My last night in Chiseldon, in England

Friday, July 23, 2010
As they say, all good things come to an end and now after being away from home for five weeks, it's time for me to head home. I'll be leaving at 1 p.m. (my time) tomorrow and arriving in Seattle the same day at 5:45 p.m. It's been a wonderful trip. It seems like years ago when we were sketching in Marlborough and Cardiff, when Betty, Cecil and Peggy were here. That was so much fun for all of us.

Being here alone for the past week has been a bit strange. But our friends have kept me busy. (See the entry below regarding Cornwall) I've spent a few evenings with Joyce our old neighbor and have just enjoyed myself immensely. She's just turned 89 and I took her to Marlborough this week to treat her to a creamed tea, followed up by a coffee with chocolate cake (for her 90th). I will miss her a lot.

The people here at the Chiseldon House Hotel have become like family for me. As some of you know I rented an apartment in London, which was perfectly located near a conference I wanted to attend this week. As it happened, the apartment was a scam and I lost my money. Fortunately, the hotel has a room available that I ended up renting this week. It's been such a pleasant, peaceful week and much of my joy comes from the wonderful staff here.

Well, it's been a good and wonderful experience with both the good and the bad. I have loads more to tell you. There just wasn't enough time to share everything. I hope you've enjoyed the time you've shared with me. See you soon.

A day in Cornwall
I've had a wonderful two days. Rob and Angie took me to Cornwall yesterday and introduced me to Cornish pasties at Philp's in Hayle. I only could eat half of one. I got up at 6:15 a.m. because we were leaving at 7 a.m. We didn't get there until 10:30 a.m. It's a long drive, but as Rob says, it's worth it.

Hayle is a cool looking village, very fishermen like. I was really surprised to see the palm trees, but obviously it is warm enough to have them. Rob tells it is usually warmer down in Cornwall than the rest of the country.  It does seems to be very calming down there, similar to Brittany.Don (our friend from Brittany) would tell me, but of course as Brittany and Cornwall are neighbors who have been trading for years and are part of the six celtic nations.

They all even have their own flags. I found this cool map that outlines all these nations. Don has a list of them in his dining room. It's cool and I think would be interesting to read about more in the future. Gosh there is so much to learn and so little time!!

I could definitely live in the Cornwall area. It's very much like the Oregon coast--which I love. After spending a little time in Hayle, we went to St. Ives, which is a seaside resort with a working fishing wharf. The town is simply beautiful. One drawback was all the birds. I swear Hithcock must have thoughts of his movie, The Birds, here. I have never seen so many sea gulls and they're vicious. You have to be careful eating outdoors because those suckers will come down and yank your food right from your hands. I saw it myself! Interesting though, the place is a clean as a whistle and that was totally suprising because in my lifetime I 've always noticed that when there are birds there are white splash of you know what. Not here. Very, very clean.

Here's a sampling of pictures (you can see more on my Facebook )

From St. Ives, we hit the the road to see the southern coast and then later to to the northern coast which looks very much like the Oregon Coast. As I said above, you can see more pictures at my Facebook album.

Tuesday--Chill'n in Chiseldon

I'm sitting in their Orangery Restaurant at the hotel and enjoying the morning. They're hosting a big group so their resident's living room is being occupied by a theatre group. They always have something going on here. When we were here a month ago, they had another group that was filming a documentary, using the hotel as a backdrop.

Today is a free day for me--chill'n, drawing, writing and whatever. While I was answering my email I realized I had never uploaded my notes about Sweden, which I had written when we were on the train to Brittany. If you'll remember, we went to Stockholm to catch the cruise to Russia and Estonia. So we booked a room the night before and then after the cruise we came back and stayed for a couple of day. I was supposed to upload my notes and photos, but never did. Now you  get the scoop today.  (Tomorrow Rob and Angie will be taking me to Cornwall, so I'll have plenty to share on Thursday.)

