Comme d’hab, Robert, le Dab du club, rameute les ouailles pour prêcher la bonne parole.
Venez mes Agneaux, activez vos destriers, un Gueuleton vous attend.Si tôt dit, si tôt fait la meute se regroupe et, sous la bienveillante direction de Lucien, une pause de regroupement est programmée. Au signal, chacun rejoint son automobile et, dans un élan irrésistible, la meute progresse.Arrivés sur place, chacun range son auto et se prépare à faire bombance.Dans le club des Sixties l’œcuménisme est la règle. Côte à côte Renault (R17TS) Triumph (TR6) et Citroën (11 légère) communient à la gloire de la production française. Oui Monsieur, rien n’égale la production de l’industrie française en matière d’automobile et de mâle séducteur.Enfin, force est de constater que l’Italie tente, avec de bons arguments, de contester cette supériorité.Les arbitres de la beauté, Laurent et Denys, une fois repas ingurgité, se préparent à rendre un verdict irréprochable.Parmi les jurés, un couple délicieusement porté par une Alfa Roméo, se prépare, lui aussi, à confirmer le verdict. L’Amour et l’Automobile (sans pour autant exclure la moto, la vraie, Ducati par exemple) participent à cette réflexion.Dans quelques kilomètres nous rejoindrons un Saint Graal.Les autos et les chauffeurs se regroupent.La vue vers le Nord est superbe.La vue vers le Sud, la vallée de la Durance, ne l’est pas moins et impose à tous un moment de recueillement lié à la beauté du paysage.Force est de constater que certaines autos, un peu capricieuses, sont confrontées au savoir faire curatif de trois générations d’experts mondialement reconnus à Carpentras à savoir les L Cube, Lucien, Laurent et Lucas. Automobiles capricieuses tremblez : ces Experts sauront vous faire plier, rendre gorge et repartir.
Faut pas niaiser, Tabernacle !Au fond, le Mont Ventoux nous indique le chemin à suivre pour rentrer à la maison. Dans cent vingt minutes ce sera chose faite et autour d’un verre, nous commémorerons cette fort belle journée.

Merci à toute l’équipe pour cette superbe journée.

Retour à l’index des Bagnoles

Monday August 20 : l’Isle sur la Sorgue

L’Isle sur la Sorgue is famous for its Antiques Market(s). As an incentive to increase the desire to return next Summer, A visit of the Antiques Market(s). On the other hand the city is worth the walk.

Lunch time!

Done!

Not comments. Happy tourists.

An art exhibit around fabrics.Delicate good taste is not always a pre-requisite.

On the way back a stop in Carpentras.

Tuesday August 21

Susan wished to treat us with a nice dinner in town. I went out of my classical, famous, standard overall attire. It made her laugh.

Wednesday August 22 : Carpentras

Yes Susan looks puzzled, raw hacked beef called here a Steak Tartare.

A shopping mall built 200 years ago.

Chocolate makers founded 70 years ago. Still active.

A fake window, painted way before Trump got elected.

A last dinner around a Magret de Canard (Duck Filet) cooked on a plancha.

A plancha is a steel sole heated by gas burners. Advantage: no flames, food never charcoaled.

 

Thrusday August 23 : she is leaving today

Last breakfast.

Waiting for the train.

Gone.

 

Back to Week 1 ->

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Monday August 13

Lucien is hired for leaves blowing.

Tuesday August 14

Another view of the Mont Ventoux

One of Henry IV (the French one) prestigious soldier.

 

Wednesday August 15 : Flee Market

This is a mix of Flee Market, Antique Show and Garage sale. The latter is called in France an Empty your Attic.

Susan found a treasure: a sugar bowl.

One of the nice stands.

The shadow of the solar’s quadrant needle points X (ten o’clock). On everyone’s watch you read Noon. Where is the bug? Can the sun be wrong?
No, simple, day light saving is in France 2 hours ahead of the sun. The sun is right, so are the watches.

Thrusday August 16

Hoops, no pictures!

Friday August 17

Hoops, no pictures!

Saturday August 18 : Aix en Provence / Vasarely

Susan loves Vasarely. The Vasarely foundation is in Aix en Provence. Just do it.

The matching stripes.

Give me a clue, how can I bring one back home.

After such a moment of graphic art, we all needed a moment of gastronomical art. Toinou is one famous place for seafood.

Two Master platters are gone. Susan looks simultaneously satisfied and a bit guilty.

Sunday August 19 : at the stick, last flight as commander

Fayence, a nice field near Cannes on the Riviera.This is the route of this very last two hours flight. A moment that will for ever remain in my memory.

The return leg of the flight will be along the Riviera from Cannes to Montpellier. This will be my last flight, it will never be forgotten.

 

Next-Week ->

Monday August 6 : Week in Paris

When in France for the first time, even if Provence has a lot to show, not getting a taste of Paris is a sin. So to avoid Hell, that is where we are bound to go.

Traveling in style is the only way to go.

Tuesday August 7

Needless to say where this picture is taken.

