Out with the old...new beginnings!!

Actually on 30 Dec, William took his mom shooting...and she did good.  looks like an NRA course and her own target pistol are in her future! Fortunately, the big home of the NRA is a couple of miles from us  in Virginia which makes it easy to visit their great firearms museum and range as we are NRA members.

 

New Year's Eve was predictably quiet in Green Valley, but we did have our own fireworks on the patio.

On the long road to Christmas

Back in Green Valley after 2300 miles in 3.5 days, the last 1050 mi straight thru the night.  Got tree and decorations up and Catherine arrives tonight.  Light on the mountains last night as we walked to grocery was worth a picture.

Christmas at Longwood Gardens

On the road to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Their Christmas display is lovely, especially the lights in the gardens after dark.

Bowling on the way to Thanksgiving

Last Sunday, bowled for the first time since White Sands in mid 90's.  Needless to say, records were safe but we did break 100 in one game!

A day in the country

Yesterday we went to Middleburg, out in the horsey part of Virginia with pals Linda & Jay.  Turns out that along with horses, Middleburg has wineries too and we visited for fun and tasting!!  Beautiful day, scenery and friends made for a wonderful time!!

Roadrunner, Roadrunner...

On our way back to Annandale after 10 days in Green Valley; it never seems like enough time here... But we will be back in six weeks to catch up on painting and repairs!

Two big Roadrunners were in the front drive this am and stayed slow enough to catch this pic... First time we have ever seen two together like that.

Coffee and the birds

The iPhone photo does not show it, but we are having our 7am coffee on the patio with about a dozen birds attracted by our birdseed put out in the morning. Takes a day or so for word to spread that "they're back!," but it does and breakfast usually disappears rapidly thereafter.  

Our short trip to GV is, as always, restful. We are starting to catch up on small repairs and business stuff after 7 weeks in Europe.  It's nice to be home...

On to Tucson

14 hrs in VA - long enough to empty the packs and figure what we need to go to GV... And off we go to Arizona. TSA checkpoint at Washington National was  absolutely Kafkaesque (so what else is new about DC in the current age?).  Half the screeners look like they are fresh from Somalia, complete with weird hair-do's for the guys, and who got a pat down? Me with my white hair and a 75-ish old guy in a wheelchair.  I feel so safe....

In GV, Argentine Malbec, Paris chocolate and the fireplace ... And dawn waiting for the birds to come have breakfast. Home at last!!!

Airport Essentials

Thank goodness for cell phones that detect things like time changes automatically. Europe went to daylight savings time this am and we forgot.   But trusty iPhones kept us on schedule. At CDG, essentials are coffee and Jeff deBruges chocolate from rue Monterguil - where the clerk remembered us from last year and wanted to know where we had been so long (we were GOOD customers!!)... We love Paris....

Next stop Frankfurt then home tonight.

Back to Paris

First stages of the long trip home today. Train from Karlsruhe to Paris after four happy days with dear friend Dominique.  Being back in central Germany including a quick banking trip to Kaiserslautern, was fun.  Flammkuchen and schnitzel lunch at "the Quack" was full of good memories!  Rue Montorgueil in Paris was unchanged, and we went to mass at ST Eustace, visited our favorite chocolatier and had dinner at a favorite restaurant in our old neighborhood before spending the night at the airport hotel and early flight tomorrow.

Night Train and the Gare

Night train from Lourdes to Paris -Austerlitz a lot more comfortable than last time. Actually got some sleep in our 6 berth compartment. SNCF now provides a clean pillow and sleeping bag, sealed in plastic, and you can actually sleep if you are tired, drugged (Tylenol pm), or drunk enough.  Of course a combination of all three works best!  0730 arrival then on to our favorite Starbucks at Gare l'Est which offers wifi, power outlets AND coffee...  Paradise!!  On to Germany in an hour then back to Paris on Saturday for Sunday flight home.

 

Vespers

In a few of the larger cities on this trip we have been able to go to evening mass, and sometimes Vespers. It is often held in a side chapel of a much larger church, usually attended by older people but always with a young woman or two and sometimes young men. Its' significance to us is that these few people, who join at the end of their day to worship, often coming from work, are something precious that the world will never touch, never change - and will never understand.  