July 7, 2010
I'm on the train and thought I'd put some things down that are rolling around in my head. I only have about an hour's worth of time to write, so I'll have to be quick.

Sweden, the city of Stockholm is very sleek and modern—very, very clean. That's what I imagined. Our hotel room is like walking into IKEA. As expected, the room is very small-a short hallway with the bathroom on the left and then it pours out to the room. I thought I had ordered a room with a double bed and sofa sleeper, but I was wrong. Sometimes that's the problem ordering through Expedia. I even called and made reservations directly with an agent, but I didn't clarify what I was ordering.

Very small room, three twins

Shower shares heated floor with whole bathroom.
Interesting, but water gets all over the floor.

The room had a window seat but had beds that were set on an edge, obviously to be able to reconfigure the room easier. The edge was about 4 inches in width also served as your night table. Alex slept on a pull-away bed. Actually our first night, we all slept in twin beds. But that was changed after we came back from the cruise. On that day, I was so sick with my cold, I stayed in bed the entire day. The guys went out and got us burgers.

Speaking about burgers, in Stockholm they cost around $17 to $20 but Hal and Alex found this McD knock—off called Max. They sold children's meals for $3.00. So we got them the first night and then the day I was sick, they upgraded to the adult hamburgers that cost $7.00. For the rest of our time, we just went to a local supermarket (Co-op, pronounced coop) and purchased baguettes, cheese, orange juice and the like. I had bought a bottle of vodka in Russia so I took a few shots of that for medicinal purposes. Really I did!! Their vodka is way lighter than ours. So I was drinking my way through the cold.

Super clean, sleek city

Multiple benches for sitting in middle of city

By Friday, July 2, I was feeling much better and one of my students, Ida who lives in Stockholm, took us on a private tour of the city. First we went to Old Town. Wow, this is the older part of the city. There are lots of hidden corridors and neat little shops. The palace is also part of the whole package. Just a couple of weeks before we came, the Royal family's daughter got married to her personal trainer--we missed all festivities, which is good in my opinion, too many crowds.

Oh I should also mention that we arrived originally in Stockholm during mid-summer festivities. So on our first day, there was little traffic. Everyone is on holiday then in celebration of the light. I can't even begin to imagine what winter is like in Stockholm considering that sun is down only a couple of hours during mid-summer. All of us had a hard time sleeping until we got to France where night and day is similar to ours.

Chess game in the park

More gardens facing old town

The Royal  Palace

Old Town. 

Had lunch in old town: $100 for four people for a small
meal of Swedish meatballs and potatoes. Way expensive here.

Stockholm is made up of 14 separate islands with 57 difference bridges. We bought an all-day pass that allowed us to use the subways, buses, and ferries. After visiting Old Town, we hopped on a ferry to see the Vasa Museum. This is a ship that sank back in the 17^th century after going less than one nautical mile (it was supposed to be the best of the best at the time). In the 70s, they pulled it from the sea, restored and put it on display in this museum, which opened in 1990. It is amazing. Not only did the ship stay preserved all those years but so did a lot of skeletons, tools, and so on.

Took the ferry to Vasa Museum. We traveled the
city on trains and ferries all on one pass. Cool!

Imagine that this ship was under water for over 400 years!

They've reconstructed the faces of some of the people who died on the ship.
You can't see it, but they've included sweat on this. Amazing.

Inside the Co-Op

One of our adventures in Stockholm came when we found out that we had to have only 44 lbs of weight in our luggage. We had all flown from the US which allowed 50, but now we had get it down by six pounds. So I basically eliminated any clothing, books or other miscellaneous items that were heavy. So you know what that means? I now have an extra six pounds of space that I can use to buy stuff in England.:)

Right now as I am writing we are on one of those TVA trains—super fast on our way to Brittany. It's amazing how fast this thing can fly. The cars on the highways look like they are standing still. The landscape has a yellow orche look with bits and pieces of land painted with emerald green. It's been warm here and the landscape shows it. We were very fortunate in Paris to have air conditioning. That's why we went with Novotel. I don't believe our friends in Caurel have air conditioning so that will be prove to be very interesting with my constant hot flashes. So here ends my Sweden notes. :]

The longest sunset I've ever witnessed.

