Monday, May 6, 2013

Writing Postcards.

Postcards from our adventures in Montfaucon will be delivered soon.

We had a busy Sunday in the sunshine.

Hopefully, Monsieur Honey will find a few minutes to write his Postcards from his "Spanner...ing" at Cazals day out.





Sunday, May 5, 2013

Highlights of the Week....

My friend, Madame M is away for awhile, but I didn't want to let all the pain and gain of our walking go to waste...so I ventured out on my own.




I walked a route that was familiar, but at the crossroads I took a different road ...not a good idea!
Here I was lost in the French countryside, with no cell phone, not even the phone number at the cottage to contact Monsieur Honey, and worst yet no euros in my pockets...for "un café ou un verre de vin blanc" if I did come upon à cafe.


"Je suis perdue!" I was lost!


Tuesday...was a dreary, rainy day...I wondered into the village and spent some quiet time in the local Church.

Wednesday...was "Fête du travail".... it was a busy day in Gourdon.


Thursday....
Out and about in search of new sites, we discovered Villefranche du Perigord, a fortified town founded in 1261 by Alphonse de Poitiers, brother of Louis IX.
The village has many medieval buildings including 13th century houses built over the arcades.
We wondered the streets and were transported back in time many centuries.



Friday, we ventured to St. Denis-Catus, to a Brocante housed in an old Hotel and surrounding grounds...a lot of patience and a good eye was required to find any treasure.





Friday, May 3, 2013

"May Day in Gourdon".

The first of May is a national holiday called "Fête du Travail" (Labour Day) or May Day in France, and is the first of numerous holidays during the month of May.

We spent the day in Gourdon, first strolling the Boulevard and checking out the habitants' tables of wares at the annual Vide-grenier.

There was a gorgeous set of French porcelain dishes for a reasonable price but some discussion was held about how to transport these fragile items back to Canada.

The service would be handy when we have a houseful for our family dinners.

Today, I found a tiny silver-plated mustard pot with a cobalt blue glass insert and spoon.

Monsieur Honey was looking for some "Trench Art" from WW1 (1914-1918).
The soldiers would chase, hammer and engrave patterns and pictures into spent brass gun shells and send them home to their families as souvenirs.
This was an activity that the soldiers did in their down time in between battles.


A young entrepreneur with his wagon full of lily of the valley.
French tradition is to give your friends and loved ones a bunch of lily of the valley as a wish for good luck.


Baskets and more baskets.


Need something for your bathroom renovation...what do you think of these, Plumber Mike?




The porcelain dishes.


Some pie irons for the camp fire?


Today's treasure....


We enjoyed a lovely lunch at one of Gourdon's many cafés, Le Pot Occitan.


In addition to the Vide-grenier, there was an antique car and moped rally and display.












A bicycle made for two.... Tandem Moped.


The town streets and cafés were bustling with people enjoying their day off.




Here is a token of good luck to all my family and friends.