saturday at potlatch

a perfect day.  it's the kind of summer day in seattle that makes you ask yourself why aren't i living in seattle.  

we didn't go anywhere but around the  cottage.  it really is that.  there are 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. there is a utility/office and the rest is open to the view of everett bay.  the interior has been upgraded by vida and tom over the years.  but it is quirky at its best but elegant in that comfortable beach way.  not all things are plumb or square and i understand this winter when there were arctic blasts some of the pipes froze and space heaters couldn't add enough to really warm you.  but... you still wish you could live here.

vida's daughter emily is catching a plane to penn for 3 weeks of dance camp.  it's her first time alone but at 15 she's been around the world a few times...literally.  em is a bit nervous and i'm sure vida and tom are too but they are all stoic in letting their fledgling lift off.

i'm sitting in the front room looking out on the incredible view.  the mukeltio ferry's are making their runs to whidbey island passing each other on their route.  being saturday there are all kinds of sailboats, cabin cruisers and even dinghys l enjoying the sun and water.

tide was out around mid day and there were several boats out on the mud flats/sand bars.  one rather large cabin cruiser appeared to be enjoying the afternoon waiting for the tide to comeback in and let them leave for home.  another small skiff was out there and its occupants were out walking of the flats.  it's about the same place the whales were out playing last night.

it's now 530pm and the tide is mostly in, the wind has kicked up and i've had a bit of dinner and aperitif just waiting for the whales to arrive.  all looks right with the world from here.

thursday from seattle

i'm sitting here at my pal vida's house on potlatch beach just north of everett washington.  i've been here for a day and a half.  it's always good times here on the res.  it's been overcast but not really rainy...you know the typical june seattle day.  

it's about 7pm and we're listening to the beach boys on the mac and watching the tide come in.  just a few minutes ago the daily visit of grey whales started.  they are about 300 feet off the bulkhead.  we're up about 130 feet on the high bank.  there are usually two but today they are spouting and eating together.  just like pals visiting and eating.  their flukes are often about 3 feet out of the water.  

to top that off there is a bald eagle that landed in the tree about 40 feet from the house.  vida says it often roosts there.  

i have pictures that i'm not sure i can upload.  we're just 45 minutes north of downtown seattle but there is no sound of cars, planes or trucks.

14 june sunday

we're in avignon. the popes palace is nice but it's hot today. yesterday we were in lyon. we drove down from paris.

lyon was at one time the center of frances silk industry. we looked and looked for this place that makes thier own designs. it was a site i found on the internet at home. like all our adventures it takes three trips and four retracings to get where we were planning to go! it was in a courtyard near the hotel de ville of lyon. they had beautiful hand painted and hand screened scarves qnd ties. i spent my fortune on them. lyon is a very pretty city on a point of the rivers rhone and ???

down to avignon and warm weather. the place were staying is 20 min from the city and a million miles from civilization at the end of a track. i'll be home in " days and will catch up on posts there.

11 june thurs

wow! we made it to paris. lets see what we've done.

we went to mont ste michel. 1000 steps up they say! i say thank god they aren't all in a line. there is a village along the bottom of the abbey. the causeway out to the rock is for driving and parking. they post the high tide time and tell you which lot has to be vacated before the posted time. i didn't know that it the rock was used pre roman times and in the 1700 and 1800 as a prison. the benidictines returned in about 1967. it is spectacular and the views are incredible. the only draw back was the rain. we had rain since we left the south but it mostly went away when we were out in the sites.

that night we stayed in a farmhouse owned by some brits. it was the least interesting of the places so far. we also went to st malo where they have the first tidal energy dam. it was really neat to see. tide was coming in and racing thru the turbines. regina was a bit bored but i was fascinated.

the next day was the sites of d-day. it was quite surreal inTHAT THE 65TH ANNiVERSARY WAS THE SATURDAY BEFORE. THERE WERE reenactors all over the place. they were for the most part wearing US uniforms but speaking french and the queens english. they have an impressive array of WW2 us army vehicles. i guess thats not too surprising because the us left most everythingthey brot over in 41 in the uk and france. i talked to some of the guys and it's really big like it is in the US. some even travel to the us for gatherings. they were often men and women in their 20's and 30's as well as older folks. going to utah, pont du hoc, omaha juno beaches and seeing guys in us army uniforms with vintage military jeeps, convoy trucks and staff cars was unbelievable!

