A Trip to a Vineyard

We decided to head out one day on foot to the vineyard at Domaine de la Fadeze, walking for a bit along the lakeshore where the men, who farm this lake, live and work. There are many oyster and mussel beds in the lake, with shops and road side stands offering coquillage (shellfish), for sale all around this region.
After a nice lunch on the beach, we walked in to the Fadeze winery and waited a bit for the folks to return from their customary two hour lunch (this is France after all). However, 2 o'clock came and went, and the woman in the office, who saw us walk up, apparently couldn't be bothered with opening the door, or telling us to scram, or something to let us know which way the wind was blowing. So, off we went, back to Marseillan, sans vino. Still, it was a very nice walk, and a wonderful lunch by the lake.

Heading out, away from town.

Then we decided to go to the right of this sign, down the Fontaurie path, away from the main road and towards the lakeshore.

Old barn.

Old truck.

Old man. Actually, one of the coquillage workers.

There are numerous docks, with small gauge rail lines going from the dock to the processing areas, along this stretch of the lake.

Don't think these rail lines get used anymore!

Empty oyster shells in bags.

When we get back to town, we are going to check on this little fixer-upper!

We turned from the lake here, and walked towards the vineyard (about 100 meters). Looks kind of like a south sea island.

Way too early for grape leaves!

Practice your French:

2 hour lunch.

Old scale, now used as part of a flower pot.

Heading home without the wine, but other delights are enjoyed. Apple blossoms blooming early.

Back in the 'hood.

Take care my friends!

Peace.

Marseillan

We have settled for a bit (until April 8th), in Marseillan, France. Kirsty found us a very nice place, owned by Doni and Dearbhla O'Riordan (originally from County Cork, Ireland).

Marseillan seems like a typical small French village, with plenty of boulangeries (bread shops), people parking wherever they want, small windy roads, dog poop galore, a dearth of road signs, and fresh vegetables. It is still the off-season here, so the crowds are non-existent, and at times it feels like we are on a movie set.

There is a also very large salt-water lake here (Etang de Thau).

Views from the front door:

The house:

We enter from the street through the garage, into the courtyard. Another residence is on top of the garage.

Walkway through the garage.

Front door.

Guest room. We will make the beds if you come to visit.

Guest loo.

Stairs showing guest loo door and master bedroom door at the top.

Master bedroom.

A view to the master loo.

Views out of the master bedroom window.

Bedroom windows on the right.

It has been nice to taste French bread again! But I do miss the Italian coffee. The burden one must bear!
We are planning a few day trips to local vineyards and Barcelona, Spain (a couple of hours drive southwest) and will keep you posted on all the details. Miss you all my friends!

Peace

Florence for Some Gelato

We dashed out of Venice, catching the train to Florence. We understood the gelato was to die for, so off we went.
Florence was, to say the least, very impressive and a bit overwhelming. I hope to return when I have more time to fully enjoy the sights. As it was, we only had a few days, and part of that was spent trying to decide where were going to stay for an extended length of time. Either that or start robbing banks.

The architecture of Florence was of great interest to me, and I hope I captured some of this in the following pictures, especially the Duomo, and the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge), a medieval bridge spanning the Arno River. The Ponte Vecchio has always hosted shops and merchants who displayed their goods on tables before their premises, after authorization of the Bargello (a sort of a lord mayor, a magistrate and a police authority). The back shops (retrobotteghe) that may be seen from upriver, were added in the seventeenth century.
It is said that the economic concept of bankruptcy originated here: when a merchant could not pay his debts, the table on which he sold his wares (the "banco") was physically broken ("rotto") by soldiers, and this practice was called "bancorotto" (broken table; possibly it can come from "banca rotta" which means "broken bank"). Not having a table anymore, the merchant was not able to sell anything.During WWII, the Ponte Vecchio was not destroyed by Germans during their retreat of August 4, 1944, unlike all other bridges in Florence. This was allegedly because of an express order by Hitler.

Middle of the bridge.

Lots of gold on the Ponte Vecchio!

Wider view of the Arno, looking towards the Ponte Vecchio.

Tripe Market. Very popular and kind of gross. But that's just me.

The makings of a good ham and cheese sandwich.

The tomatoes were very delicious, as were the clementines!

Florence has about a million scooters in it. Can you see the bicycle?

Liked these signs showing the figure missing a foot. France and Italy have these warnings all around the train stations.

Florentine Architecture:

These mounds of gelato are about 18 inches tall.

Local Polizia.

Kirsty standing by a wind-up car. Ok, not really wind-up, but almost.

I'm going to say this is Hercules.

Originally a 14th century grain hall, then a Guild Hall.

Statue of St. Peter on the Guild Hall building.

A sign against putting locks on the railings, and then. . .

Locks and. . .

More locks. It is a tradition in Florence to put a lock on the horse tie-ups on the bridges, then toss the keys into the Arno River for good luck. We added our lock and Kirsty tossed the keys into the river. Let's keep this our little secret.

Sculpture studio.

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy, begun in 1296 in the Gothic style and completed structurally in 1436. The basilica is one of Italy's largest churches, and until the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed. A stunning building!

All of this made by hand. A place where I just looked and was speechless until I could utter something like damn, or wow. Mostly I just looked in awe.

From the train to Florence. My baloney has a first name, its M-a-y-e-r...

We have found a place to rent in Marseillan, France for 7 weeks. It has two bedrooms, so if anyone would like to come visit, please let us know. More to follow about the place in a few days.

I miss you all.

Peace.