Rah Rah for Raleigh

My very well used, before I owned it, bicycle is an old made in England Raleigh that we bought from the "Bicycle Man" in Wyoming, Ontario a few months ago for $35.  Martin bought his bicycle at the same time, a  John Deere, believe it or not, for $65.  We have more than got our money's worth out of these gems!  Today we rode the bikes up to The Tea Connection on St. Clare to stock up on our favourite Fall & Winter Tea, Lapsang Souchong.  This is a hearty black tea in which the tea leaves have been dried over smoking pine needles, giving it a -cozy sitting by a roaring fire on a cold day while reading a good book- feeling.  I've always said that tea is more than a beverage with me.

Me and my Raleigh back from a tea quest.

Feeling Dwarfed

There are so many towering churches and monuments in France that one often feels very small in comparison.  One day we visited Saint-Chapelle in Paris.  The windows in the nave are 50 feet tall, enough to make anyone feel small.  But, one evening on a stroll after dinner, we came upon a strange sight in a courtyard off a busy street.  Was this intended as a work of art depicting a certain era?

I felt like I'd been shrunk!

Fifty feet high windows!

Feeling small by something tall.

Looking upward at the exterior of Saint-Chapelle's windows.

Roman Ruins

Before we went to France, I read a book about a historical and chronological tour through the country.  The author began with the Greeks founding of the city of Marseilles.  When she got to the part about the Romans settlements in Provence, I began to pay sharp attention because I had read of a Roman  ruin called Glanum  that was a short stroll from  our "mas".   Imagine my thrill when, on our first evening in St. Remy, Martin and Willie and I followed that path after dinner and explored the Triumphal Arch and Mausoleum.  These two monuments have always stood out, while the rest of the town of Glanum lay buried for centuries.   We visited the excavation site and the museum later in our stay.

The Mausoleum at sunset

Willie & I at the Triumphal Arch

View from the hill; that's Ag seated on the wall by the road.

Looking towards St. Remy and St. Martin's Church

 The well organized travel routes and towns of the Romans throughout Europe greatly aided the spread of Christianity in the early centuries.  St.Martin's Church in St.Remy is visible from one of the hills above Glanum in  one of our photos.

Bread from Heaven

We visited many beautiful churches while we were in France.  I particularly enjoyed this because of all the church history I've absorbed while reading Butler's Lives of the Saints the past year.   The oldest church we entered was founded in the year 543, making it 1,470 years old.  It is named St. Germain-des-Pres, named after a Bishop of Paris.  The church was built on the other side of a pasture from the kings palace, 'des pres' .  Christians have been worshiping God there many centuries as they still do today.   The famous Notre Dame Cathedral is celebrating it's 850th anniversary this year.  We attended Mass three times at St. Martin's in the village we stayed in.  We even got to have coffee with two priests, a nun, and some fellow parishioners in the church kitchen after a mid-week morning Mass.  There is a bond we have as fellow Christians that supersedes language barriers.

view of Notre Dame in Paris

Mass at St. Martin's in St. Remy

The tall doors of St. Martin's.

Gazing at the statue of St.Remy atop St. Martin's.

Food from the Earth

     It seems a natural flow to show the colourful produce stands on  Market day in St. Remy after featuring some lovely gardens in France.  Wednesday was Market day.  I wish I had photographed more scenes from this busy affair!  Besides fresh  fruits and  vegetables, there was bread, many varieties of cheese, an amazing array of olives, table linens and other things for the home made from those famous provincial fabrics, bread, lovely French scarves, soaps, hats,  huge pots of Boulliabaise steaming away, artwork, pastry, and did I mention bread!
     The Market stalls went from the centre of the village, in front of St. Martin's Church, throughout many streets and courtyards.  Beside the aforementioned stalls, entertainment abounded.  From accordion solos to small bands and singers, each added a

Fresh bread & cheese from Market day.

White & green asparagus abound.

Colourful crowds

Waiting in the wind.

feeling of festivity to the air.  There was even a charming merry-go-round in the central square that appears to be there throughout the spring and summer months.

Gardens: From Paris to Provence

Des Jardin Tuileries goat mowers.

Looks like a tree, but it's a bronze sculpture.

Rear view of Notre Dame Cathedral

Poppies in Glanum ruins

St. Remy container garden

St. Paul de Mausole Abbey

Shaded road to the abbey

Iris's everywhere, thoughts of Van Gogh.

Fountain de Vaucluse

From Here to There

We flew from Toronto to Paris.  The French airline was friendly and the food was delicious, fresh,  & healthy.  It's was an eight hour flight and we were ready for a good stretch by the time we disembarked.  In Paris we mostly walked, having chosen an apartment that was close to sites we were interested in.  We did take the metro (subway) once to get across town to visit Sacre Coure.  It was inexpensive, clean, and quick.  We took a high speed train (about 250 miles per hour) to Avignon.  Again, widely used, punctual, clean, and fast.  We rented a car for our two weeks in St. Remy, enabling us to visit surrounding villages, but mostly walked locally, parking being as issue.  For us, bicycles were out; it was too hilly and the roads too narrow. The car was a stick shift and diesel with unlimited milage.  We only needed to fuel up once.

Hoofing home from Eiffel  Tower in Paris

Our trusty transportation in St. Remy

Tres chic metro in Paris

Gare de Lyon, Paris to Avignon