Patterns

Yesterday we wandered in Paris with my daughter Susannah and her
husband Yadir. It was the perfect Paris day. If I had one complaint
it would be that for some reason there are tons of tourists
around.... Isn't this supposed to be "off season"? Go home people we
want this beautiful place to ourselves!

One of the spots we visited was Notre Dame. Even with hordes of folks
milling about, it never ceases to dazzle me. It looked like they are
about half way through cleaning the frescos in the back nitches and I
could actually see all the intricate patterns that cover the walls. I
remember it as being quite dark and spooky back there. Yesterday it
was bright and beautiful with details and gorgeous color.The picture
above is one tiny corner.

Cemetary Ceramics

OK I'm a bit eccentric but I really love visiting cemetaries. On
Sunday we walked to the little one in Lourmarin.
to pay our respects to Albert Camus, who is burried there. On many of
the graves were bouguets of wonderful ceramic flowers like the violets
pictured above. There were also small oval ceramic plaques on many of
the graves with images of the deceased.
Whoever chose the photos certainly wasn't thinking of glaming up the
memory of the dead. These were a most earthy bunch of folks. Almost
all of them looked like rather bad passport photos, hardly a smile,
lick of make-up or tweesed eyebrow in the whole bunch. Come on people
- just because you're dead doesn't mean you can't be remembered lookin
good!
Hope you have a Happy Halloween!

Friday- Lourmarin Market Day

Today is Friday and that means market day in Lourmarin. We've been
visiting many of the local markets of Provence-some have been a bust.
Chateau Neuf for example had only one vegetable stand, a rotessiere
chicken truck and a dude selling mattresses. Viason la Romaine was
huge and had everthing from cheese vendors to underwear salesmen.
Lourmarin, the village we have landed in is tiny and doll like. It
has great cafes and pretty little shops. You can easily walk the whole
town in an hour including stopping for a drink and shopping for
dinner. I love it here.
I didn't know what to expect of the "big" Friday market but it was
SUPURB. Because it is "off season" it wasn't the mob scene of my
other favorite market L'Isle sur la Sorgue(Sundays). The vendors said
the market is much smaller now than it is in the summer but we were
able to actually talk to people (kind of /sort of because my French is
more than limited). I met a wonderful potter. Her stuff reminded me
of home. It was so playful and special. She has no Internet - laughed
when I asked- but if you're ever here look her up : Helene Paris, Rue
de la Chapelle des filles, 84160 Cucuron.

Clean Feet

These beautiful Roman jugs
were at the city museum across from the HUGE ancient threater in
Orange. They were so perfectly preserved.What impressed me most was
the trimming on the feet - so perfect, precise and dainty with the
tiniest little turn up at the edge.

Being in the restored theater, that could hold 10,000 theater loving
(sometimes porno loving.... Yup... Something I didn't know, maybe
didn't need to know!) made me feel like a speck...a little bit of dust
in the air of time.

Seeing those beautiful ancient everyday pots made
me REALLY want to take the time to finish my bottoms and feet better.

Travelog from Caianne FR

We arrived after a few unexpected transfers and many hours in the
air. John bravely commandeered our rented hybrid Citroen down tiny
country lanes with two lane traffic, around many traffic circles.
People are very serious about getting to their destinations fast
around here. I close my eyes and try to breath normally.. Right....
We did find our beautiful little apartment perched high up on a hill
in the Vaucluse over looking the Cotes du Rhone wine growing area.
Tres gorgeous and reminds me very much of the Napa Valley.
Today we are off to hike in the Dentelles mountains and maybe ( just
maybe) stop in at a winery or two or three.
(the pic above shows how inspired I am by rae -raedunn.blogspot.com- to use my sketchbook.
You can see sketches from her travel notebooks every Friday. Thanks, claymate!)

One more test

Just to make sure.
OH, This is SOOOOO cool.
Next post will be from France, I promise.

Works Like A Charm

This is a test to see if I can blog on my iPhone.
IT WORKED.....iPhone and Andre I LOVE you.

A Question

Next Thursday John and I leave for a five week adventure in France. I am so excited. We've been planning this trip forever and I just can't wait. Photos attached are from a trip we look 3 years ago.

I am wondering if any of you out there in the blog world knows how you can download the photos taken on an i phone to the blogspot blog. Is there a trick to it or an app available? I would love to be able to blog about my travels but I'm not taking my computer. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.