Camping

Anne climbed in the car loaded with brochures and maps. She and Elisabeth were going off to deliver information about the Grottes, or caves, of Blanot to distant campgrounds and I was given the honor of tagging along. My ears were going to get a workout...they were speaking in French. Fortunately, words aren't necessary for enjoying the countryside.

It was fun to recognize roads I've already been on, to have a sense of place. 

 Then we drove beyond the familiar. Suddenly Elisabeth made a sharp left. She had seen a street sign for a lavoir and wanted to give me a photo opportunity. With 4 signs proclaiming a lavoir exists, one might expect to find it with ease, but no lavoir could be found so I took a picture of the unkept promise as we drove away.

At the first camping site Anne delivered a hundred brochures. This site was by a long narrow lake.

Then we were heading for Tournus. 

Suddenly there appeared a lavoir. It didn't have any signs, but unlike the earlier lavoir, this one definitely existed. 

This is more enclosed than most lavoirs, yet I was able to get a good picture of the inside as well.

Notice how it is constructed to provide room for laundry baskets, soap, or any personal items one might have with them.

I remember a large church with smooth pink-stone pillars in a large foyer. Elisabeth thought it might be the church in Tournus and so she made a side trip to this church. 

I remembered the entry street...it is still impressive! I also remembered that there was a pottery shop down the street. I remembered walking around the church 6 years ago, but it isn't the one with the pink stone. That's still a mystery.

We crossed the Saone River to find the next campsite. What a surprise! I remembered being here for a picnic lunch the very first time I visited France with students from Black River High School led by Bill and Lynne Reed. This river is the Seille. 

A tour boat came by and Anne said she had taken a tour of the river a couple of times. It's apparently a pleasant and pretty trip.

  Our next stop was at a gas station. Gas cost 1.599 euros per liter...and there are about 3.8 liters in a gallon. Since 1.60 euros is about $2.00, if my figuring is correct, a gallon of gas costs $7.60. I got out of the car with my camera and Anne asked if I was about to take a picture of a French gas station. I think she was relieved when I said, “No.” I was amused by the idea that in France it seems there is no space too small for a garden. I took a picture of the house across the street.

The next stop was the municipal campgrounds of St Pierre with a magnificent view. I'm beginning to understand why vineyards are in certain places while grains or vegetables are grown in other locations. It relates to the soil and sun, but also to frost. Lower areas that are susceptible to frost don't get planted as vineyards. Vineyards are too valuable to take that kind of chance.

Instead of a campgrounds at Clesse, we stopped by a Chambre d'Hotes...rooms or more for rent where the proprietor lives on the premises. 

Anne returned to the car to tell us that within the walls there were at least 6 small houses, that the gardens were fabulous, and the rose tree near the entrance nearly knocked her over with its aroma.

On the way home near St. Gengoux de Scisse we stopped at two lavoirs Elisabeth and I had passed by several days before when we in too much of a hurry to be able to stop.

 That evening I had been invited to join Elisabeth and Anne at Francoise' home for dinner along with a British couple Elisabeth wanted me to meet.

David and Denise turned out to be great fun. They picked us up in their British car...I have now been a front seat passenger on the "wrong" side of a car!

Francoise was a super hostess. We arrived a little before 8 PM and didn't leave until nearly 1 AM. 

The way we use language certainly can reflect the values of a culture. In French, a person who is impossible to get along with is called imbuvable, or undrinkable! What could possibly be worse!

There was a great story about the noun for a kiss and how it changes when used as a verb, but you will have to ask me about that when I return to the States.