When we read headlines of the nonsence across the world, these faithful people reassure us... and what a privilege to join them when we find them in France or the US.

A Day in Carcasonne

Ended our long walk on the canals and spent an extra day in Carcasonne, the river town with a medieval walled citadel that started in Roman times, had additional walls built in13 th century, then was restored in 19th century. Wine festival with outdoor jazz concert.

On the Canal Again

Wednesday finds us departing Castelnaudary heading east towards Carcassone for our last two days of walking.  Weather continues to favor us.  Beautiful 21k day on the canal filled with falling leaves.

Toulouse

Got to Toulouse yesterday. Rest and laundry day today, Monday. Tuesday train S to Castelnaudry and walk Wed.-Thurs 45k to walled city ofCarcasonne. That's it for walking - estimate about 320 km total for the trip. Less than we planned but we will have seen a big part of S France.  Toulouse is beautiful city and pix say it best:

Rainy Day on the Midi

Friday... End of our sunny weather... Forecast says some rain daily for the next week as we stay on the Canal du Midi to Tououse then walk part of it back south to Carcasonne early next week.  Today we were lucky - after a muddy start , the rest of the day was dry . After last night at "the Bates Motel," tonight we treated ourselves to a really nice hotel right next to the canal with gourmet dinner!

Days on the Canal

We've moved into a section of the Chemin that runs 33k along a small canal which feeds into the great Canal du Midi. A really nice 17k walk on Wed with another 2k off track to get to our gite and another 19k on Thursday. Relaxing days, notwithstanding the longer distances, with leisurely lunches besides the water... 

At the Abbey

Spent last night at the guesthouse of the Benedictine Sisters at St Scholastica Abbry in Dourgne, west of Castres - A 23k day for us including meeting new friends outside of Castres - pix below. Got to hear the sisters sing Vespers - wow; it was like listening to the angels sing in French.  6 of us walking pilgrims in the guesthouse got a considerably heartier meal than the folks at the other table who were doing a spiritual retreat- but only one bottle of wine. Obviously the sisters know the ways of pilgrims!!  Pix of the full moon over the abbey last night.

Interesting things in France

A few curiosities we encountered during our travels: 

- one of the old standup toilets which used to be so common in Europe but now are hard to find. This one in a public WC in Clermont actually had toilet paper!

- There are beautiful war memorials in every town in France, but some stand out like the one in Bayeaux we mentioned in the Hegira last November.  The one below in a beautiful park in Beziers, showing Victory surrounded by her Artisans: soldiers, casualties and families, seemed a bit over the top compared to the usual French memorials to "Les Enfants Mort" (Our Dead Children).  

- also, carved in sandstone, the figures are wearing away after only a century! 

This last item will be of interest to Catholics... We've seen these offerings boxes in at least three French churches this trip.  We are wondering just exactly what the poor souls in purgatory are doing with these offerings?

Rain in Castres

A rainy Sunday rest day in Castres: chance to wash clothes, go to mass and look around the town before moving west tomorrow. Arrived last night at 8 pm after four bus rides south and west to get around the mountains. Weather report gives us 5 days of sun starting tomorrow before rain next weekend.  We think we will walk for two more weeks and then use our Eurrailpass for more travel the last week, perhaps getting back to Heidelberg for a day or two and maybe an extra couple of days in Paris.

Lovely Lodeve

Bussed today west to Castres to get out of the mountains. But before we forget , want to note the beauty in Lodeve, a place we would like to visit again. The cathedral had lovely stained glass and an intact cloister which was open to the public. Also the Chambre d'hôte we stayed at, Atelier du Solondre, run by Sally Mcewan, and painter husband, David who does wonderful portraits and equestrian paintings, was delightful. Sally used real sealing wax and a signet ring to sign our Pilgrim "credential" which records our journey - the first time that has happened.

From Lodeve to Castres

Yesterday confirmed the wisdom of our plan to skip the rest of the on-coming mountains and go onward to the plains.  We did what was supposed to be 14k from St Jean de Blaquere to Lodeve - took nearly 6 hours of walking over rocky paths, rocky strem beds and rocky roads. Lots of ups and not many downs! Rain is coming, so on to Castres with 3 bus changes in between, rest/touring day for Castres on Sunday and onward Monday.