Thoughts in Chiseldon on Sunday: This one is a rambler...

I arrived in Chiseldon around 2 p.m. yesterday. The cabby who drove me tot he hotel was this big, strapping black man with a strong accent. I thought he was from Jamaica, but low and behold, he was a Swede! My mouth dropped. Of course, I believe we saw blacks in Stockholm, but I never met one before--so atypical. In fact he told me this story about going to the US to stay for awhile (he's lived in Texas, Minnesota and California). The emigration officer didn't believe him. It took about two hours to confirm that he was indeed a Swedish citizen. He was speaking Swedish for reals! His family came from Somalia--a dangerous place that he never visits.

Before leaving Swindon though, I walked to the mall to have some coffee and have a read of the newspaper The Independent, which I found to be very interesting. As always this newspaper had such good writing. Except for the silly tabloids, all the press writing is superb, filled with a literary richness we seemed to have lost with our "just the facts" type of writing.

But before you think I've gone a bit too English, I will also note that the British media is no different here then at home. Sensationalism reigns as highly as the Queen.

For a taste, here's a sampling of article subjects from The Independent:
Battle of the Burka.
Many women in the Muslim community are wearing Burkas here. They're really not Burkas (only worn in Afghanistan), but are actually Niqabs. In any event, the French have just banned them this past week. The reasoning is several fold but suffice to say the biggest danger is security. The British are now talking about the same thing. I have to say that since we were here in 2000, when I seldom saw a woman's head covered, I have witnessed several during this visit. In fact, it seems quite common. The Muslim population has grown and with it the fundamentalists who seem to be causing some difficulties because of their beliefs.

Beyond the full veil controversy, there are also Muslim taxi and bus drivers who are not allowing access to blind people if they have a service dog. In fact, several blind people have been kicked off buses and/or refused service in taxis, leaving them stranded. It's terrible and it spits in the face of the law that says the disabled cannot be refused access to public transportation. The Muslim claim that the saliva of the dog is unclean and that they have to wash themselves completely to be clean again.

Since Christian religion is taught in both French and British schools, the Muslims are having a hard time dealing with that too. In fact, one of our friends told me that some students have actually tried to pull down crosses in school because it is offensive for them. Fortunately, we don't have that problem in the US, but I can see some real issues down the road if this type of separatism is allowed. Especially when you consider some Muslims in England want to have separate laws for themselves and not be subject to England's common law. It is a real problem. Of the 650 MP (members of Parliament),  only 8 are of the Muslim faith, but that number has doubled since the last election. Who knows, maybe the fundamentalists will get their way, the democratic way. Time will tell.

British soldiers accused of torturing Afghanistans--102 cases of sexual abuse, mock executions, beatings and murders.

First black Tory peer, Lord Taylor of Warwick is being prosecuted for taking 11,000 pounds in fake expense reports. He was a rising star in the Conservative party.

Yorkshire Ripper gets to stay in jail. He was up for parole, even though he had murdered 13 women in the late 70s. He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Why would a parole even be considered is beyond me.

A new movie about John Edwards' scandel. Sounds pretty good. He's called the Love-Rat and the movie is The Politician.

The Taliban may make way in new Afghanistan government. Women are concerned because they are already receiving death threats, like "Leave your job or we will cut your head off your body." Some have already lost family members for not following warnings.

Educational system is collapsing. Well, I guess it's happening all over.

Credit card scandle--people signed up for help to get them out of debt. Instead, the company folds up, leaving the customers with no help as well as being out a wad of money that they paid for the help. Sounds like the scam I experienced here in London.

And believe me, that was only a few pages of the newspaper. Sooooo if I were to ever live here I would have to do the same as I do at home. Not read the paper, nor watch the news. I usually get stomach aches from the worry. But I do enjoy the reading, so I'd have to stick to light fare--magazines on the arts, gardening, etc.

