Pre-non-turkey day :-(

Dusseldorf!
A week ago Nance and I flew to Dusseldorf where I attended Medica - the world's largest medical device trade show.  17 exhibit halls and who knows how many visitors.  Some of the larger exhibitors had reception desks with 3 (or more) receptionists, 3 story exhibit booths, private meeting rooms in the booth, and reception lounges on the second or third floor.  We stayed on a first class hotel ship in the harbor as there were no hotel rooms available in the city.  Nance took in Weinachtsmarkt - the Christmas market and took Flat Stanley along to enjoy the day.  I got to spend some time with her there as well.  Back home Saturday we went to a Thanksgiving Dinner put on by local missionaries for Chinese students of the university.  Nance made traditional dressing after I located dinde (turkey) at a local market.   (Whole turkeys must be special ordered - they are not commonly served here.) 
Tomorrow - Thursday the 26th is a work day, but I was graciously given the day off.  I am taking Nance to Lyon for the day; but instead of a dinner together I have to go to a business board meeting in the evening and then early to a board meeting on Friday.  We will still get to enjoy old town Lyon and a beautiful hotel furnished in antiques.  We are back home on Saturday to participate in a local food bank drive.
Nancy found a museum with archeological discoveries including a first century baptistry that I want to go see!

What is that little building and what is THAT MAN DOING?

O.K. A little bit of culture shock here.  There is a university nearby on Rue Gambetta that I drive by each morning; and there is a little building out front that looks a bit like a kiosk or a tiny bus stop.  However; as we drove by the other morning, we became apprised of its true nature - a 3 foot privacy screen about 18 inches off the ground, with a man facing the wall behind - obviously leaving a liquid deposit in said edifice.   Hm, TIF - we are not in Kansas, folks.

Lundi, Soixante Novembre, 2009

Nance and I had our first dinner at a French home Saturday night after a pleasant day at the farmer's market and charades at the hardware store.  Unfortunately, the proprietress did not spek English, and I had forgotten the words for lubricating oil for our squeaky bathroom door and cleaner for the tile in the shower that would kill a trace of mildew that was creeping out of the silicone sealant.  (huile de graissage, appareil de nettoyage pour la moisissure)  A bit of pantomime managed to get the points across, and we left with WD40 and some spray cleaner that Nance sacrificed her lungs to use - but at least they worked.
We showed up for dinner at Jean-Sebastien's at the appointed hour of 7:00, had appetizers at 8:00, fondue at 9:00, salad at 10:00, and lemon tart at 11:00.  At that point Nance and I decined coffee, pled senior citizen's status and departed for the evening, knowing we had an early wake-up for church in the morning.

We took "Flat Stanley" along and photographed him with two French children, French cartoons, and some fondue.

At lunch today I found minde(turkey) and fresh cranberries for Nance to use for preparing for a dinner for Chinese college students this Saturday night.

shower brush - lost in translation

O.K.  So Nancy is still a little intimidated by computer translation, and her French pronunciation is just beginning to come around.  Our apartment needed a shower brush; so off she marched to the hardware store.  (Her first visit there is another story; but I will need her direct input to tell that one.)  This time, she did not mistake a customer for a clerk; but she tried to make known to the clerk that she needed a shower brush - even to the point of getting down and pretending to scrub the floor.  After several confused replies, monsieur brightend and shouted "ahhh, brosse de douche!" and led her over to the appropriate area of the store.  We now have a wonderful "brosse de douche"; and she is now aware that that phrase has nothing to do with "hygiène de femme".  :-)

fermé dans le château

Ahhh!  Sunday morning, a beautiful drive through Provence after Madame provided fresh bread, pastries, juice, and coffee for breakfast, then another cup of coffee at a local brasserie, and a tour of this wonderful castle - a remnant of the Huegonot wars.  The view from the tower shows three bell towers in the nearby town - one a modern protestant church, one Huegonot (Calvinist) and one the Roman church tower.  The castle was bought in ruins in the 1920's and restored before the death of the benefactor, who donated it to an art and history society in Avignon.  Tours began at 10:00, and we showed up around 10:45 for a leisurely self-guided tour.  We had passed by before our coffee and observed monsieur le chien guarding the grounds; but he was securely tied when we returned.
Around 12:30 we decided to leave, and arrived at the entrance to find it locked - madame who had been at the ticket desk walking away down the drive.  She did not hear our call; so we started looking for another exit and even anticipating finding a spot to climb over the wall.  About that time she returned to another gate, heading toward le chien to release him back to guarding the grounds, and seemed quite surprised that we were still inside.  She seemed very apologetic, having forgotten we were there before taking her two hour lunch break.  Ah well, all is well that ends well.

Samedi après-midi, sept Novembre

For Jack's assurance.

A small calzone lunch.

Our apartment building.  The 3 windows are next to our dining table.  The building is an old chateau circa 1900 made over into apartments.

Our little dining table.

Les chambres.

