Test 4

Another test!


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Hi Gsumel

Gsumel

 

 

http://bit.do/fGHMH

 

 

 

 

Jmuchnik

 

Hi Mel

  Good morning Mel      http://www.sanfranciscodrivingschools.com/wool.php?chance=bd1f61ffqe7h9g            m-muchnik  

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Do not click on link to January 27 Post

The link on the January 27 post is likely a virus. The blog was hacked.

Please do not click on this link. It will likely lead to capture of your address book and emails to all spreading the virus.

We seem not to be able to delete this entry.

-- Sorry - Mel

Mel hi

almost cannot believe it..what do you think http://bit.ly/VpDVf7 Mel

Seven-thirty in Paris

O.K. So it's supposed to be "Midnight in Paris" but, at our age, who stays up until midnight?

For our last night in France we stayed in Paris...way too short...one evening in Paris!  But, we ate at a bistro I learned about from a cookbook that featured recipes from bistros.  Chez Allard, not far from our hotel on the left bank, has a history going back to 1720 when it was a wine shop.  It became a bistro in the 1930s and has operated continuously since then.  I had Cassoulet and Mel had Beef Bourguignon.  Great memories to bring home and, hopefully, to bring us back.

Joan of Arc

On our way back to Paris for our last night, we spent a couple of nights visiting old friends from San Francisco, Sonya and Phillip Hunt, who had rented a home in the Loire.  They mentioned that the next town was Chinon, the site where Joan of Arc had first met the Dauphin Charles, convinced him to declare himself king and to allow her to lead an army against the British and drive them out of France. Naturally, we stopped in Chinon on our way to Paris and visited the Castle.  If you remember "The Lion in Winter," that was the castle in which Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn lived.  (OK, OK, so not O'Toole and Hepburn but the folks they played in the movie.) Video screens in various rooms in (what is left of) the castle, recount its history.  

From a Cave to a "Most Beautiful Village"

We have written previously about caves.  During a visit to one of the caves, a couple also touring the cave, told us, "If you really want to see a great cave, go to Pech Merle.  It is south of here and near one of the most spectacularly gorgeous villages we've seen, St. Cyrc Papoopie."  We had had rain almost every day of our trip so promised ourselves that if we had a nice, clear day, we would go there.  On one of the last days of our trip, a clear day was predicted so we left early for the cave.  It was about a hour south of the Dordogne. As we traveled south the hills became higher and higher with huge, rock outcropings.  The cave was, indeed, great.  It was huge and inside, it contained many stalactites.  It also contained many cave paintings including a representation of a person.  Then we went to St. Cyrc.  Our photos do not do it justice. It clung to the side of a tall hill and overlooked a beautiful valley.  When we stopped at the Visitors' Center, I noticed the sign said "Mid-Pyrenees."  Turns out, we had left the Dordogne and were actually entering the Pyrenees.  So, next trip, that's our goal!

You know a town is old when...

You know a town is old when a description of the roofs notes that moss grows on the slate roofs but it helps seal the cracks and ensures that the roof will last 300 years.

Mushroom heaven

We stumbled into a nice little event a couple of days ago. We were driving south to see the villages known as the Bastides, when, in a town square, we saw a sign for "something to do with mushrooms". (That's not actually what the sign said. It said something about a mushroom market but we did not "get" the rest.). We stopped and watched the event unfold. Pretty soon, people with cars full of mushrooms began arriving. It turns out, they were all wild mushrooms. One person weighed the boxes and assigned the vendors numbers. Then, the potential buyers began arriving, surveying the mushrooms. I asked someone if they were restaurant owners but was told they were just people. The church bells rang at three and the buyers started handing over checks. When the big purchases were made, the bargaining began for the leftovers. To give you an idea, the mushrooms were going for $100 for 19 pounds and some for as much as $130. One lovely mushroom sold for $12.