Mes deux jardins potagers

 Mes deux jardins potagers vivent dans mes rêves. 

L'un est dans mon jardin potager à la maison et l'autre, c'est en la France. 

Cependant, qui sait où il se trouve en France? 

Voici les photos, prises de mes rêves. 
Mais qui est qui?

My two vegetable gardens live in my dreams. 

One is in my vegetable garden at home and the other is in France. 

However, who knows where it is in France?

Here are the photos, taken from my dreams. 
But which is which ?

Les Horreurs d'Adélaide et de Chateau-du-Loir

 Throughout the country and also all over the world, the city fathers of towns and villages strive to make their local environment a better place to live for their rate-payers.

Here in Adelaide we have a new pedestrian bridge. It links the newly re-developed Adelaide Oval with gambling central, - the Adelaide Casino.

When sports fans have finished supporting their football team at the oval, there is a possibility there may be a few remaining dollars in their pockets.

What better way to assist these happy sports-fans than to build a bridge across the river to the Casino to help them lighten their load !

Was Adelaide's kevin foley bridge worth over $40 million ???

 Photo © ABC David Bevan

It's a similar scene in France, where the city fathers in the pretty little town of Chateau-du-Loir have installed their "Horreurs bis", or "Yet More Horrors", in the main street of town.

This is how pretty the Town Hall looked when I took this photo a few years ago. Tourists flocked there to admire the beautiful flowers and the charm of this lovely town. 

There was even an English telephone box, a gift from some town in England.

Today everything has been modernized and motorists have taken over at the expense of pedestrians. Was this worth 3 million Euros ?

Photo © Claude à Château-du-Loir

Click here to see what worries my dear friend Claude, in Château-du-Loir. 

CLAUDE'S WONDERFUL BLOG

Les Horreurs d'Adélaide et de Château-du-Loir

Tout au long de notre pays et partout dans le monde, les maires des villes et villages s'efforcent de rendre leur environnement local un meilleur endroit à vivre pour leurs contribuables.

Ici, à Adélaide, nous avons une nouvelle passerelle pour piétons. Il relie l'Adélaide Oval nouvellement re-développé, avec le centre de jeu, - le Casino d'Adélaide. 

Quand les sportsfans ont fini soutenir leur équipe de football à l'ovale, il y a une possibilité qu'il peut y avoir quelques dollars restants dans leurs poches. 

Quelle meilleure façon d'aider ces sportifs amateurs heureux que de construire un pont sur la rivière pour les aider à alléger leur charge au Casino !

Le pont kevin foley valait plus de 40 millions de dollars ?

Il s'agit d'un événement similaire en France, où "les pères civiques" dans la jolie petite ville de Château-du-Loir ont installé leur "Horreurs bis", ou encore d'autres horreurs, dans la rue principale de la ville. 

C'est comment la jolie mairie apparaissait quand j'ai pris cette photo il y a quelques années. Les touristes y affluaient pour admirer les belles fleurs et l'histoire. 

Il y avait même une cabine téléphonique anglaise, un don d'une ville en Angleterre.

Aujourd'hui tout a été modernisé et les automobilistes ont pris le relais au détriment de les piétons. Cette horreur vaut 3 millions d'euros? Mein Gott !

Cliquez ici pour voir ce qui inquiète ma chère amie Claude, à Château-du-Loir. 

CLAUDE'S WONDERFUL BLOG

S'il vous plaît, n'oubliez pas de cliquer sur les photos pour les agrandir ni oubliez d'y aller au blog de Claude.

Le changement d'heure,

L'EXPRESS

Le dimanche à 2h du matin, il sera 3 heures en réalité en France.

C'est mauvaise nouvelle pour les couche-tard. 

Il faudra vous lever une heure plus tôt à partir de ce dimanche.

Mais vous Français, vous êtes très chanceuse. 

Ici en Australie les jours devient plus courts. Zut !

Aujourd'hui il ferai 33°ici à Adelaide et 20° à Chateau-du-Loir.

Bonne journée à Claude et Philippe !!!

