Looking for a little wood!!

   It's just almost 1 p.m. here in the land of chocolate, neutrality, and big banking.
   Julia is getting some wood delivered today and they are going to be here this afternoon.  So I am ready and waiting to stack wood.
   (OK, some of you thought I was talking about a different topic, didn't you?  Admit it!!)
   I am practicing my French for,"The wood goes here, please."
   Last time I practiced a phrase close to this I used the French word for wood in place of drink.  I asked Aussie/Brit/Swiss Craig if I could have a piece of wood while at a barbecue at his house.  He said he didn't have any wood, but could give me wine, or water, or soda.  Wood and drink sound very similar.
   I also learned why many French speakers get a little confused when I say to them, "I speak French a little, not very well."  Or, "I understand French a little, not very well."
   The French word for little is something like what you say when you step in something smelly:  Peu.
Rhymes with new.
   I have been saying poo...as in pooh, Winnie the and the stuff you find in diapers.  Little Lilly was the first to laugh at my using poo in a sentence.  She is 5.  She knew I don't know poo.
   I have had a great time this trip.  Italy, Barcelona, France, Switzerland.  I realize again how fortunate I am in this world of cutbacks, layoffs, and bankruptcies.  I admit I do feel guilty at times about telling people about the adventures Jackie and I have done in the past dozen years.  We have come to Europe every year since Julia came in 2002....so this is my 12th trip.
   We don't go anywhere else.  This is our vacation destiny, for better or for worse.
   And I love it.  This morning I hiked up the the local store and bought two freshly made croissants.  The crusts were crisp, the insides wonderfully buttery.
   On Sunday, we went to Gruyere to meet Michael, Megan and the boys.  We toured the chocolate factory in Broc and had a nice, but short, visit.  This is an extremely beautiful area.
   I visited some of Julia's friends yesterday who live in the vineyard and have an amazing view of the lake.  I offered to be an adopted grandparent and said I would be glad to do child care, laundry and dishes while living in their basement apartment in a spacious new house.  I think they would have hired me.....but pity the child who would hear me talking about poo all day.
   My checked bag is packed for tomorrow.  Julia's scale must be not accurate because it says I have 36 pounds in my bag.  There are 6 bottles of wine and two weeks of dirty clothes, including 17 pairs of underwear, so I think it is more than 36 pounds.  When I changed the measurement to kilos, it said 17....which is about 36 pounds.
   I just weighed it again and it is 55 pounds.....something has to give.
   I plan to take the train from Vevey to the airport tomorrow.  The highway has construction on-going and twice in the past week accidents have created two hour delays, trapping motorists on the road until they pass the accident scene.  The train will be on time and at the airport, which makes it pretty easy for me.
   So, that's it.
   Thanks to all who read my ramblings, made comments, and didn't get bored with me.
   I wish you all safe journeys, and great adventures in life....because after all, it is too short a time we have on this earth.
   Peace and love to you all.

At the chocolate factory, Charlie!!

Getting a drink, with dad's help

Dad and son bonding time

Ben opted for a little strawberry ice cream

Gruyere is a beautiful town.  My second visit....Jackie and went several years ago.

Where we parked for Gruyere

There is a castle, open four tours.  Ramparts are walkable.

This part of Switzerland is pretty

Garage before wood and cleaning

La bois ici!

Now the fun begins

Should be a two year supply....but it is getting cold this weekend, with temps in the upper 30s predicted.  The wood is two deep.

