Loving Village Life

My  Little Garden

Sunset Over Monflanquin
View from Terrace

 Have you ever loved something so much, you are afraid it will be taken away? I feel so fortunate and grateful to have found Monflanquin.  Those of you who have read my book, MY LITTLE FRENCH VILLAGE, www.amazon.com know the back story and why this place means so much to me. Really, it's the little things which alone would be enough, but the little things are happening in French, which makes my heart sing. A French couple strolling by around 10 P.M. wished me "Bonne Nuit" as I closed my shutters for the night.  A French friend went out of her way to make me paella because I told her I had a craving for fish. This dish takes a massive effort and strain on the budget.  I taught her how to make a crumble, so happy to contribute in some way. It is my turn for Sunday lunch this week.  No way will it be the 6 hour paella extravaganza. Stay tuned for the menu, ethnic not French and the guests' reactions.

A friend made me paella. Amazing!

I taught my friend to make a raspberry apricot crumble.

 Over the weekend the village not only celebrated the Fete de la Musique in honor of the summer solstice, but also launched the first ever Festival of the Arts. Forty artists around the village opened their homes to the public. Some even offered workshops. The village came alive and hopefully people purchased an art object to take home.

 This week the chimney sweep came by, "a pinch me experience" in 2018. His wife scampered to the top of the roof and did most of the hard work. She offered that climbing on roof tops suits her just fine due to the beautiful views! My chimney got a clean bill of health and a certificate for insurance purposes.

Chimney Sweeping

By necessity and perhaps laziness,  much of our house decor comes from Amazon.fr. It's always a risk to order sight unseen, but after much study and some mastery of the metric system, online shopping works out well.

I ventured into the big city of Villeneuve -sur-lot last week and stumbled across Aldi, Trader Joe's German parent. How comforting to see the Trader Joe's brand, and yes, the prices are good. Aldi's feels like a warehouse and carries every thing from French cheese to bathing suits.

So there you have it. If you have any tips on conquering the fear of losing what you love, please send them my way. And to all of you, I hope you have someone or something you love as much as I love Monflanquin.

Be well!

A Taste of Home at Aldi's

My best  friend is amazon.fr

Delightful 10K Women's Hike around Paulhiac

Garden at the Manoir 

Weekly Friday hikes from the village end with cake and coffee. Each week a member of the group volunteers to host. Most of the members hail from England. This week a couple of Dutch and French women joined us. Only women are welcome to walk except for the summer when men are permitted. Today we enjoyed the hospitality of Charles and Margaret. How to describe their lovely home? Let's call it The Manoir. This group goes long distances. Today's walk at 10 kilometers was classified as easy. Not sure I could do any longer. The most distressful part was walking through bogs as the English call them. Translation: Muddy wet patches. If I had any delusion about my Merrells being waterproof, that would now be gone. The group published a bilingual French/ English cookbook called Cakewalk. I am hoping to buy one. The recipes look scrumptious.

Verdant Countryside

My Back Pack

Life is a basket of cherries

I've been in Monflanquin exactly a week now.  Days go by quickly here. People come over for coffee and a catch up.  I  keep the house  tidy as anyone could drop by at any moment. I prepare most of my meals, walk around the lake, watch a little French TV, read my book,  and admire the view from the terrace.

A couple of days ago, I picked cherries at my friend Mado's property. The woman  must think I am the Queen of Oregon. She cannot do enough for me. The Queen of Oregon receives brown eggs, an abundance of tree ripened cherries,  beautiful pink flowers,  5 kinds of homemade jam, and multiple invitations to dinner. No way to convince her of my ordinary citizenship. Believe me, I have tried. Mado is in her seventies and lives alone in her childhood home right outside Monflanquin. Caring for the land keeps her incredibly busy, but to this she adds, tai chi, and Internet classes.  Mado checks on the sick and the elderly regularly. Should Monflanquin suggest a saint, it would be Sainte Mado. Perhaps, it is time to drop Pope Frances a line.

The Happy Buzz

How's this for coffee shop decor in a building called the Docks, Quai Austerlitz?

