Blogs from Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, Europe - page 21

The Best Place in France...so far... I think I am a little bit in love with Bordeaux. Can you tell from the title? I just spent a WONDERFUL three days there with my friends Dorothy and Janine, and even during the rainiest month of the year it was fabulous! What a beautiful city...dating back to pre-Roman Iron-Age times...full of ancient history, beautiful medieval buildings, bustling pedestrian shopping streets and a magnificent river that arcs gently towards the Gironde and the Atlantic Ocean. And who can forget the hundreds of thousands of vineyard acreage that distinguish Bordeaux as the wine capitol of France (of the world???) Dorothy and I 'flew' down on the ultra-speedy TGV train on Friday morning to arrive in Bordeaux at about 11:30 in the morning. The worst part of the whole trip ... read more

In the afternoon we went to Bordeaux with the Pineuilh baseball club to the ConforExpo. ConfoExpo is a regional trade expo held in a huge indoor convention center that is almost a mile in length. Included in the expo was a sports exposition showcasing all of the sports played in the Aquitaine region of France. I found it to be quite a bizarre event mainly because the sports were presented as a sort of novelty; many of the stands had a station set up where you could ‘try’ the sport, sort of like the games at a carnival or a state fair. There were tiny goals to shoot soccer balls into, swimming pools where you could try out boating, mini bowling alleys, a speed pitch at the baseball stand, etc., etc., Many of the stands had ... read more

This first photo is of Harry, Hugh, and Max, and Mr. Guy Fawkes. On Saturday we had a bonfire party at La Girade. It was outdoors, in what will eventually be the backyard terrace of the Tyler’s new house. For the moment it is still only dirt and mud, so all those invited were encouraged to bring their ‘Wellies’ to the party. Wellies are what they call rubber boots in the UK, because they were originally manufactured in a city called Wellington (I think). Trish and Mark cooked up squash soup, sausages (veggies for the vegetarians), and some sort of onion dish. Just before the party was to start, Max (the oldest son) and I went off to Wilfred and Jackie’s house (they own the winery I showed in pics in an earlier blog) to pick ... read more

Well, here I am again. In Europe. I arrived back in Gensac, southern France, two days ago. I have been house-sitting for the Tyler family, as they are still on their vacation in Scotland (or England? I can’t remember where they are). I think they get back today. I arrived Tuesday night and crashed almost immediately. Slept for sixteen hours. That is the longest I have ever slept in one night. It makes me think of the first time John (my brother) got back from studying in China and he slept for 24 hours straight (!) and the only reason he woke up is because we brought him breakfast in bed. I woke up remembering that I was supposed to give the cats breakfast. When I came upstairs I found that one of the neighbors had ... read more

Time passes so quickly. I have now been staying in Gensac, working at La Girate, and coaching baseball in Pineuilh for a week. There are numerous projects going on at La Girate, the house that I am working on with Mark. My first day here was spent rearranging all of the spare wood and stored junk in the storage room: really exciting. Then I moved on to tearing out a ceiling, helping install the drainage system around the outside of the house, beginning to create a walkway around the house…..Friday and today were spent drilling holes at the base of the interior walls of the house, then filling them with water, then filling them with a chemical/solution that protects the walls of the house from humidity. This afternoon was probably the most fun of all of ... read more