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Because it's almost Halloween and it's Bryan Ferry...
I'll be in my bunk for the next little while.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Please Don't Hate Me Because I'm Lucky
Last week, while we were standing smoking outside a restaurant in Paris (and yes, somehow the anti-smoking league has managed to get even those Gauloise smoking Parisiens to 'step outside') my brother commented on how my good fortune occasionally strikes him as, well, ... irksome. Nevermind the fact:
1) That much of the good fortune in my life has been the result of people I met through him, as well as having him for my brother
2) He was standing WITH me on a street in PARIS !
But he has a point...I have been extremely fortunate for most of my life. This is not to say there weren't times of great economically-driven stress, times when all I wanted was for someone to love/love me who wasn't neurotic and fucked up, when loss and pain and fear broke my heart. But over all, I've been one lucky bitch ... and it's not fair. I'm not a bad person, but I'm not a particularly good one either. There are people in the world who give more of themselves,who do truly good works for simple rewards, people who change this planet for the better and I can only hope they get the joy and happiness from their lives as I do from mine. And I know there are people who seem to have it all; money, love, family, education and they are miserable. So perhaps being fortunate isn't measured only by how much you have or where you have it. Maybe there's an element of perspective to it all.
All of this is a preamble to me posting the photos below. I want to share my pictures, my love of Paris with you, my faithful blogreaders. And if you feel a twinge of envy (justifiable and not really too bad of a sin) please know that there is much in your lives (that you share here on the interwebs) that assures me that you, too, are very fortunate.
We did, indeed, get to stay at the Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais, and it was as charming and wonderful as I had hoped.
We went to Versailles (The Big G had never been) and as it was a Saturday and packed, we spent most of our time wandering around the gardens.
But my favorite thing was just wandering around Paris (although we did see a couple of excellent exhibits Tresor de Medicis and France1500).
1) That much of the good fortune in my life has been the result of people I met through him, as well as having him for my brother
2) He was standing WITH me on a street in PARIS !
But he has a point...I have been extremely fortunate for most of my life. This is not to say there weren't times of great economically-driven stress, times when all I wanted was for someone to love/love me who wasn't neurotic and fucked up, when loss and pain and fear broke my heart. But over all, I've been one lucky bitch ... and it's not fair. I'm not a bad person, but I'm not a particularly good one either. There are people in the world who give more of themselves,who do truly good works for simple rewards, people who change this planet for the better and I can only hope they get the joy and happiness from their lives as I do from mine. And I know there are people who seem to have it all; money, love, family, education and they are miserable. So perhaps being fortunate isn't measured only by how much you have or where you have it. Maybe there's an element of perspective to it all.
All of this is a preamble to me posting the photos below. I want to share my pictures, my love of Paris with you, my faithful blogreaders. And if you feel a twinge of envy (justifiable and not really too bad of a sin) please know that there is much in your lives (that you share here on the interwebs) that assures me that you, too, are very fortunate.
We did, indeed, get to stay at the Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais, and it was as charming and wonderful as I had hoped.
We went to Versailles (The Big G had never been) and as it was a Saturday and packed, we spent most of our time wandering around the gardens.
But my favorite thing was just wandering around Paris (although we did see a couple of excellent exhibits Tresor de Medicis and France1500).
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Tradition
This weekend many of my compatriots were partaking in the October ritual of Thanksgiving, feasting on turkey, mashed potatoes, baked yams (mmmmm), brussel sprouts, carrots, cranberries and pumpkin pie (mmmm) and I hope each of you had a surfeit of food, family, and things to be thankful for. Here in La Suisse, they have traditions as well, but it is more of a season than just one day. On Saturday we drove up to Gryon, dumped Roscoe at the flat (because I haven't found any wee hiking booties for his lil paws), tied on our hiking boots and hiked from Solalex
to Anzeinde.
This is what it looks like on a map:
It's about an hour or so of climbing (a little longer for those of us that need to stop and catch our breath and let our heartbeat return to something that doesn't resemble tachycardia) and the view is spectacular. After the walk down (another hour or so) we treated ourselves to the traditional autumn Swiss Feast: Chasse at the Refuge de Solalex. I have mentioned chasse on this blog before, but this was perfection. All the game (cerf, chevreuil, lievre) was local, cooked perfectly and accompanied by the tastiest carmelized marons, tender baby brussel sprouts, pears poached in red wine and followed by a digestif of chilled abricotine. I think the Swiss have figured out a few things in the last couple of millennia, despite the lack of pumpkin pie.
This weekend many of my compatriots were partaking in the October ritual of Thanksgiving, feasting on turkey, mashed potatoes, baked yams (mmmmm), brussel sprouts, carrots, cranberries and pumpkin pie (mmmm) and I hope each of you had a surfeit of food, family, and things to be thankful for. Here in La Suisse, they have traditions as well, but it is more of a season than just one day. On Saturday we drove up to Gryon, dumped Roscoe at the flat (because I haven't found any wee hiking booties for his lil paws), tied on our hiking boots and hiked from Solalex
to Anzeinde.
This is what it looks like on a map:
It's about an hour or so of climbing (a little longer for those of us that need to stop and catch our breath and let our heartbeat return to something that doesn't resemble tachycardia) and the view is spectacular. After the walk down (another hour or so) we treated ourselves to the traditional autumn Swiss Feast: Chasse at the Refuge de Solalex. I have mentioned chasse on this blog before, but this was perfection. All the game (cerf, chevreuil, lievre) was local, cooked perfectly and accompanied by the tastiest carmelized marons, tender baby brussel sprouts, pears poached in red wine and followed by a digestif of chilled abricotine. I think the Swiss have figured out a few things in the last couple of millennia, despite the lack of pumpkin pie.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Saturday, October 02, 2010
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This is for one of my favorite bloggers, idleprimate, an ape with more sense than most and the wherewithall to show us.(reallly, go check out his blog).
For Ape, because 1000 years is just the blink of an eye.
This is for one of my favorite bloggers, idleprimate, an ape with more sense than most and the wherewithall to show us.(reallly, go check out his blog).
For Ape, because 1000 years is just the blink of an eye.
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