Magazines--I love them!
Speaking of magazines, it seems lots of  retail stores are now publishing their own. I have always loved the Sainsbury Magazine (supermarket here) and Waitrose, but now even Marks and Spencer is publishing one. Still, the best one is Sainsbury--filled with all sorts of interesting articles and receipes. It's more like a cross between Martha's Living (photography and layout) and Woman's Day (subject matter). The general magazines are cool too. My favorite if the English version of Good Housekeeping. Women with real bodies (arms thicker than a stick and hips that say, "Hey I'm a woman) and of various ages appear in this and other magazines. What a concept.

Food Shopping
One thing I hate about food shopping here is that you have to bag your own groceries, which makes me very nervous and uncomfortable. Even the little store here is Chiseldon (about the 1/2 size of a 7-11) does the same. This afternoon I was down there. I gave the proprietor my little basket and he gave me a plastic bag to fill up.

There's a whole campaign against plastic bags everywhere (which isn't a bad thing). They are trying to encourage everyone to bring their own bag. In France, they just don't offer them anymore at the market. I saw a lot of people using boxes like they do in Costco. In England, I've noticed that they are offering a plastic bag for a pence or 5 pence, which is in turn donated to charity. I think that's a good idea. Then, at least the consumer is given a choice, even if he or she has to pay for that choice. I would also liked to be given a choice to bag or not to bag for a price as well.

Hog Roast at the Hotel
Today at the hotel, they had a hog roast--what we would call a BBQ, using a chuck wagon rotisserie . The hotel had a company come in called Roast from Coast to Coast that do the BBQing. They provide the hog, stuffing and apple sauce. The hotel offers salads (potato, rice and greens) and rolls with butter. It was good, but maybe a bit plain as they don't have gravy and their "crackle" (the skin served separately) is a bit too fatty for me. But the stuffing was great! I got some pictures of the carver and the food, just for fun.

Rotisserie

The Carver

The Meal

I like what the people do here before lunch or dinner. This was a buffet type of meal: go to the chuck wagon for your pork, pick up your salad and return to your table. But instead of doing what I did--went to the bar, ordered my drink and then went for the food. A lot of the folks, just ordered their drinks first (beer, wine, cocktail), enjoyed them and then went for the food. Of course, the last of it was a nice cup of coffee that is considered a separate course and enjoyed over leisurely.

Although the English aren't even close to being as laid back as the French, I would definitely say they are way more relaxed than we are and perhaps we can learn from them. Having an aperitif (as they call it) is a wonderful way to start your meal. It doesn't necessarily have to be sherry, wine or beer, but just the time preparing for the actual event is rather nice. Unfortunately, our restaurants want to change tables quickly and we're always so rushed. A case in point is Red Robin. They are so fast, they are serving the main meal before you even finish your salad. We always feel so rushed there, we only order the salad first and then ask the server to come back when we're ready to order the rest of the meal. It's amazing how much more fun and leisurely the occasion is when we do that.

I know I'm rambling on a bit here, but I haven't had this much time to write in a "donkeys year," meaning a long time. I must talk about one more meal we had here and that was at our friend's, Anna. Her family originally emigrated to England from Italy. So we had a wonderful Italian dinner the other night at her house. BTW, she is a single woman (very cute and bright) who has bought herself a cute little three-bedroom house in Swindon, the nice part. I am very proud of her, especially here where buying a house is very difficult, even for a couple. Anyway, she served us our first meal where we had what we call the entree first--a bowl of yummy pasta and then the salad with a plate of cheeses and meat last. I enjoyed it that way and may consider trying it at home some time.

Art Show
I am so excited. For years, I have been wanting to meet the artist that lived at the end of Turnball Mews (the street we lived on when we were here in 2000). Well, I not only met her but she had an art show in her home today. And she is quite the painter. A watercolorist, Mary Rayner, also does some wonderful pastel work. If I had the money, I would have taken a couple of her works home. What a great way to end an afternoon's walk.