Pont Alexandre III

Louvre. But this time Mona Lisa will be left alone with her groupies

 

Wednesday August 8

En route for the quartier du Marais.

In this part of Paris, LGBT are quite present. Look carefully at the windows and balconies.

This shop sells beautiful leather products, but the conversation piece is a Velosolex. The French version of the Harley Davidson.

A visit at the Jewish Traditions Museum.

Nope, this building is not under construction. This is the way it is supposed to be, an Art Exhibition Center, le Centre Georges Pompidou.

No comments.

After such an exhausting walk, nothing replaces an Seafood Platter

 

Thrusday August 9

Due to low ceiling, the Eiffel tower got beheaded. So we skipped the climbing. On the other hand, it is a good idea, lines are deterrent.

Crèpes, a regional dish of Bretagne, the western province of France. Fermented apple cider is the only possible drink.

To have a bird’s view above Paris, la Tour Montparnasse is a nice alternate solution. Behind Susan, the Eiffel Tower, and way further, Manhattan on the river Seine, le quartier de la Défense, Paris business center.

La quartier de la Butte aux Cailles.

En route for China Town.

Cosmopolitan, here we eat.

 

Friday August 10

Just took off on the way home. Touch down in 3 hours.

Quite cloudy, but the ground remains visible.

Saturday August 11 : back home in Orange

The Watch Dog is a Watch Cat. Thieves beware.

The second set of grand-children.

Sunday August 12

Léontine’s first flight with the Grand-Pa known as Saba.

On this Sunday the volunteers got a Tour des Dentelles de Montmirail.

 

Next Week ->

Monday July 30

Hoops, no pictures

Tuesday July 31 On the way to Albertville’s Air Field

Morning coffee enjoying the sunrise.

The 2CV again.

For him a nice piece of beef, for her a Trout with a white wine sauce.

And as a conclusion, a picture with the owner.

 

Wednesday August 1

Hoops, no pictures!

Thrusday August 2

Hoops, no pictures!

Friday August 3

Hoops, no pictures!

Saturday August 4 Mende

Another air field restaurant.

Get ready, Set, Go!!!

An original straw wheel.

Sunday August 5

Hoops, no picture!

 

Next Week ->

Monday July 23 Vaison la Romaine

Most of the cities in Provence that are located close to a hill have two identities. The hill part is Middle-Ages, the plain is Roman. So is Vaison la Romaine.

Let’s climb the hill to get to the Castle.

Here we are.

Behind is le Mont Ventoux.

 

Tuesday July 24 Bercelonnette

On the way to Barcelonnette we fly above Vaison la Romaine. In the center of the picture, the dark spot is the Roman Amphitheater, this one lost its wall.

Pilot seems to be in charge.

Entering the Vallée de l’Ubaye, the right branch of the lake.

Touch down in 15 seconds.

Ready for lunch.

Sword fish, not really a local product.

 

Wednesday July 25

Thrusday July 26

Some of Jean-Louis’s grand-children love flying.

This time Nathan deserves a drink in Aubenas.

Friday July 27

Even on Fridays the network is working.

Dinner with one branch of the kids.

Saturday July 28

Today we have a lunch planned at the Air Club. Susan is in charge, of driving at least.

Cosmopolitan attendance, four people, four nationalities. From left to right, US, Brit, French Belgium.

The dish of the day is a Tajine.

Empty plates an glasses speak for themselves

Sunday July 29

Orange’s Town Hall.

Traditionnal Expresso at le Café de l’Univers.

Next Week ->

Sunday July 15

This very Sunday France won for the second time the Foot Ball World Cup. But why do you call it Soccer?
Susan will board the plane that will bring her to France for her first trip across the Big Pond. What a way to be welcome, flags will be every where.

Monday July 16

If the plane made it in time, the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) experienced a technical failure and could not depart from the airport railroad station. For Susan it was not the best way to start her vacation in France. Her destination was still 400 miles south.

The SNCF, the French RR company successfully found a solution, brought in less than 2 hours a new train. We should have arrived at 7PM, we made it at 9PM. Susan was quite exhausted but she was alive. A snack, a shower, she crashed on the pillow.

Tuesday July 17

Susan woke up, and right after breakfast she was introduced a second time to my faithful Citroen, the famous 2CV. By the way, this car is a survivor, in 2014 she crossed the USA, yes she did, and in two months she made it to L.A.
The story can be found clicking here.
Anyway here we go grocery shopping.

After the grocery shopping spree, a walk on top of the hill gave Susan a pretty good view of the area where she will spend the coming weeks.
Here a view of the only remaining Antique Theater in Europe.

Wednesday July 18

After a day on the ground, a discovery from above is planned.

The plane is checked, and off we go.

Under the wing, the famous “Pont du Gard”, a Roman work of art that brought water to the city of Nîmes. This will be the first bridge of the day.

Two thousand years later, crossing the Tarn valley, the “Viaduc de Millau” links the Massif Central to the Plateau du Larzac. For more info, ask Google.

The initial plan was to have lunch in Mende. The Tour de France had decided other wise: they invaded Mende my destination airfield. So I changed my mind and flew to Candillargues, a small field where one of my favorite restaurant operates.

