Ah, France!

And now for something completely different! From Poland we fly to France. As we descend into the Nice airport I have a great view of the coast, the red tiled roofs of the houses and palm trees! Even from the air the place feels profoundly different from where we just were. So Django and I arrive at the airport and have to wait a couple hours for Simon to fly in. Not once on this journey has Simon been able to fly with us, bit of a drag. Here we are hanging outside in the balmy climate of the Côte d'Azur.



We caught a train that went along the coast and brought us to Les Arcs du Draguignan, 35km from our destination in the 9th century village of Bargemon. I had read online that there were buses from Les Arcs to Bargemon. We, no make that I, figured we didn't need to invest in a rental car for the whole two weeks, that we would probably want to spend time around the village and if we had a car we'd feel obligated to use it, and why not relax without the pressure to DO... So, we took the train. Can you see this is leading to something? Some little problem perhaps? Well the problem was not only that it was Sunday and the buses wouldn't have been running anyway, but that bus service to Bargemon had been suspended in September. Oh, hindsight makes everything so damn clear doesn't it?! Well, the short story is we ended up paying a taxi 83 Euros (that's $125) to go 35 km (that's 21 miles).


So, we fretted about this during the whole windy-road night time drive to Bargemon, finally found the house and went inside. Suddenly our problems melted away as we came into this lovely house. Wine and food awaited us. It was beautiful.
Now you may be wondering where we came across this wonderful house. Simon belongs to a Danish organization for working songwriters (songwriters making income from their craft) called DPA. They own this and three other properties in Europe. As a member you apply to stay at the house and voila! There we were. Blessed.

It is a tradition for guests to leave wine and food for the next guests, and it made for a warm welcome indeed.

We woke up, opened the wooden shutters on the french doors and found this view.





Close up of the prior view. This is the village of Clavier, across the valley.



Awesome kitchen



view from the livingroom



looking out the door of the second bedroom



On the property looking at the house



the pool that we never used because the water was too damn cold



Yes, it was just that nice out many a day. Django wasn't the only one taking advantage of the weather and the privacy ;-)



Simon and Django going to the olive grove.



Beautiful olives!



Well we decided to harvest some olives and try our hand at salt-curing them. We brought one small jar home with us and they are still sitting in salty brine as they need about three weeks before the bitterness leaves the olives. So I can't report yet on whether we were successful.



Keep a close eye on a toddler carrying a bowl of olives. Sooner or later he's going to want to dump them down a hole by the roots of a tree. Close call!



The medieval village of Bargemon.



We really had a glorious time in France. I absolutely love Provence! It was everything I imagined or hoped it would be. We were extremely lucky with the weather. Sunny most of the time, though a couple days were quite cool. On the day we were leaving the downpours came, but not until then.

more to come...

Krakow, Poland

Well we're almost half way through our time in France and I haven't yet finished my Poland journals. This one may be more pictures than words in the interest of getting it finished and continuing to soak up some soleil du Provence.

KRAKOW

Not content to only see Warsaw, we decided to hop on a train south for a three hour ride to Krakow, a beautiful city that dates back to the 7th century. Unlike Warsaw, Krakow was relatively undamaged during WWII. So there remains a diverse and rich display of architecture and historical sites.

We booked an apartment close to the town square for two nights, which was cheaper and better than a hotel.

ON THE TRAIN

It was gray. It was what you might picture had you never been to Poland. You would be right. The landscape in Poland is quite flat and the terrain and country architecture, mostly concrete buildings, not very interesting. There were some industrial areas, and many of the structures we saw were quite run down. Ah, here we go again... boring landscapes. There are some mountains in the south which I hear are quite beautiful. If we'd had the time we would have gone. But mostly what we saw looked kind of like this, though this would be among the nicer views:



Django got quite used to train travel, and really enjoyed it. When a train would stop at a station he would say (and sign) 'more', wanting the train to move again.



Keeping the child entertained during the three hour trip.



First night in Krakow. The Lynge clan went out for dinner at what turned out to be a really good Italian restaurant.



The view from our apartment, one block from the Old Town square.



Across the street from one corner of the largest medieval town square in Europe.



The opposite corner of the square.



"Nice place to chase pigeons if you ask me."



All around town we saw these pretzel vendors. Unfortunately we didn't get around to trying one.



There are an abundance of catholic churches and cathedrals in Krakow.



This looks so very very old.



Another view..



Around town:





The balloon you see in the lower right background is a tethered balloon lifting passengers (who stand on a platform) up 150 meters to see the views of Krakow.



At Wawel castle, a significant place in the Polish culture, with both castle and cathedral.



The cathedral, a seeming hodgepodge of architectural styles. We went inside and even went down into the tombs where many notable Poles are interred.
One thing that really interested me about the cathedral was the floor. It was a checkerboard pattern of dark and light, made of stone or marble. What was compelling was how much it was worn. There were gentle undulating waves of wear from the hundreds of years of people walking upon it. I love cathedrals. They are serious and stern and religious in a way that I just don't relate to, but the architecture and the details are always beautiful and fascinating, or at the very least, impressive.