A little slice of Swiss life

   I love food.  Everyone knows that.  Maybe I love it too much.  So I plan on cutting down, once I get back to the states.
   When I get back to the states.
   Saturday Julia took me up the hills to a small town for a cow parade.  Each summer some farmers take their herds up higher in the mountains for grazing.  They bring them back down in the fall.
Several communities have festivals around the return of the cows.  I am not sure how much is traditional and how much is touristy because the festivals do draw crowds.  There are booths: wine, cheese, crafts, linens.  Some really neat paper silhouette type drawings, very intricate, very expensive, which are also a Swiss local tradition, drew my eye but I think I bought enough artsy stuff this trip.
   Of course we had to have a sausage....served with a chunk of bread.  And some pomme frites.  If nothing else, I can order French fries, red wine and ham and  cheese sandwiches in French.
   We also visited Craig and Yvonne...friends of Julia's and I like to say friends of Jackie and me.  They have two lovely little girls and they just bought a house higher up in the hills.  So we went to visit the pink house, which is a work in progress.  A lot of work in progress.  But I can see sitting on the terrace, with Lake Geneva in the distance, enjoying the quiet as the girls splash in the pool.  Or turning around and seeing the hills behind.  It will be a beautiful home, filled with love and laughter.
   By the way, the pool is Julia's idea.
   Saturday night we went for fondue.  Now Sherri will remember the place, where man love blossomed, the blue linen shirt legend began, and the obscene cow pictures dot the wall.
   We were joined by Craig and Yvonne and Kevin and Christina, also friends of Julia's who we consider our friends.
   Fondue, cheese and tomato, was the menu for me.  Chunks of bread dipped and swirled in a cheesy blend.  Or maybe a dip in the tomato fondue.  And wine.  Of course, wine.
   Dan may remember dessert there....but the pear dish is not on the menu currently.
   Meringues are however.  And they were absolutely amazing.
   Two huge meringues served with a dish of cream, a strawberry sauce, and vanilla ice cream.  You dipped the meringue in the cream, put it in your mouth and it literally melted, releasing a flood of flavors.
   Pretty darn good.
   Today we are planning to meet nephew Mike and his family at perhaps the place closest to heaven on Earth:  Callier chocolate factory and sampling room, where hundreds of chocolates are put out for people like me to sample.
   Hope they have enough!
 

Wooly sheep already came home

What's needed on the mountain for the summer also comes back for the winter

Ewww.... watch your step!!

This was a seed cone off a fir tree near Crain and Yvonne's new house.....really neat

For some reason they are getting rid of this toilet....don't know why!!

This terrace faces the lake at the pink house

Oh come on....you are drooling too!!

How to eat a meringue.

Ohh La La!!!! The life for me!

   Jeez, I love the French!
   Really!!
   They have a way about them.  They seem like such a fun loving people.
   For example, at St Chamas there is a mostly male group that hangs out during the day.  They laugh, talk, yell....but when a pretty young thing comes past they all get quiet and watch.  Well, most of the time.  If it's one of their daughters, they say hello and go on talking and laughing.
   When women greet each other, or a man, they do the cheek to cheek kiss.  When men greet each other they generally shake hands, pat each other on the back, and burst into deep laughter over what one of them has said.
   They shake hands in groups.  If four people are sitting and a fifth joins them, the new person shakes hands one person at a time, making their way around the table.  And they shake as if they hadn't seen the person in months.
   But everyone seems to smoke.  Cigarette packages have huge warnings about early death, cancer, heart problems.  But young kids, women, and older men just keep puffing away.  While I was enjoying a pastis a couple of guys drove up in a car and parked.  The driver had just it a cigarette and took two puffs, then gave it to his friend because he was going in a store.  He hacked and coughed the entire walk.  His friend puffed away, hacking and coughing after every puff.
   But it is the young kids smoking that bothers me.  They are looking at a middle and old age filled with increased cancer, emphysema and heart attack rates.  They can't be unaware of the risks.
   Another thing I noticed in Spain, Italy and France:  The people working work hard, the people not working play hard.  Whatever the job was.... bus driver, crossing guard, station agent, waitress....the people all approached it with a dedication and verve that I sometimes don't see when I go someplace in the states.  And all day, there are people in the bars and cafes, having coffee, or wine, or a beer...... I wonder if those people work at all!  And I wonder where they go in the winter!!
   Shops close at noon in many places and don't open until later in the day.  In Switzerland by Julia they close 12-2; in Italy they were closed 12-4, in St Chamas they closed at 12....not sure when they reopened, some did at 2 and others did at 4.
   And shopping on the weekend is tough.  Unless it is a tourist area, most shops are closed on Sundays.  Many grocery stores close early during the week so you better have food before 6 on Saturday if you want to eat on Sunday!
   I admit I love the French.  I love visiting France.  I try to speak the language, sometimes with success.
   But my time in France is over for now.  I'm back at Julia's, which is in the French speaking part of Switzerland.
   And that is strange also.  Switzerland isn't big, but it has three languages:  French, Swiss-German, and Italian.  A fourth language is also spoken in a small area.
   Many of the younger people speak two or three languages.  Older folks, like me, are stuck in one.
   I left France on the train at noon....it was cool and dreary.
   At Julia's it is thundering and raining.....the forecast for the weekend.
   Not the best kind of weather for cows and festivals!!

