It was New Year’s Eve.
I had driven Dominic to a friend’s house where he’d spend the night. Sophie had come along with me just to get out of the house and we were on our way back to Châtellerault.
We’d passed it numerous times, but this time, there were just two easily spontaneous people in the car who were in no particular rush. We stopped…
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It had been a long while since I’d gotten out to explore our own little town.
Isn’t that always the way? We travel the world in search of new, and big, and unfamiliar, and exotic, all while driving right by some lovely things in our day-to-day.
Covid19 has certainly honed that down quite a bit, but if I went exploring Châtellerault one early morning, two weeks ago, it wasn’t so much covid-related as it was car-related…
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So this happened earlier this week.
I got to taste, for the first time in a LONG time… some Grand Manan dulse; an edible & highly nutritious seaweed harvested in the Bay of Fundy. Anyone not from here likely won’t appreciate it as the taste is pretty unique, but for me it conjures up memories of childhood strolls through the city market with my grandfather.
Since I missed last week (that’s twice in the past month and a half… I gotta get it together), let me tell you a bit about the past two weeks…
In my last post, I introduced to to the Chateau de Brissac and showed you the principal rooms on the main floor. Today I want to take you further.
As promised, I’ll take you through a dramatic episode in the history of the French monarchy, we’ll talk about the arts and I’ll reveal how it is that hunting at Brissac is not reserved for men only! I’ll also tell you about how you can spend a night there and live like a Duke or Duchess yourself!
Let’s go!
The road between Châtellerault and Angers takes you through portions of three French departments (la Vienne, l’Indre et Loire, la Maine et Loire) passing by wide swaths of agricultural land and, as you approach Angers, field after field of vineyards. For the past seven months I’ve been making the 130km weekly, with the exception of school holidays, in order to teach English at a business school there.
Each trip makes me a bit more familiar with the general surrounding and from time to time my schedule allows me to explore points of interest along the way. Regular readers will recall that I first stopped in Brissac back in January, but was unable to visit the castle as it was closed for the season. Last week was different… last week I had a guided tour.
It was a grey, winter afternoon and my teaching day in Angers was an unusually short one and since I had some time to kill, I swung off of the D748 at Brissac.
Time and again, I’d driven by and seen the large highway sign highlighting the tallest castle in France – with its seven stories no less – but not had the time to stop. Today was different.
OK, let’s be clear… today’s feature image is not a picture of me on the road again (I’m for sure not zipping around France in a vintage, red convertible) but it is something I saw while on my way.
Stretches like this, national roads lined with Plane Trees or Sycamores, are a pretty common sight and a welcome break from the frantic pace of the highways, which are extra busy with vacation travel. I came through this stretch yesterday, on my way home from Bible School which took up the bulk of my week, but first let me tell you about an unexpected treat.
Inukshuks are stone piles, usually in the shape of a man, that mark a location and originated with Arctic cultures. Back home (though far from the Arctic), it’s not uncommon to see small make-shift inukshuks on the side of the highway, made by random passers-by who wish to leave a trace of their passage. The rock piles in this picture are on the eastern-most tip of l’île de Ré (Ré Island). They’re not in the shape of a man… but they were no doubt built with the same goal in mind: Beach goers stacked them as a way to mark their passage.
Today, our second child and first son, Dominic turns 15. His name means “Belonging to God” and to watch him pray at the altar with others and respond in worship encourages us that he is living up to his name. May he daily discover and rediscover the love of a Father that is much greater than that of his earthly father and may that carry him throughout his entire life.
Happy Birthday Dominic!
I was recently asked a question and thought that the answer might benefit others who find themselves confident that God is calling them to short-term missions involvement, but they’re perhaps not yet quite sure where.
I’m applying for short-term missions. Do I indicate the country that I’m feeling or is there only a list of certain countries that the organization is recruiting for?
AIM Long 