we stayed at the neatest b&b in eu that night. we had another adventure getting there. we almost got stuck on a farmers track . the ruts got so bad that we bottomed out several times. the cows came to the fence thinking we were bring dinner! on the third try we found it about 9pm. the bedroom was about 20x20 with a huge bathroom. the owner had been born there and was part of the original beaumonts who controlled the area for 700+ years. i thought of barb and wayne.

so yesterday we went to dinkirk. the bray dunes north is where the evacuations of several hundred thousand french, british and belgiun troops off the beaches that were cut off by the germans in 1939. there are still german bunkers that had built after that.

we later went to vimy and the canadian WW1 memorial. there are still trenches and bomb craters in the area that have never been flattened in intervening 90 years; they have several semi restored trenches that i have alot of pictures of.

i'll give you more info tomorrow about chartres, versailles and paris. just realized that we have less than a week left! so sad. regina is a great traveling companion.

7 june 2009 sunday

we are now moving into northern france. yesterday we left the warmth of the south and met the wind and rain. we arrived in rocamador about 1pm with a light drizzle and only three reversals. we are getting much better at reading a map and french roadsigns. we've begun to love roud abouts since we can read the signs over again if we need to!

our last night in pennautier we are at the local chateau du pennautier. they have a restraunt and wine room. our dinner wasset for 730 but about 710 the raIN CLOUD LET LOOSE. we were dressed in our traveling finest. everything below coat line was drenched and the alley was running about 6" of torrent. we drove around the town once and the rain stopped. we decided to change got there dry. the food was very good and the dessert was wonderfu!

regina was complaining about her knee after hiking the stairs up to the town and then following the 14 stations of the cross about 1000 ft up to the top. the grand staircase was a trial but it was easier when we found out that the pilgrims went up on their knees.

tody we went to chambourd. very impressive. we finally found our hote but will need gas before we get out of town. more when we get another computer. our host is letting us use their computer. xxxooo

6-5-09 fri

so yesterday was a driving day...we thought that going to mezemet, castres and castelendury would be a good days adventure. up into the montaigne noir!

we got sidetracked by the grotte limousis. it is a limestone cavern with stalagtites, stalagmites, etc. i took alot of pics there but still can't upload easily. the cave was cool and beautiful. the climax of the tour was a light and sound show in a room with crystal formations.

on the way to mezemet regina read of a town called hautpoul. very authentic and on the way. we drove up a lane that is almost a broken single line on american maps. at the end is a parking lot and a madonna on the high point of the outcropping. there was a small road down to the village. the guide said those with a car can drive there so down we went. i missed the no entry sign and regina said LATER that she thot i knew what i was doing!

the first hairpin turn was a 3 point turn for me and i had the car leaning against the house wall. the next obsitacle was an archway. there already was a car parked by it. i pulled the mirror in and lined up. better judgemet arrived and another 3 point turn got us out.

the madonna of hautpoul has a commanding view of the mountains and valleys below. we parked in the lot this time and hiked up. the village and ruins were lofty and looked inaccessable. there were lots of thank yous to the madonna. i had visions of girls trying to get pregnant and consumating their desires atop the rocky hill top. don't know why that vision but i teach jr hi...what can i say!

back at the house we were planning on having glacee with the neighbor across the alley. it never worked out and we were left pondering if we had understood her, or the time, day or intentions. kind of like expecting to meet someone at the designated time and place but being there wondering where the communication breakdown occurred!

we are like the pied pipers in the neighborhood. kids up and down the alley come to visit. i think there are 6 regulars and we added 3 more yesterday. last night we added 2 parents to the group. the language barrier only adds to the comedy. everyone speaks a little of a common language. french, english or spanish.

today is the last full day in carcassonne. we went to ville basse in the city and walked around. we wanted a vegeterian pizza for lunch. it came with cheese, olives and tuna. not quite what we had in mind. at least no anchovies!

tomorrow we leave early for rocamodor and limoges. we don4t know if we will find an internet for a while so think kindly of us while we travel north. bonne jour!