The start of Daylight Saving Time in France

On Sunday at 2AM it's really 3 o'clock in France which is bad news for sleepy heads.

You'll have to drag yourselves out of bed an hour earlier from this Sunday morning.

But you lot are very lucky as here the days are becoming shorter.

It's a sunny 33°in Adelaide today and in Chateau-du-Loir it will be 20°and sunny.

Gorbio, perché dans une vallée au-dessus de Menton et Roquebrune.

Jilly's pretty little village of Gorbio was a delight to discover.

Nestled not too high, but certainly high enough above the push and shove of Menton, Monaco and Roquebrune, it is a refuge from the Maseratis and Porsches, the high heels and the high rollers.
Here people know each other in the same way they have known since the 14th century.
I already knew Crystelle and that was not such a bad start.

Perched in a pretty little valley above the coastal bustle, there is much to occupy the tourist's curiosity.
The town square with its wonderful old elm tree, planted in 1713 has seen weddings and funerals, celebrations and daily activity.
Jilly has already captivated us, time and time again with her careful insights into daily life, here.

Now, we were seeing the "scene of the crime".
The old man whom she said was quite a "wag" was there and nothing seemed out of place.
Im sure you'll enjoy my newest friends, Les Gorbarins, as I did.

Conduisant vers Gorbio

Driving to Gorbio

The Autoroute to Menton and up the hill to Gorbio was all smooth sailing and as I mentioned yesterday, it was a very hot day in the South of France.

Unbeknown to me, Nathalie had kindly e-mailed Jilly that we were on the road and at what hour we could be expected.
We approached the Route de Gorbio to the sounds of the 'téléphone portable' singing away.
It was Jilly and her final directions.
French girls are just sooooo efficient and well-organized.

In Jilly's street we met Crystelle, 'la factrice' in her yellow La Poste mobile and then, voila, our hostess was at the corner to meet us.

We were now "on" the French Riviera !

Cette chanson n'est pas encore finie, suite

With all Avignon's beauty resting in its original peace, the girls said goodbye and we quietly slipped below the Pope's pink parking place, au-dessous de son palais.

The silver car soberly made the decisions for itself and took us onto La Provençale, the Autoroute to Menton and Monaco, and as you can see from the bottom shot, France gave us a 34° day.

Jeudi a toujours été le jour le plus chanceux de la semaine !

Cette chanson n'est pas encore finie

The Pont d'Avignon although it has been partially swept away, - in fact several times, certainly swept me away.

Its history and its story are romantic and thrilling and that is what is lovely about France.

A traveller can be thrilled, he can be swept off his feet, not just by the rapidly running Rhône, but by France itself, the people, the country, the culture, the language and the sheer pleasure which he will experience there.

France is so certainly a magnet, a dance of life, and Avignon has just that power, that allure and fascination.

Here are the last photos of such long-lasting memories.
Tomorrow we are heading to the Riviera.

Merci Avignon et merci Nathalie. Ici, en Australie nous te donnerions un boomerang. Un boomerang revient toujours aux pieds de la personne qui le jette.

Ce n'est pas une chanson finie : suite

Ce n'est pas une chanson finie.

Le Pont Saint-Bénézet, Avignon,

«Commencé en 1177, par le pâtre Bénézet, originaire du Vivarais, qui se présenta à l'évêque d'Avignon, comme envoyé par Dieu, pour construire un pont sur le Rhône.
Sa construction payée avec des dons et des quêtes dura huit années.

Il mesurait environ 900 mètres de longueur sur 4 mètres de largeur et se composait de 19 arches légèrement exhaussées en ellipse. Il n'en reste que quatre aujourd'hui, dont une surmontée par la chapelle Saint-Nicolas (patron des Bateliers), on se trouvait le tombeau du fondateur, Saint Bénézet. Une chanson légendaire lui fit acquérir encore plus de renommée.»