Right, well, I best be headed on to other things here. I am enjoying my writing so much I am actually working on developing some ideas on my drawing methods that I teach. It's really not that hard to write when you have nothing else to do except soak up the country peace and quiet.

I have done some painting today as well. Here's some fun things I did this afternoon. I like their w/c paper here--backed with cardboard. Very nice!!!

The Coo-coo Bridge--this could use a
 bit more work. Maybe tomorrow

Walkway to the coo-coo bridge

St. Swithin's Day--July 15th

Yesterday was a big weather day here in England. It was St. Swithin's Day, sort of similar to our Groundhog's Day. Whatever the weather does on this day predicts what the weather will be like for the next forty days. There's even an old-time poem that tells the story:

'St. Swithin's day if thou dost rain,
For forty days it will remain,

St. Swithin's day if thou be fair,

For forty days 'twill rain nae mair.' (no more)

Sad to say yesterday was a wicked weather day. The wind was gusting its way around our hotel with long, spindly fingers, grabbing hold so strong I thought the building would start to rock. I've never been in a tall, modern structure where I heard the wind howling inside and out. And of course, there was rain to boot. So I guess the Brits are in for a stormy next several weeks.

Right now the guys are asleep. We have a corner room overlooking Swindon with huge, big windows. The sky is mixed. Cloud-watching has been the activity for the morning wakeup. I will be staying on for another week in Chiseldon, while Hal and Alex head back to the States tomorrow. We spent most of our week shopping and visiting friends. It's been fun.

Remember our friends from Marlborough? Well, their son, Kevin and his fiancée, Lucy took us all out for a lovely dinner at Rob's brother's pub, The Ship of Upavon. This is a very authentic pub with low-beamed ceilings, lots of dark wood, tables and even sofas. Three or maybe it was four dogs were wandering about to complete the picture. Dogs are a bit common in  pubs here. Some Americans would probably have a fit, but you do get used to it. I think of it as being home with your dog. And for some, the pub is a second home--a place to meet friends, have a nice meal and just hang out (like a 50s soda shop feeling).

The meal was wonderful, all topped off with an outstanding pud, short for pudding. While puddings for us are creamy desserts, puddings here are everything that we would call desserts. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of Alex's dessert but suffice to say it was a 6-inch tower of cream, ice cream, and solid meringue. Wow. I ordered a hot fudge Sunday that had chocolate cake in it. Very good but very different. Hal ordered a sticky toffee pudding that was cake-pudding like and was yummy. Glad we're doing a lot of walking or we'd all come home like a big bear family getting ready to hibernate.

On Wednesday our friends Kathryn and Rupert hosted us at their sailing club. They brought fish and chips which we all ate in their hall with the kids, Charlie (10) and Pippa (8). These folks are wonderful. Hal and I just love visiting with them. Incidently, Kathryn is Don and Pat's daughter (the people we visited in Brittany) and was the gal Hal was covering for in England when she had Charlie. So it's all because of Charlie that we've had these friends.

The whole family is into boating, even the kids have their own individual boats, which they were very proud to show us. Rupert was kind enough to give the guys their first sailing lesson and what a blast they had. (My balance isn't good enough for it yet.)

Here's the gang, Rupert, Kathryn, Alex, Hal

Here's another shot with Charlie at the bow.

The club was also having a sailing race while we were there. I was able to get some great sailing shots.

Yesterday we met another super friend, Rachael, in Oxford. She brought along her little boy, Jake who is only 2 years old. I have to tell you he reminds me of Alex--zoom, zoom, zoom. I swear I lost my "baby" fat just running after him and he was on the go until about 5 or 6. Jake is the same. I don't know how Rachael does it though because she is a single, working-out-the-house mother. Maybe her rest time is at the office because I know the moment she picks up Jake, she's running until bedtime.