Statue of Pope John Paul II, who, before he was pope, was the Archbishop of Krakow.



The palace square:





I love this old wall.



KAZIMIERZ

Kazimierz is the old Jewish quarter of Krakow and was its own city once upon a time. There is such a grim history in Poland, especially the one in living memory. Nearly all of the Jews in Poland were killed by the Nazis, only 10% survived. Auschwitz is a day trip from Krakow. It is estimated that 4 million Jews were killed in Poland during WWII (3 million Polish Jews). We learned that in the old town square, near where we stayed, there was once a Nazi rally where Hitler was present. Strange to walk those same grounds. The intensity of the history is still present, and I thought about that when I saw the faces of older people who were alive during that time.



Kazimierz is still somewhat run down, though is experiencing a resurgence, and has a bit of a bohemian element.
Here's an art gallery we came across with an 'art car' out front.



Pretty cool sculpture:



We had lunch in a neat little cafe. Here I'm enjoying some mulled mead, tasty broccoli soup and a Russian style crepe.



A Jewish monument in front of an amazing old stone wall.



A beautiful old building:



Well, lest you have some romantic idea that these beautiful old European cities are unspoiled by the hand of modern capitalism, think again. There is an unfortunate 'Disneyfication' 'that you find so commonly now in old European cities. Anywhere that is a tourist attraction is sure to attract corporations, developers, 'mall-ifiers', and purveyors of the Starbucks ethos (no, I haven't seen any actual Starbucks in Europe, just close knock-offs). Poland joined the EU about five years ago, and thus is still in the early stages of the western capitalistic model. Here is the mall, just like any mall anywhere, with all of the same stores. I bought the most expensive tube of lipstick I've ever gotten. Wishing I hadn't. I am not a fan of malls in the least. The new economy and higher prices must be something of a shock to many Poles. They haven't adopted the Euro yet, and are still using the Zloty. If they adopt the Euro the prices will go up more.



Some flower vendors in the town square. A more old fashioned way to shop.



We saw these old men in the park just before we left Krakow. I think of all the things they must have seen and how strange this 'new' world must be in their eyes.

tantalizing France

Last night Simon, Django and I arrived in Southern France. We have a house to ourselves for two weeks. It's absolutely wonderful here! The house is spacious and situated on the top of a hill with an amazing view. The weather was glorious, sunny and hovered just between warm and cool. Perfect! I think we may have landed in heaven. But before I can tell you about that, I must finish my Poland blogs, kind of a hard task to think of gray Poland from this place, but I'll do my best to write about it.

It was so gorgeous out today, I went and got in the French mood. Can't see the neighbors from most places in the yard ;-)




Look for more on frolicking in France soon.

Here's Simon having a little respite today:

Old Warsaw

There is a part of Warsaw called Old Town, which is the oldest part of the city, dating back to the 1300s. During WWII, much of Warsaw was obliterated, and most of Old Town was deliberately destroyed. After the war it was reconstructed, brick by brick, utilizing every available surviving bit, with individual pieces being put in their original locations. It is strikingly beautiful with a surprising amount of decorative detail.



Town Hall:



This mermaid statue is the symbol of Warsaw.



A large church that looks almost like a State building.



Django in the square.






Simon doing double duty.



O.k., so we had to have perogies. This restaurant was dedicated to perogies. Order at the counter, and make sure to tell them in your best Polish not to put the sauce made with lard on if you're a vegetarian. Oh, and good luck with that. If you're thinking of perogies as dumplings filled with a potato and cheese filling (like I did) you are thinking of the Russian variety. Polish perogies come with numerous, probably endless variety of fillings. A couple popular, and non-meat versions were cabbage and mushrooms, and spinach and cheese. We did try to avert the lard sauce, but it came with it anyway. Sorry to be the ugly (but friendly) Americans, but we sent them back. We received the same perogies, apparently rinsed off. Well, they were pretty good anyway.

(and no, Simon is not actually American)



mmmmm...



Django enjoyed them too. He was in a mood at the moment and not sure if he would eat something new, we just said 'PASTA'! That seemed to work.



We went to a really cool little gallery with lots of functional art and some completely useless stuff too. Part of the gallery was in a basement that felt like a cave. Very cool.



The PEOPLE

The Polish people were so interesting looking, I kept wanted to snap pictures. Mostly I resisted the urge out of a desire not to impose too much. I tried to use my reasonably good zoom lense to capture a few folks without them noticing.



Well, she noticed.
I think many ladies with money in Poland have fur coats. I saw several of them.



Love these shots:





The BUILDINGS

Looking into the square:



The rest of the pictures speak for themselves. I love the details.














This church had an odd incongruous design.









still to come... Krakow!