3 june 09 wed

so what have we done...sunday we went to the cite. the old part of carcassonne: the medeivel city. it was raining until about noon. then it was great. we toured the castle this time. really interesting. the views from the fortress were 30-40 miles. the church was open and is spectacular.

the house is tiny and dark. all the neighbor kids stop by. they love to try english. we were doing vocabulary monday. last night the 10 yr old from around the corner brot his english workbook. they learn daily and have quizes. pretty good but the written is easier than spoken for me too! they stay up till about 10 pm playing in the alley. there were parents out there too visiting with neighbors. regina feeds them chocolate and cookies too. she's not a teacher for nothing!

yesterday we went to minerve. the city is on a point where the canyon turns back on itself. in 1210, 140 cathars were burned at the stake. it is really pretty and isolated. we went to caunes minervois to see elisabeth who carla, anna and i stayed with 2 years ago. i had a framed picture of her and her son lars. he is now living in australia. her husband is still the same...sleeping at 11 AM after too much wine the night before.

her house is still for sale at 850,000 € with 4 ensuite bedrooms and 3 attached apartments. the pool is nice and has a view of the valley. such a deal!

we've been driving the heck out of the region

narbonne was very pretty then off to rennes le chateau of da vinci code fame. up at the top of a lane and 1/2 car wide road i knocked off part of the spring housing - not important parts- on the way up practicing like parnelli jones. the church is small but quite decorated. just as odd as the book makes it out. alot of new ager shops up there too but it really is a hamlet 20 min from the stores of couiza. not a place i'd need to see again.

today was biezers and bize minervois. the cathars were slaughtered there in the 1210 crusades. some 20,000 killed by the pope and king of france in an unholy crusade to add the aude to the kingdom of france. the famous quote is "kill them all and let god sort out the christians in heaven".

in bize we went to the olive coop. i only spent 30€ this time. the pincholine olives are the best.

on the drive to biezers, regina got her first look at a town market. it is quite big stretching for 20 blocks or more! didn't spend much.

our biggest fight of the trip has been how to get the f...ing gasoline into the car at the credit card pumps. in 5 trys it hasn't worked yet.

more later...xxxooo

1-june-09 or monday. i know it's monday!

i'm in carcassone at a cyber cafe. holy shit! the key board is all different. so what have we done...the air trip went very well.

we bypassed barcelona and drove straight to lloret de mar. it reminded me of san juan capistrano beach. hotels and condos everywhere. it took us 3 hotels to find the right place. we had to pee so it made it that much funnier. we both had booked a massage thinking the trip would be tense. it was. the gal spoke french or spanish only but not a word of english. it was a good massage but the instructions took much longer to understand than normal.

the drive from there to cadaques was spectacular. the rocky cliffs were punctuated by sandy coves or bays that had condos or towns. it seemed very remote even tho there were towns every 20 km or so. it must be beautiful to sail along.

cadaques is the home town of dali. it is also a fishing village. we didn't go to see his house but it is touted to be a bit odd. go figure. the hotel was in the next cove - port llegat. quiet and rocky. we drove out to the cap 'd cruz...a point in the first national park of spain and has a lighthouse. the headland is rocky and windswept. dinner was in town on the main beach. it is lined with bars and places to eat.

the next day we headed to carcassonne. crossing from spain into france was a breeze. the spanish guards checked out the young couple ahead of us and passed the old ladies right on thru.

at perpignan we headed into the interior. we planned to stop at rennes le chateau of da vinci code fame but it was getting late. we drove thru the "gorges de galamas". it was spectacular. we didn't understand that the main part of the gorge was single lane. it worked out ok but were not sure if a horn toot is always friendly.

we easily found the house in pennautier just north of the city of carcassonne. the deal was to call the owner and she would meet us at the house. the pay phone in the town wouldn't take the credit card as we thot it should. we asked the bar owner but he didn't speak english. off we went to town and couldn't get a phone to work there either. after asking at 2 cell phone stores, we decided to look for a young person who we thot could speak english and had a cell phone. regina asked a gal and gave her 5 euro to call for us. finally! the house is on a 1 way street and seems to be 10' wide x33' long. it is over floors. last night i got to thinking about being on the top floor with 1 window to the interior terrace 12' below and a staircase my dogs would have a hard time negotiating...i got claustrophobic big time. all i kept thinking about was dad telling us on our travels to look for a way out in case of fire. god it took a long time to fall asleep!

now that we know where this cafe is i'll be online more often and tell more tales of out travels