A great shot Nancy took in Provence village.

Back from walking tour of Grenoble and lunch.  We broke down and had lunch at an Italian place, knowing that we would be stuffed after we finished - and we were.  I had the best calzone I think I have ever had, with a walnut salad served with that was as fresh as if it had just been picked from the field.  We visited churches that were built in the 11th century, saw Roman gates from the second century, and forts from ????

Nancy's petite cuisin.Our colorful couch.

Samedi, 7 Novembre, 2009, Mon chapeau!!!!

O.K.  I have raved about the view driving to and from work enough already - but I had to stop and take pictures from the parking lot before getting in the car yesteday afternoon.  The snow on the Dent and the mountain peaks opposite, with the sun just illuminating the peaks after a day of clouds was just breathtaking.
Now for some food news.  Last Saturday as we drove to Provence, we had lunch in a restaurant in Apt.  (Not that is not an abbreviation for apartment.)  We ordered le menu, and enjoyed a wonderful plate with a salad and a "porc joweland spinach" pate, anticipating a small dessert to follow.  Much to our surprise, that was indeed just the salad, and the following turrine of tender meat on a bed of potatoes in a wonderful sauce left us stuffed to the gills.  The chocolate dessert - a flour-less torte with a soft center - left each of us wondering who would roll whom to the car.  We did manage to get back to the car, and headed for our gite.  We haad been gone only about 5 minutes when I realized my hat was not on my head.  I distinctly remembered placing it on my chair under my coat - so we immediately turned around and went back to the restaurant - which was now closed and locked.   AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!  Some loud knocking led to the door opening, a search of the table and chair; but no chapeau.  There had been only one other group in the restaurant when we left; and , I confess, Nancy and I had some very disappointing thoughts about the morals of someone who would take someone else's new hat instead of turning in the the owner of the restaurant.

Later that afternoon, we parked as I called the gite to get directions, and I stepped out of the car to take off my jacket.  As I got back in to the car, I was hailed by a friendly fellow saying "votre chapeau".  It had apparently caught on my jacket as I put it on, and had fallen off as I took the jacket off.  Just how does one take back accusations one thought of instead of declaring them to the alledgely guilty party?  Anyway, I still have mon chapeau - which works very well to keep this bald head warm.

Avez-vous souvant le brouillard en hiver?

Yes, apparently they do.  There is no rain today - so far; and the blue sky, sun, and snow on the Dent as I drove on the autoroute to work was terrific view.  However, by the time I had arrived at work, the fog had obscured the more distant mountains; and I have to look our the men's room window to see the Dent.  Yesterday and today will end up being long days at work; but at least the drive home is not too bad when there is no rain.  Apparently French traffic death rates are quite high - of course, that should be no surprise to me having witnessed some of the driving.  We plan to stay close to home this weekend due to inclement weather; and are busy making plans to go to Dusseldorf for a couple of days on the 18th.  The Weinachtsmarkt (Christmas market) there is world famous; so I can hardly wait to show it to Nancy.  Our room reservation ended up being on a cruise boat in the harbor - all of the hotel rooms are long since booked for Medica - the world's largest medical trade show.

Hunting Season in Provence

Actually, that is not really a good name for today's blog.  It really should be - Provence!  Wow!
Nancy and I drove to Provence Saturday AM, taking th slow, scenic route - which was even more slow and scenic thanks to all of the stops for pictures, the little side trips to visit wonderful little villages, and a confused GPS which had a hard time finding an site with no address.  After 3 calls to our hosts and finally geting a name of a village with all of either 2 or 3 houses ( really, I'm not kidding) we found our way to a charming bed and breakfast, then perused one more village for some vin, pain, and olive spread to go with the fabulous apples we had purchased along the way directly from the ferme.  (With apologies to my colleague who does not believe in mixing languages - I am not trying to be a pain about pain.  :-))  Our room was delightfully decorated with antiques and was in the upper story of a restored farmhouse with fieldstone walls.  The shower was much like taking a bath in a cave - only with hot water and clean towels.  The sink was a carved stone basin.   Our breakfast was served after madame had made a run to the bakery for fresh bread and pastries, and we listend to the sound of French hunters in the surrounding hills.  (Either there are a lot of deer and pigs or else they are very bad shots - we heard so many guns going off.)  We did not do any hiking in the woods.

We visited castles, towers, villages with streets too narrow to drive - I know, beacuse I had to back uphill out of one - stupid GPS!!!  (So  it might have been that I did not look at the screen, but the detail of the directions left a great deal to be desired in a few locations.)

After a great lunch in a restaurant in Roussillon in the Luberon, we did a bit more exploring; then headed home on the motorways. (http://www.avignon-et-provence.com/provence-tourism/visit-provence/roussillon-ochre.htm This morning, the rain poured for quite a while - I am not sure if we will see more snow on the peaks or not.  They are still shrouded in clouds.

Maybe we can get some pictures up later.