Square in Arles...hotel is on the left in the middle....third floor, no lift

Entry way in Arles....city has heavily bombed during WW II and rebuilt after the war

This dates to the decade before the first century AD.  The area towns have started a renovation of Roman ruins, and much work has been done in Arles.  The lighter stones are new, quarried at the same location as the original stones were taken.  Work has been going on for years and is still not finished.

Bullfights are still held in Arles.....with the final ones for the year in two weeks.  These are no kill fights.  The matador has to remove two ribbons and a strip of cloth from the horns of the bull.  Sadly, they also have Spanish fights where the bull is killed.  It's like Nascar....stats are kept and standings posted.  Even the bulls get rated in the no kill fights!

What is it with cats on car roofs in Arles??

First building you see coming into town from the train station.

Arles is a walled city....the side of town facing the train still has towers and part of the wall.  There are remnants throughout the town of the wall and medieval structures.

What do Jackie and Thomas Hardy have in common?

   OK, my literature base is slowly slipping away.  I believe it was Thomas Hardy who said you can't go back home.  I believe it was Jackie who said basically going to St Chamas to visit old friends was not a smart idea.
   Bingo on both accounts.
   Dan Graber and I went to St Chamas in 2011, renting a house in the old part of town.  Long story:  We fell in with a group of locals at a corner bar.  There were three who were the key people:  Nayma, a teacher at a local secondary school and an excellent speaker of English; Yves, a local character who had a sense of humor once you got over the fact that he insulted us three days in a row;  Marcell, owner and operator of Petite Cafe de France.  Yves spoke some English, more than he would admit to.  Marchell spoke about three words of English, which made conversations with him an adventure.
   I told them i would come back one day to visit.
   That was my mission on this part of the trip.  I had planned to rent a car, visit Chateu du pape (which has great red wine at affordable prices) and Salon de Provence, where there is a soap factory with great soap.  I just ran out from my 2011 trip and wanted to replenish.
   When my pocket got picked, and my driver's license disappeared, that prevented me from renting a car.  No problem, bus service and train service will take me anywhere I want to go.
   I had two options:  Bus from Arles to Salon, then Salon to St Chamas.  Chateau de pape was out.
   Or:  Take a train to Miramas, a bus to St Chanas and then the bus back and forth to Salon.  Dan and I did that trip and it was pretty easy.
   Unless there is a major construction project in St Chamas and the bus stops are relocated.  If I had known that, I would have gone with option 1.
   Instead, I arrived in St Chamas at 11:00, unaware of the 11:21 bus to Salon.  I knew there was a 1:26 bus, so planned to take that.
   When Marcell saw me he beamed and shook my hand.  Since Nayma usually eats lunch there, I decided to wait until about 12:45 and catch the later bus, visiting with her and possibly having a sandwich.
   Well, I got hungry and got a sandwich and a red wine....then a Coke.  Marcell served that in a glass with ice.  At 12:45, when he was perplexed she had not come, I headed for the bus stop only to find it was gone.  I asked a local woman in my best French were it went.  She explained in her best French where it was.  I said, "Merci,"  and proceeded on my way, her way.
   In hindsight, she must have thought I had a car.  She said, I think, "Go up to the road for Miramas and turn right."  I did...and walked for 20 minutes, never finding a bus stop or hint of a bus stop.  So I went back into town, ended up where the bus stop was and started to go back to the tourist office for info.  About 10 meters down the road, at about 1:31, I found the bus stop.......but had missed the bus.