Today started off in a jet lag fog. Although I planned my metro trip last night, I confused lines to end up taking a much longer route. For the first time ever, I experienced Paris metro rush hour. Doors opened; doors closed. I chose to wait. Even still,I was squeezed like a sardine as I finally rode to my unfamiliar destination, Quai d'Austerlitz and the City of Design and Mode Building where the Expat Forum is held annually.
The Expat Forum features organizations helping the French find work  or retire abroad. It sounded interesting. The Australian representative clearly summed up the key to getting hired abroad. The VISA. No surprise there. He left  me  with some interesting web sites to check out.  It would be fun to teach abroad for a few months. The Expat Forum seemed organized in an American way: Flyers, free candy, pens, and helpful representatives. Each half hour a new topic was presented. I found myself within ear shot of the working in America talk. The presenter could not emphasize enough how hard it is to get work in our country. Basically, she said America is closed.  So true.
Next stop the 11th arrondissement, gentrified and punctuated with fine restaurants serving farm fresh food.  I randomly chose a restaurant that looked good. Apparently, everyone else in the neighborhood thought so. No tables left. My next pick, Chez Lui,  was happy to seat me. I ordered the Menu: soft boiled egg on a bed of squid ink (amazing) and lamb chops with grilled broccoli and gremolata. Heavenly! Soon the host started turning people away as well. I felt fortunate to get a table and hung onto it as long as I could before meeting my friend Kristen at the Atelier des Lumieres, a renovated warehouse, now exhibiting a stunning sound and light show  representing famous paintings virtually like the Klimt below.  A must not miss for those traveling to Paris in the next few months.   Upon returning to my hotel, I realized a Happy Buzz  followed me everywhere today. People laughing and talking in  cafe after cafe. The clinking of knives and forks tapping rhythmically on plates.  Paris sings!

1. Today's Highlights

1. Quai d'Austerlitz
2. Chez Lui   
3. Atelier des Lumieres
4. Julhes - upscale wine and cheese shop

Finding Turkey in Paris

 Turkish Meatballs!

Aryan !

I am investing an embarrassing amount of time watching a Turkish soap opera called Love me as I am
on Netflix. Each episode is almost 2 hours long. Each season contains  at least 65 episodes. Do not do the math! I just started Season 3, but zut alors, French Netflix doesn't offer it. Withdrawal will be tough! One of the main characters is  a meatball chef. People from all over Turkey rave about his meatballs whose secret ingredient is sumac. No  two meatball looks alike, proof they are homemade. With the meatballs, people often drink Aryan, a refreshing yogurt drink made from plain yogurt and salt. Delicious!
I knew I could find Turkish food in Paris. I found it at Restaurant la Paix, 14 rue Odessa, the same street where we eat crepes and only 5 minutes from the hotel. The meatball plate came with salad, fries, and possibly bulgur in tomato sauce. Too tired to ask. Such tasty meatballs and all unevenly sized.
How fun to recreate the meal from my Turkish soap opera! Maybe I'll have crepes tomorrow.
P.S. Swedish meatballs are really Turkish.

Mystery on Air Canada

June 4, 2018                     The Weary Traveler
An uneventful flight to Paris from Toronto changed course when I innocently got up  to use the lavatory. A young woman looking distraught was hovering  inside with the door  ajar. She told me she  was looking for her watch which she had taken off to wash her hands and then placed on the counter. She  just got back to her seat when she realized she had left the watch in the w.c. But before she could retrieve it, a  serving cart blocked her path. She watched another passenger go into the w.c.  Then  as soon as she could, she returned quickly to retrieve her watch. It was gone!  As she told me this story, she was close to tears. The watch was the only thing she had  left of her father's. She pointed out the man who  went in after her.
Although, she had already asked him about the watch, I encouraged her to ask again. He clearly denied taking the watch. I tried to speak to him in French, but he spoke good accented English. His seat mates or were they family implied we should not accuse without proof. Were we accusing? I felt so bad for this young woman. She reminded me of my nieces. Later she told me she had gone into the wc to pray. I offered to help her look. Nothing. My " finding everything Bill loses skills "were not working.  She reported the loss to the flight attendant. An announcement of the lost watch was made right before we landed. So what do you think? Did the guy take it?

June 3, 2018 Off I go to France: Portland, Toronto, Paris. May it be easy. So far it is. I am in  the Toronto  Airport working on this blog. Already a lovely coincidence. Daniel's Montessori School teacher was on my flight to Toronto. She and her family are traveling to Copenhagen.
The plane was tiny. Two seats on each side. Luckily, my green bag fit in the small sized overhead bin. I tormented Bill last night by asking him to weigh my luggage a half a dozen times. Air Canada allows 10 kg for carry on and 10 kg for personal item.  Green bag kept weighing in at two pounds overweight. Thus the dance of shifting items between the two bags began. I took out some underwear, a shirt, and threw all supplements in a ziploc bag without their original bottles.  A frustrating evening as I had spent the last few weeks calculating everything for maximum efficiency. Oh well!  Of course, after all that, nobody even weighed my bags. Hopefully the flight to Paris will be smooth as well.
No food offered on the way to Toronto. I purchased a chicken ban mih (sp) sandwich. Edible!  The Air Canada Terminal is all technology tables from which you can order food without leaving your seat. It works really well and is super comfy. All the tables are equipped with charging stations!
That's it for now. Back to Netflix to continue watching my Turkish soap opera. Miss you all already!
Please feel free to comment or email me Giselle.bawnik@gmail.com  Merci!