While at Oxford we ate at Jamie's Italian. Back in 2000 when we were living in England, Jamie Oliver was just starting his career as a popular chef. It seems today he is the leading chef everywhere! He even has his own restaurants (where he sells his books too). I have to say it was a good, very upscale and posh. I liked my dish a lot and tucked away some spice ideas for later to try at home.

On our way out of town we stopped at a little park by the canal to play with Jake. As I've probably told you already, there are lots of canals in England--all built in the 1800s to transport products for market (in France to transport goods to troops during the Neapolitan wars). Once the trains entered the picture, the canals weren't needed and eventually went into disrepair (and still are in France). But several years ago there was a campaign to repair the canals and their locks and today they are providing great holiday opportunities for people--especially those with long boats. Here are some photos.

Well that about covers things for now. I will probably post again while I'm in Chiseldon and will definitely be posting more pictures up on my Facebook album.

Last night in Brittany

July 11
Where does the time go. It seems we just got here and now we're packing again. What a whirlwind tour we have had of Brittany. Don and Pat, if they haven't been feeding us scrumptious French food, they are taking us all over the local area. I don't even know where to start. We've seen:  

• churches, with one in particular that stored bones dug up from graves to make room for more graves (bones are stored in an Ossuary),  
• an Abbey that was destroyed during the French Revolution and now being rebuilt (Abbey Bon Repos),
• another church built in the middle ages that has the most wonderful portraits rendered on the ceiling of town and church dignitaries 
• an altar made of ornate angels made from local stones
• several calvary (calvaire) sculptures, type of  statuary retelling the crucifiction, commonly found in Brittany. Not only are they found in church yards, but can also be found along the roadside.
• several variation of the market: InterMarche. We have been in the Hype (somewhat like Fred Meyers, but also includes a bar) and the Super (more like a super-duper Safeway). I found lots of interesting products there and would love to live here for some time just to try everything
• the beach at Le Petite Mont Saint-Michel, picnicked, searched for shells and relaxed at the local bar with a beer (shandies for the girls) before the beach and then ice cream (glace) and coffee after the beach. Such an enjoyable of way of life. BTW, this is the miniature of the famous Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy.
• a couple of markets with native dancers and music, lots of goods and wonderful smells! 
• and of course, the village and their Lake Guerledan where Hal and Alex joined the neighbor, Carol for a hike on the first day. 

But seeing things and places was just part of our time here. We met loads of people and had some really fun times. For instance, Carol, the neighbor, has two guests visiting this week--a retired Bobby from Lancastershire and a retired teacher from the same area. They're hear for a biking holiday (bicycle). The Bobby, Denise, rides his bike about 7,000 miles every year and he looks like he's in his mid-60s. In fact, he's 74. They are the most delightful individuals and are very kind to Carol, who lost her husband just a year ago. He too was a retired Bobbie. She is a great gal with a wonderful outlook on life. She trains dogs,  This year she bought a rv (caravan) and has been traveling in it with her dog. Tonight she gave me a Bobby's hat, one of her husband's. I was just floored that she would part with it but she said she has another one. So it appears we will now have a new hat to draw in class. I don't know why I am so blessed with people like Carol who give me things that I certainly don't deserve.

On Friday night we went to one of the local restaurants in the village and had their Friday night special, fish and chips. Since there are so many Brits living in the area, this is a real treat for them. Pat and I asked for no batter and it was lovely. The best part of these meals is the last bit when you are sopping up the vinegar and other juices. I had asked for a class of wine with my meal (in French) and a few minutes later a bottle appeared. I was stunned. When I asked for le vin blanc, did she think bottle (la bouteille)? I asked Don what I had done wrong and that's when he told me he had a standing order of bottle of wine every Friday for dinner. Whew!!

Language has been a real interesting experience here. I found myself writing some notes to myself last night and wanted  to talk about the baskets we use in the markets--they call them trolleys in England and we call them shopping carts, but for the life of me I could only remember the English word. I'm also finding myself wandering from French to British English to American English and then back again. I'm still holding up okay for my French. Don and Pat have helped. I can see if I were here for six months or so, I'd be doing well. For the first time, I don't feel that absolute terror when trying to speak another language. 