A Gardane de Taureau (Bull meat in a red wine sauce), a local speciality, was the dish of the day. When in Provence, do…

On the way back we flew along the Mediterranean coast line above the river Rhone Delta.

The flight is almost over, in 5 minutes the plane will land. It is almost 5 O’clock, we are ready for a glass of Rosé.

Thrusday July 19

Morning bath in the pool.

Today is an ideal day for a tour around the area in a convertible.
First stop on the border of la Vallée de la Nesque. Not as deep as the Colorado Canyon.

Not as deep, may be, but I will not jump.

Lavender fields.

On the way to the summit of the highest mountain, the Mont Ventoux.
It is so windy and dry that nothing grows.

Yes we are still on the Earth, below us, green still exists.

Almost 2000m, slightly more than 6000 feet.

On the way home, the remote village of Suzette.

Remote and small. This house is at the same time a restaurant on the ground floor and the Town House on the second.

A XII century chapel.

Friday July 20

France still is Catholic country. Fish is a Friday tradition. Here in Provence, it is locally interpreted with a dish called Aioli. A must.

Another tradition, the after noon nap.

Saturday July 21

Hoops, no pictures!

Sunday July 22

An abandoned quarry has been restructured to accommodate light shows.

Today Picasso.

Confirmed, Picasso.

On the way to the sea side a Roman Aquaduct.

As the water refuses to climb hills, a canal had to be dug.

Finally we made it in time for lunch in a village called « les Saintes Maries de la Mer ».
Tourist area and high season, we were not sure we could be fed.

Not sure, but we got fed. Oysters as apetizer.

Salad as main dish. Rosé as beverage. Any complain?

Ready to return home in style.

Next week ->

Lors d’une balade le long de la rivière de Fort Lauderdale, en passant la voie de chemin de fer, je constate que le pont est levé et permet le passage des bateaux.Le long des berges un iguane de belle taille capte mon attention, il semble regarder avec attention un objet étonnant.Ce que regarde l’iguane me frappe : il s’agit du panneau lumineux qui prévient que le pont est fermé pour permettre le passage du train.Fake News, les médias trompent le public, le pont est ouvert, les bateaux passent. Pour connaître la vérité, inutile d’écouter Benito Pinocchio Trump, il suffit de regarder les iguanes.

En chemin dans un cabriolet

Si en Floride j’utilise une berline, Susan possède un cabriolet teuton.

C’est dans cet attelage, qu’en ce dimanche de mi-mars, nous nous rendons chez Gary pour un Brunch de bon aloi.

Arrivés à destination

Gary est un fin cuistot, il nous régale d’un Mimosa en apéritif et d’une omelette à rassasier un régiment. De mon côté, en fait de fleurs, j’ai apporté un Pauillac et un Pouilly Fumé. Comme nous sommes raisonnables seul le Bordeaux aura été ouvert, boire ou conduire il faut choisir, c’est un peu comme ici en France, un verre ça va, trois verres bonjour les dégâts.

Contrairement à ce qu’affirme Bénito Pinocchio Trump, l’immigration a structuré l’Amérique. Des bannis d’Angleterre, aux allemands miséreux, aux juifs chassés par les Pogroms, aux italiens, polonais et irlandais chassés par la misère, les dictatures, les famines, l’Amérique s’est constituée non comme un Melting Pot, un creuset où tout est mélangé, mais comme un Salad Bowl, un bol de salade dans lequel on trouve de tout mais où chaque élément garde son identité tout en s’enrichissant de la culture de l’autre.

C’est dans ce Salad Bowl que se déroule une fois par an la Saint Patrick, la fête des irlandais.Le trèfle à trois ou quatre feuilles, vert, vert, vert est le symbole de la journée. C’est tout juste si la bière qui, plus que les autre jours coule à flot, n’est pas colorée par un jet de menthe.Ce jour là chacun défile et présente son irlanditude, du plus authentique au plus dévoyé, de l’école de danse en ligne, l’irlandaise pas la texane, au candidat à un office électif.Pour l’école de danse voir l’image un cran plus haut.
Pour le candidat, la Rolls Corniche.
Pas certain que ce type de programme me fasse voter pour lui.Quand on ne sait pas comment relier un centre d’imagerie médicale à la fête de l’Irlande, on déguise un Quad en vert.Les écoles des quartiers noirs ne sont pas en reste pour promouvoir leurs écoles, au moins avec elles, il n’y a pas d’arrières-pensées mercantiles.Ici un sourire, une parodie. Mais quelle était la marque de l’automobile des Ghosts Busters.Et une fois le défilé terminé chacun se retrouve dans un espace ouvert, sur une pelouse, normal la pelouse est normalement verte. Chacun s’y retrouve pour faire bombance. Et pour une fois, la Floride ne sera pas en reste, en ce 10 mars 2018 il fait humide, la pluie menace, il fait frais, moins de 22°, mais non pas -22°, +22°, mais pour la Floride, ce type de température relève de la vague de froid.

Et de dire que je suis venu ici pour réchauffer mes vieux os.