   At the tourist office she said the next bus was 3:16.....but the return bus to St Chamas was at a time I could not ride because the bus from St Chamas to Miramas left at 6:15.   Plus I would miss seeing Nayma after school and Yves when he finally showed up for lunch.
   So I wandered around, got back to the cafe and had a Coke, with ice, and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  At 3:30 I had another wine.  And waited.  And waited.
   It turns out Yves just returned last night, late, from a trip to the US where he went to Utah.  I saw his postcard.  He has been asleep all day and not answering his phone...Marcell evidently called.  And Marcell kept saying, "She's usually here by now.  She passes here on her way home and always says hi."  At least that is how I interpreted his endless flow of words.  He kept looking at his watch, shrugging his shoulders, and saying "I don't know."  That phrase I understood.
   At 4 I guess I had enough, of wine and waiting.  I said good bye to Marcell, asked him in my best French to tell Yves and Nayma hello and perhaps I'll see them on my next vacation.
   But I doubt it.   I loved the time Dan and I had there, I loved the laughs and the wine we shared with Marcell, Yves and Nayma.  But it is a memory that can't be recreated.
   I tried going home.  It was a mistake.
   And here's the upside:  I had a two foot ham and cheese baguette, two glasses of wine and two Cokes.....and spent less than 10 Euro.
   And the downside:  When buying my return ticket from Miramas to Arles the station agent asked me if I had any discounts.  I told him I did not think so.  He asked my age.  I said 65.  He said the pensioner discount starts at 60 and is 25 percent off the cost of the ticket.  You don't have to be a resident, you just have to be 60.
   Would have been nice to know that on my 98 Euro ticket.......

Lion at Arles, guarding the river.

Sailing school on the lake at St Chamas

Fishing harbor....the caves in the hills are occupied.  It is really a neat town.

Loved this house two years ago...still do!

Cat on a hot Volvo roof!  Could be a great play title.

Dan...he was closed!!!!

Waiting for the bus.....with the cafe in the background.  That's about as big as my smile gets, Sam.

Shit with a capital S!!!

   First off,  no pictures today.
   For two days in Barcelona I was extra careful.  This morning, riding a crowded train, I stood with my back against the wall.
   So when I went to buy a drink and a croissant for the train....imagine my surprise when I could not find my wallet.
   Then I remembered:  Some guy with a suitcase bumped into me right at the train station, in a crowd of people.  My suitcase went sideways and I grabbed it.  He apologized.  And then the bastard left with my wallet.
   Good news...no credit cards or bank cards in it.
   Bad news....my driver's license was.
   Good news....had daily spending money...maybe 40 Euros
   Bad news....Avis won't rent to people without a driver's license.
   Good news..... Car rental costs more than he took.
   Bad news.....have to take trains and buses to see my friends and visit one or two towns.
   Good news....got to Arles safely
   Bad news....credit card declined at train station.
   Good news...called Capital One and it is now working again.
   Bad news....have to go back to the train station.
   When Jackie reads this she is going to say:  Why was your license in your wallet in the first place?  My weak answer is when I rented a bike in Lucca I had to leave my license as a deposit and I just never put it back in my neck pouch.
   Then she will say:  What do you mean your insurance cards are now in the hands of some petty thief in Barcelona?  My answer would be the neck pouch weighed a ton and I put my Medicare card, TRS insurance card, eyeglass card and one other card that I can't remember in my wallet.  Maybe she will be kind enough to call those agencies and ask what I need to do.....
   There is a basic travel rule here that I know but had gotten lax with.  Never keep anything of importance in a wallet while in vulture country.

