And I'd like to thank...

I was named "Washington State Debate Coach of the Year" in 1989.

And that was the last time I received an award of any sort.

Yes indeed: although I've participated in my fair share of memes, I've never been honored by having a blogging award bestowed on me! So thank you, Nicole, for listing La France Profonde on your list of ten blogs you love.

Now of course the little picture is cute, but what means the most to me is what Nicole wrote about LFP:

"A beautiful blog about Betty's life in a rural part of France. Her writing and photos are amazing."

And now for the hard part -- I'm supposed to award TEN other bloggers with the same!

I'm afraid I'll have to get to that later, when I catch up with everything blog-related this summer in Olympia.

Until then, merci Nicole!

Train Tripping

I think in another life, one where I couldn't have turned into a blogging geek, I might have become a train geek. A really fun part of my day trip to Albi a week ago was simply taking the train there from Rodez.

The Rodez-Albi-Toulouse line is part of the ter regional network, and some of its trains are pretty spiffy:

But somehow I generally don't get put on those models. I took to the rails last week in this:

Suffice to say I'm glad I didn't spring for the above first class compartment.

I imagine trains like this one have a few technical problems, and before leaving Rodez, I got a glimpse of what must be a sort of train ambulance -- SECO-RAIL!

Actually, my second-class car was pleasant enough, although I suspect the SNCF will be rethinking their color scheme when they get around to replacing this set of older regional trains:

The mustard-yellow seats do get a little hard on the eyes, which is why I like to catch bits of the smaller gares along the way:

This weekend I'm off for another little trip: to the Ariège department to see friends. It will be a family car trip though, so don't worry -- I won't bore you with more railway shots.

Bon weekend de Pentecôte!

Wordless Wednesday 17

(Click on photo to enlarge)

(No Longer a) Mystery Meeting

I am sure this mystery will quickly be solved.


But who knows where.....







and whom?

















PS written the next morning: A few faithful readers figured this out quickly, so don't bother guessing!

Yes, I was lucky enough to spend Friday sightseeing, chatting and sharing great food with the delightful Loulou of Chez Loulou.

Function of Time was supposed to be a part of this gathering, and we're sad she was called back to the States by her job. But as the French would say, ce n'est que chose remise...

Loulou has already posted two photos from our outing -- I have so many I don't know where to begin -- and I haven't even finished with blogging about Paris.

Anyway, over the next few weeks, expect some more posts about places other than Aveyron. I have breathed in quite a bit of fresh air lately.

In the meantime, I've been scooped on the details. "Read all about it!"

Wordless Wednesday 16

My Paris

The Paris I visit immediately becomes my own.

No other city takes hold of me and makes me feel a part of it the way Paris does.

Every time I have been to la capitale -- including one-day trips for work this year -- I feel at home there.

Is it me, or is it Paris?

It's been almost one week since I got back, and I'm still trying to decide.

There and back

My five-day trip to Paris was rich in memories, exciting new experiences, and thoughts of what used to be... what is...and what could have been...

It will certainly provide me with plenty of blogging material to take you away from the French countryside for a while.

For now, though, it's time to catch up with everything and face up to a number of things. But I'll post more as soon as I can!

In the meantime, here's proof that my trip took place, and that I am overcoming my acrophobia.

Good-bye to all that

(Click on photo to enlarge)

See you later, laundry.

Ciao, cooking and cleaning.

A plus tard, working hard.

Tomorrow night I'll be at the Rodez train station, settling into a sleeper compartment with one of my daughters and two of her friends.

We'll wake up in Paris for five days of culture, fun, shopping, mouse ears and grandeur.

Salut!

Shut down, emptied out

I started a ten-day vacation this afternoon.


I should be elated, but instead I feel shut down and emptied out.


I suppose that in itself is a sign I need a vacation...

Rodez by dusk

It feels like night, but the changing dusky blue sky reminds us it isn't...

quite yet...

(This post has been submitted to this week's Sunday Scribblings collection: The Photograph.)