12 Thursday Mar 2015
The first fort at the village of Montrésor, just south of the Loire, was built by the celebrated Folque Nerri, a count of Anjou who was famous for being both violent and pious, and a great architect too. Apparently, he made four pilgrimages to atone for his sins, and then went out and slaughtered another five thousand soldiers. If your history goes far back enough, I guess you can be anything you want.
19 Thursday Feb 2015
Posted in Accommodations, Gallery, Travel
I have been beating myself up for fourteen years for not having patented the wheel.
15 Sunday Feb 2015
da Vinci self portrait
Time was when French kings adopted Italian artists like puppies. François I adopted Leonardo da Vinci because François wanted Italy and kept failing to win it, but its bling was nonetheless irresistible. At the king’s invitation, da Vinci traveled from Milan to the city of Amboise via donkey in 1516, carrying the Mona Lisa in his saddlebag, and stayed there until his death in 1519.
19 Monday Jan 2015
Posted in Accommodations, Travel
L to R: Stephen, Kay, Tom, & Louise. Just look at those desserts!
Of our 821 regular readers, about 800 of you totally ignored my birthday Saturday. Regardless, being old and creaky has not diminished my interest in celebrations, although the actual number is irrelevant.
15 Thursday Jan 2015
Field trip! Yesterday we left home to visit Jackie Fisher’s favorite village in the region: Angles-sur-l’Anglin, which is about 25 minutes away. The tongue twister of a name means “Anglos on the Anglin River,” because it is one of the many regions here occasionally populated by the English, usually post-invasion. Today, the British actually buy land and houses here, which is so much more civilized.
07 Wednesday Jan 2015
Posted in Accommodations, Travel
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We are in our very French kitchen, having breakfast after a whirlwind orientation from the delightful John and Jackie Fisher, our British hosts who are bravely entrusting their house and critters to us.
01 Thursday Jan 2015
Posted in Travel
Tom, Louise, and our daughter Sybil at our bon voyage lunch yesterday. Today is liftoff. Paris tonight!
03 Wednesday Dec 2014
Posted in Travel
In our last episode (and it WAS an episode), we revealed that our two-month winter rental in Mexico had fallen through, taking our winter vacation rental money with it. We also said we were applying as housesitters to mind three goats, five chickens, and a cat at a farmhouse in Central France. The menagerie needed tending for three months.
01 Saturday Nov 2014
If you’ve been following Tom’s new blog, the Foolish Flyer, you know that we spent last weekend in and around Lake Chelan in Central Washington State. Tom’s mission was the North Wing flying toy factory; mine was exploring new places.
04 Thursday Sep 2014
Posted in Travel
The Expat Almanac 