The Pont d'Avignon, which is also known as the the Pont Saint-Bénézet, was begun in 1177, by the shepherd, Bénézet, a native of Vivarais, who presented himself to the bishop of Avignon, as having been sent by God, to construct a bridge across the Rhône.
Its construction, paid for by donations and collections, lasted eight years.
It measured about 900 metres in length by 4 metres wide and was made up of 19 arches "lightly raised in ellipse".
Today, only four of the arches remain, one of which is surmounted by the Chapel of St, Nicolas, the patron saint of Boatmen, where you can find the tomb of its founder, St Benezet.
And the legendary song made him acquire even more fame.

Jeudi a toujours été le jour le plus chanceux de la semaine !
Thus, 11th September began with the French sun promising more than an Australian bloke might expect.
The source of love and life jumped out at the day and the happy, lazy city of old Avignon stirred itself as if summer would last for ever.
Pourquoi pas ?

The tourists and the ants swarmed, - partout.
The Rhône rushed about its business and the Camargue was ever thankful.
People formed queues and bought tickets for things.
Not like in the XVe siècle. That was the mission for today.
To return to the 15 century, - if only for the time that a fleeting remembrance may be cherished, nurtured and kept safe.

Nathalie had made our stay a pleasure and today we were to dance.
And what better location than;- sur le pont d'Avignon.

Les Australiens font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tout en rond.

"Ce n'est pas une chanson "finie", ce qui peut expliquer le grand nombre de variantes qui existent.
Ainsi, tous les métiers de l'époque peuvent être repris."

Ce n'est pas une chanson finie.............

Beaucoup de fumée, peu de feu et un soir très agréable : 2

Tomorrow we will be privileged to see something that few people ever see in their lives, -

"Les belles dames font comme ça

Et puis encore comme ça.

Sur le pont d'Avignon,

L'on y danse, l'on y danse,

Sur le pont d'Avignon

L'on y danse tout en rond....".

À demain ....

Beaucoup de fumée, peu de feu et un soir très agréable

With the firemen and women under control and no damage having been done, I hurried back to the restaurant where Nathalie and Madame were chitter-chattering, or so it seemed at the time.

My absence had been a matter of Australia-French relations and I had to explain my half hour absenteeism.

Luckily for me, my rudeness was excused and perhaps I'll even be allowed to return to this fantastic city where people and emergency services co-exist so harmoniously !

Where life and its meanings are so agreeably accepted and indulged.

Where people have a smile that comes from deep within.

Where one feels that there are so many thousand things to learn and love about this place.

Where to not return would be an offence.

Aucun travail trop grand

The fire was in the fourth floor of a restaurant building on the corner of the Montée Paul Puaux and the Place de l'Horloge.

It seemed to be a most bonding civic occasion and young and old alike turned out to celebrate the fire. Smiles and good cheer abounded everywhere.

Locals and tourists sat back at the outdoor tables of the town square restaurants and made the most of the conviviality that this fire had brought to town.

New friendships were made and much slapping hit the backs of new-found strangers.

The French seem to bring strangers together in the most pleasant sorts of ways.

What a lovely country; no job too large or too small !!

France has something for everyone. It certainly has something for me.

Pompiers et Policiers Municipaux

No sooner had we arrived at the Beatrice Bellegarde Restaurant in the Rue Gallante, - when the entire precinct became enveloped in thick smoke.

Fire and excitement had broken out in the Place de l'Horloge and this sticky-nose could not resist.

Leaving the ladies to their own devices, so rudely, here are the pompiers and police municipales that caught my attention.

Avignon was blissful.

After a few delicious cool drinks and a lazy introduction to life in Provence, we excitedly traced a new path into the heart of the old city to find the restaurant Nathalie had chosen.

Avignon was blissful.

This town is so old, yet so orderly, so steeped in history yet so modern, so ancient yet so well laid out and well equipped.

How could one not visit such a lovely city, yet friends who had just returned to Australia advised me to stay outside the walls.

Stupid Australians, - I will certainly straighten them out.

(And of course, - the men, ladies.
Here is a small preview. They were quite handsome in their uniforms and you will see what they were doing, in a few minutes.)