What I think is real fun though is to say all these foreign words to a waiter and he goes away only to return with what I've ordered. It's just amazing!! I understand that they know I'm an American (hello--I'm speaking with an American accent), but they are all so kind and polite. Yes folks we have found the Parisians and the Bretons polite, funny and most accommodating. 

Best be closing for now. Here are some photos.

Bones in Ossuary

Figures on Calvaire

Notice holy water vessel is outside the door

Many church windows are covered with
screens here. This one wasn't.

A gypsy caravan

Where are we? These are Teepees. Who would have thunk!!

Picnic with pasties made by Pat to teach Jill
what a real Cornish Pastie tastes like. Yum!

Another Calvaire

The guys having a beer at Petite St Michael

Petite St. Michael Chapel

At market, steeple chasing?

July 12
We're on the Brittany Ferry back to England. It's a nine-hour day trip from St. Malo in France to Portsmouth in England. Going from England to France, the route is a night trip, and we took a cabin three years ago. Going back to England, it's a dreadful trip, sitting in a "lounge" set up like an airplane--but with more seats per row. Sooo knowing this in advance, we booked a cabin for the three of us. It's called the Commondare Cabin, complete with two twin beds, a sofa sleeper, television, dvd player, complementary mini bar and ensuite bathroom. Our cabin is actually called the Paul Gaigan room--quite appropriate, don't you think? We also have a separate "lounge" area that is rather posh. Well worth the extra money. I didn't realize how many islands there are in the English Channel. I've only heard about Jersey and Geurnsey (our cows) but we've been seeing lots passing by. In fact there are lots according to Wikipedia.

Upon settling into our cabin, we popped up to the "self-service" dining (cafeteria style) for breakfast, and back to the cabin to sleep. It's amazing how tired one gets traveling. Now that we're up we're just finishing watching an English soap opera with Murder She Wrote coming up next. While at breakfast we met two brothers who are from Manchester. We all discussed how crumming things are on both sides of the pond. One of the most interesting questions they asked was with all the technology we have, why aren't we leading the world with alternative energy. I think we are, especially in Portland. Specifically they were talking about cars--both were just coming back from a car touring show. One of the brothers owns a car that runs on 600 miles with one tank of gas. Now at $10 a gallon, that does help. Can you imagine how great that would be for us?

I was thinking the same thing the other day when we took the high-speed train from Paris to St. Briec. While the train was whizzing along at an unbelieveable rate (so fast the cars on the freeway looked like they were crawling along), I wondered why we don't do the same and use solar panels to fuel it. Just imagine all the jobs that would be created if we developed a high-speed train system?

Best be off now. For more pictures, you can go to my Facebook entries. 

Brittany

I'm struggling, yanking the pullman as best I can down the stairs. There's no lift here at the train station. Hal and Alex are managing and well, I'm stubborn. They offer to help but I want to do it myself. So clunk, clunk, clunk goes my luggage down a few stairs and then behind me I hear, "Let  me help." I shake my head. The voice turns into a dark-haired, dark-eyed gentlemen who says in a somewhat demanding voice, "Madame, you are in France!" The old feminist would have barked, but today I let go.

Indeed, I am in France and yes, things are different. Don and Pat, our hosts, met us at the train station on Wednesday. They looked as fit and happy as always. Now retired, they have been living in Brittany for some time in a small village called Keriven (near Caurel). A couple of years ago, they had their home built on this wonderful piece of property with rolling hills and a wooded view. It's amazingly peaceful here, just like Chiseldon (however, unlike its English counterpart, Keriven doesn't have a hum in the background from cars whizzing by on the motorway).

Here are some pictures so far of our stay here:

Homes overlooking the bay

Pat and Don's place

A lovely veggie garden!

Me in the backyard writing

The view from the bedroom

A typical home in the village