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| Neighbor's cat, but in our house |
It is the end of May. The month of May had 3 holidays. May 1 is Labor Day, May 8 Victory and 19-20 of May is Pentecost (this year).
We have had one of the worst years weather wise and it was confirmed by the newspaper. It is not my imagination. For the first part of this year we have had only 300 hours of sun. No wonder everyone is so grim! It has only been 50-60° most days in May also. We have had to light a fire in our wood stove almost every night. There were a couple of days when the sun was out, and oh how beautiful those days were. Because of all the rain there has been flooding everywhere. Some villages were devastated. Dijon had many streets knee deep in water!! So far our house is dry, but the yard has been very soggy at times. So we wait to see how June will turn out.
My Blog this month is going to have more photos than chatter!
When the weather is miserable, there just may be a food tasting or wine tasting somewhere. We went down to Saulieu for the "Journees Gourmand" and had a delightful lunch. Booths of food are offered for tastings or you can buy a plate for lunch. Of course there is wine too. I had a wonderful goat cheese salad, Keith found a leg of duck (cuisse de canard).
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| Countryside on the drive down |
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| Spice booth..amazing scents |
In spite of the rain, I did get up and off my butt and took some photos. One hike was over at the ponds behind Gevrey. There was some sun!
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| wild iris |
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| swans -one hissed at me!! |
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| Swan Pond |
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| Beautiful Heron |
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| Flipper and the Colza (Canola flowers) |
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| tree in a yellow field |
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| wild orchid |
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| wild orchid...not common |
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| Hélianthème des Apennins |
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| Wild Orchid |
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| Euphorbe |
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| Ancolie |
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| Wild Orchid |
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| Ortie |
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| Sceau de Salomon multiflore |
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| Arum (Gouet maculé) |
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| wild orchid |
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| Flipper |
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| Orchis bouc |
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| Ophrys bourdon |
My walks in the woods were finished for the month, replaced by walks in Paris. Met Chris (from England) in Paris, and in spite of the rain, we had a packed weekend. Friday it rained the most, so it was museum day. First to the museum Luxembourg for the Chagall expo. It was amazing. Enjoyed the whole morning there, and it was not that crowded. That afternoon we went to the museum d'Orsay. After a long wait in line to get in (in the rain), we had a couple of relaxing hours left to see the best of the impressionists.
Saturday the weather was a little better and it was off to Versailles. We had our bought our tickets ahead of time to avoid the lines...hmmm, so had everyone else!! No line at the ticket door at all, but maybe 200 people ahead of us waiting to enter! Oh well.
It rained while we toured inside and while we ate lunch. That afternoon, for the gardens, we had some sun. So it worked rather well. It rained again at the end of the day for our walk back to the train station.
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| Gates |
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| Hall of Mirrors |
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| View of the palace from the garden fountain |
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| Posiden fountain |
Sunday forecast was even better, so decided to go to Giverny to see the gardens of Monet. Incredibly beautiful. I love gardens.
And of course, PARIS
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| Sacre Couer at the top |
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| Oops, the quai is under water... better to walk at the street level!! |
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| And NOTRE DAME... (and some sun!) |
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| Taken through the Plexiglas at the Bastille Metro stop Some scratches on the right-not ropes |
So what else is new this last month? I made maki sushi ! First time
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| Carrots, cucumber, et surimi |
I continue to have fun with my camera, and enjoy pottery (photos of latest pieces next month).
Keith, as usual has spent some time at Bligny with the tourist train. He just went south to Provence for a couple days of bike riding, since there is no sun here!!
Recipe of the Month
Frommage Chevre
Salade ( Goat cheese salad)
This is a simple recipe, and so good with fresh goat cheese.
INGREDIENTS (for 1)
· Fresh salad greens
· One slice of fresh goat cheese
(circle about 3/8 inch thick and 2 ½ inch wide)
· 2-3 tsp light vinaigrette
· 2 tsp Pesto sauce
· 1 tsp Thick balsamic vinegar ( I can
buy one that is called “Velour” or maybe a slight reduction)
· 2 tsp good olive oil
PREPARATIONS
1. Place greens in bowl and toss with a
little vinaigrette (not very much-go lightly)
2. Put the greens in the middle of the
plate
3. Place goat cheese on top
4. Mix about 2tsp of Pesto with 2 tsp
of olive oil
5. Drizzle the Pesto mixture around the
outside edge of the salad –generous
6. Drizzle the Balsamic on the goat
cheese