Gaudi isn't gaudy, is he?

   Whew….this was a long day.   

    I   was up at 4 a.m. for some unknown reason.  Could not get back to sleep.  The room was cool, the place fairly quiet.  Well….sort of.

   There is a group of high school students from Denmark … and they tend to get noisy.  Add to this that some of the rooms have a common bathroom, which happens to be on my end of the building, and people going to the can in the middle of the night close doors hard.  Fairly quiet.  
   I have a bathroom.  It is small.  There is no shower curtain, just a stall and a drain on the floor.  It gets wet in there!

   The air conditioner runs for 30 seconds at a time.  Then it is off for 30 seconds.  Then on.  Then off.   You may sense the pattern.  I didn't count sheep, I counted seconds between cool blasts of air.

   So I bought a ticket for the hop on, hop off city tour bus and went to Sagrada Famila.  This is the masterpiece of Gaudi.  He started it in 1893 or somewheres about.  Pictures show the cathedral out in a field with nothing around it.  Today it is surrounded by apartment buildings and traffic.  It is not yet finished.  In fact, workers were actively working this summer.  The project continues as contributions are received.

   I want to say it is about a football field in length, but again, my memory is not as good as it used to be.  The cross section is one third of the length.  There are going to be 14 towers when it is completed, probably not in my lifetime.

   Gaudi was asked if he was disappointed at the slow pace and responded, "My client does not keep a schedule."

     The pope blessed it a few years ago.

   The facades reflect elements in Christ's life, such as his birth and his death.  The birth facade is full of figures and shapes and is a happy side while the opposite is true of the side depicting his death.

   Two of the towers are open for viewing.  I rode an elevator up and looked out over the town.  Lord that was high!  (Pun….get it?)  I had the option of going down a two foot wide winding staircase or going back on the elevator.  Since I was already woozy, sweaty, clinging to the sides…..i took the elevator.

   That's when it got not so good.  I got on the hop on bus and rode about an hour back to my starting point.  Then I rode it to the house with the funny chimneys.

   La Pedrera is call the zenith of Gaudi's work.  He built this apartment building in the 1920s.  His designs are linked to nature and there are elements of leaves, trees and everything else in the building.  There are no straight lines...everything has a curve.  It is pretty amazing.

   The tour also goes into a period apartment in the 1920s...way cool....and in the attic, which gave a great look at how it all holds up.

   Then I rode the bus again to a park, Giuel Park, that Gaudi orignally laied out as a residential community.  High on the hills, it gets a nice breeze and has awesome views.  Not a lot of houses were built, but some were and I looked at a couple....but my legs were about dead at this point.

   There were also people selling water....1 Euro a bottle...and the police were taking the water.  As soon as the cops went out of veiw, out popped more "fresh water."

   I was tired, and not real hungry when I hopped on the bus for the 40 minute ride back.  That's why I did something maybe I will regret later.

   I went back into Mercat de La Boqueria.  This is a market with almost anything you want to eat in the world, and some things you would never consider eating, is available.   Bought a friuit jusice.  Then  I decided to save money so I bought a couple of fried items....like a breaded chicken and a breaded lump of parmesaan cheese.   And another fruit juice.  Now, I feel like I have a ton of something waiting for action.  Maybe I should have gone out for tapa again.....
   And on  afinal note....I am a sexy man.  At least that is what the lady in the short skirt and tight, tight top called me when I walked past:  "Hey, there, Sexy Man.....Stop for a minute.  Hey Sexy Man, where are you going?"  I did not stop.

What looks like a monster is the roof of the church....the supports are tree trunks and the room is leaves

This dominates the space

Looking down on construction and over the city....view from Passion Tower

This facade shows Christ's birth

The passion side has four towers done, more to come

The curch is massive!!

Cue the Star Wars music

These are functional air vents and chimneys!

Speaking of gaudy....