably not, but we did see these for sale, just to colour up your living room.

Trees with a difference

Troyes

France have their own Troyes, pronounced 'twus'. It is near by but we realised we had never visited. It has its own history, long and varied but no Helens, just a king once and plenty of invasions.

Part of the city over the canal.

 We parked near the canal and walked over to the city. In this part at least, there are lots of half-timbered houses (pans de bois to the French).

June

June and I were dressed for the cold, but in the event it was reasonably mild. The predicted rain held off and we stayed far longer that we had anticipated.

As you walk past the canal, now with bridges so low it cannot be used as such, there are statues at intervals, artistically placed and commemorating something or someone, as explained on a plaque near by.

Famous lady

I can't remember who this lady was (June says her name was Lilly) and it did not say why she was famous - perhaps for hats? But good for a picture anyway.

Old style house over shop.

 There were plenty of old houses, often over a shop. Some were prettier than others, none of them very straight. A spirit level or plumb line could have been of assistance by the looks of things, or perhaps the wood just moved and twisted over the ages? I am sure an 'expert' out there will put me straight.....

No one minds if the house is not quite straight.

Some are less straight than others!

After a while being outside, and despite visiting a church (which was colder inside than out) we finally headed for an indoor market, just to look around, and perhaps to warm up a little. There was an upstairs that afforded this view of the downstairs.

Indoor market

On our way back to the car we saw that the cathedral was the other side of the canal. Lots of old buildings on route, including this hotel- 5 star it said and certainly it was straighter than most of the buildings in the town.

You could stay at this hotel.
Despite the age, it is 5 star.

 In the cathedral itself was this homage to women. I loved the shadows so I have included this picture.

Honouring women in the cathedral.

An so onwards and out of the city. No photos, but we did find the museum of the Knights Templar in a little village near by called Payns. It is a small exhibition with a film being the most informative part. We were the only visitors late on Saturday just before closing and had the place and the attendant's ear to ourselves. Despite that she appeared to know little in addition to what we could read, possibly because it is all shrouded in mystery and confusion, legend and conspiracy.  An extract from Wikipedia (link above) reads "Around 1119, the French knight Hugues de Payens approached King Baldwin II of Jerusalem with the proposal of creating a monastic order for the protection of ... pilgrims." Hugues de Payens was from the village now called 'Payns', hence the location of the museum.

A good end to a lovely day out.

Rose, Birds and dry Lake

Catching up with my camera, I discovered loads of photos not yet recovered. So these are from 22nd October to yesterday, the 10th November.

Last of the summer roses

I am sure I could smell this rose when I put it on full screen. Click on it to enlarge it and see if the scent is still there for you? This was one of the last blooms in the garden before the cold of winter took hold.

Birdlife, now that they have found us

And Clare bought us a bird table. For a while the birds appeared to ignore it, but in the end they discovered where the food was. At first we attracted sparrows because we put out only bread. Then when the table held sunflower seeds, the tits appeared. They are difficult to photograph. They arrive, collect one seed, and fly off to eat it. To have 2 together, as in this photo, took some waiting time and lots of rejected photos. A bird in flight is just a blurred image!

Herons on the lake floor. It's dry again.

The lake is dry again. We are now convinced this is deliberate as none of the boats in this harbour were taken by surprise. And 'wading heron depth' is not boat friendly.

There, now you have caught up with us and the season is chilly.

The sound of music

Today was Sunday. Church. French style.
And today we ate together as usual.
But today there were three surprises between the main course and the desert.
It turned out that June was the third surprise - very much to her surprise! She found herself, very gamely, singing for her supper (ok- lunch).

Singers

The guitar is held by Nicola who is German and they are singing in English (which always helps). A little later they were joined by Françoise (French) and they continued in French. Fortunately Nicola is tri-lingual and June can read and sing in French after many months of practice.
They sounded fine!
I have refrained from putting on the short video clip (with sound); partly, but not entirely, because it is a large file. But if anyone wants a copy....
Terry

The artistic French

When the French visit,
they like to bring a present. Something regional is good, and to be completely proper, it should be home made!
So today our guest presented us with this gift of regional products in a tin from the area.
Beautiful and much appreciated, especially as it was so thoughtfully put together.
Something for the English to learn?
Terry

So what's in the box?

• Fig chutney with Provencal olives
• Olive purée with Provencal herbs
• Olive purée with Provencal basil
• Orange chutney with Provencal olives
• Tomato pesto with dried tomatos and Provencal herbs
• Basilic pesto with Provencal almonds and goat's cheeze

And to the side: raspberry, myrtle, red Earl Grey tea; and a chocolate & orange spread.
In the box are almond-marzipan sweets.