A Fun Day


IMG_8646
Life isn’t just the big things, sometimes it is stopping to enjoy the aquarium in the entrance where you are staying.

IMG_8647
Or maybe it is a framers market in a small town in France where the vendors set up on the side of the road and no one minds.

IMG_8652
Maybe it taking a road out of town, and discovering that the fence alongside the road is made of concrete.

IMG_8676
Maybe it is walking through a cemetery and noting that a number of the graves have reference to a death that took place during World War I. There were over 16 million deaths in WW I, a little over 100,000 of which were Americans. You can not go to any town in France without seeing long lists of deaths in Guerre Mondiale. Armand Delat died in the battle of Verdun. There were over 1,000,000 casualties in this battle of which some 260,000 where killed. We look at the Battle of Gettysburg as being so horrific, yet there weren’t even 260,000 engaged in the battle. Gettysburg lasted 3 days, Verdun nearly a year. In the end neither meant the end of their respective war, and the fighting and deaths raged on. When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn.

IMG_8682
It was here, behind Monsieur Magnon’s hotel that the bones of what is known as Cro-Magnon Man were first discovered. Linda stood here, I stood here. Neither of us could put into words the feeling that we had. It is one of those things that just is. And you really do have to be here to understand.

IMG_8690
Guess who is going to be getting a smashed “penny”. Actually a smashed 5 cent piece, in the mail? Grandchildren, that’s who. Makes for a happy grandma, it does.

IMG_3240
We each had duck for lunch today, Linda had a roasted leg and I, grilled breast of duck. It was the dessert that caused the problem. We carefully took photos of our wine, our first course, and main, but then came dessert, and by the time we thought of taking a photo, this was all that was left. Any meal that starts with foie gras and ends with this has to be great, and it certainly was. San Francisco can ban foie gras, there is more than enough for everyone else here in the Dordogne.
IMG_8731
It almost made us homesick, this RV park along the banks of the river that runs through town. Almost, but not quite. We still have Spain, Morocco, Portugal and England to visit. Then we will be heading for home. Until then, there are places to go and things to see.

IMG_3244
Window sill with dinner. A small piece of pate, a small bottle of Bordeaux wine, a small tomato, and a small piece of local cheese. It may not be a “Still Life’ painting, but is certainly what makes Life worth Living.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Around the World in 128 Days - Arrival at Ft. Lauderdale and back home again

Image
  The Cruise is Over - May 11, 2024 - 5,904 Steps It was over months ago we walked out to this same spot shortly after we boarded the ship. Then it was a glorious and joyous afternoon, today it was a glorious but sad morning.  Instead of watching to see if could recognize our luggage being loaded aboard the Zuiderdam, it was watching to see if we could spot it being off loaded. The lineup of trucks bringing provisions for the next sailing that would be leaving a few hours. Trucks were lined up in the far distance awaiting their turn to unload. Port Everglades is a very busy cruise ship terminal. There was a staggering amount of food to be loaded onto the ship. A pallet of apples. A last look at the old home place that served us so well for the past mounts. Literally shutting the door on one of the most awesome adventures we have ever been on. But the fall of next year we will be opening the door on an another one. We patiently waited for our group, Gray 1, to be called. The lu...
Read more

Around the world in 128 Days - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Image
  Travel Day 126 - May 8, 2024 - 7,666 Steps Joe and Patrick our room stewards who have gone way beyond and above to not only keep our room in perfect conditions, but also have a great sense of humor. If it looks familiar it's because it the same one I recently read. I mentioned to Linda I thought she would enjoy reading it, and she did. You never know how things like this are going to turn out. It proved to be great from original songs, standup comedians, dancing, musical instruments. There's talent hidden amongst the ship's passengers. It took a while after Jose And Grace were transferred  from the Lido, but in the opposite corner of the Lido we found Lisna, who was every bit as awesome as they were. David's history presentation, proving once again that only a tiny bit of history is about names and dates like we were taught in high school. A cartoon from several centuries ago portraying the effects of consuming too much sugar on the King of England. And it is a slight...
Read more

Around the World in 128 Days - At Sea Day Next to Last Day of the Cruise

Image
  Travel Day 127 - May 9, 2024 - 5,904 Steps Gonna miss this view in a few days. With the cruise drawing ever closer to be over, Linda has certainly been glad of the many "Linda" sea days like today.. The laundry always comes back with one of these stickers on each article. Too bad it took until the last week to learn we could have pulled them off when putting the freshly laundered cloths away. All that scratchy itchy underwear!  Linda once again in the front row for Kim's interview. It was the bridge officers turn this morning. There is so much we learned about the operation of the ship from these sessions. David is ending his lectures with one today and tomorrow on Russia. Ivan set the tone for what Russia is even today. Enemies of the Russian ruler are simply killed. It's been that way for over 450 years. The last Tsar. And what came after the tsars was just as bad. It was little things like this which made the voyage so interesting. How one puts a survival suit on...
Read more