Port of Carqueiranne
Sunday, January 26, 2003
Monday, January 20, 2003
Thursday, January 16, 2003
Sunday, January 12, 2003
A few things I've been reading lately.
"The Lost Garden" by Helen Humphreys. Quite a quick read and fairly interesting. I don't think it was quite as successful as "Afterimage". Story of a botanist (shy, introverted) leading a group of Landgirls in WW II.
"Pause" An Emily Carr Sketchbook. Based on her experiences when she spent 18 months in a sanitorium in England. Very amusing text and cartoons.
"Open" by Lisa Moore. Read the first short story called "Melody". Pretty interesting writer with potential. I can see why it won a Giller nomination. Rather a quirky tone, which I like.
"The Rhinestone Button" by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. A pretty interesting story and captures the farming life, evangelical preachers, etc. I really do like the way she weaves an image though - this time with the colours Job "hears" - tornado at the end very well done and effective wrapping of the book.
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. This year's Booker winner. Might be o.k. if I was in the mood. I don't appear to be so stopped reading it...but I do admit there is a cleverness.
"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. Another one of those first novel hits it big. Pretty good start for a new writer I would say.
"I, Richard" Elizabeth George. Some short stories pretty obviously churned out for money - probably reworks of early stuff as it seems pretty clumsy. The introductions to them are the best part. Only suffered through a couple.
"The Lost Garden" by Helen Humphreys. Quite a quick read and fairly interesting. I don't think it was quite as successful as "Afterimage". Story of a botanist (shy, introverted) leading a group of Landgirls in WW II.
"Pause" An Emily Carr Sketchbook. Based on her experiences when she spent 18 months in a sanitorium in England. Very amusing text and cartoons.
"Open" by Lisa Moore. Read the first short story called "Melody". Pretty interesting writer with potential. I can see why it won a Giller nomination. Rather a quirky tone, which I like.
"The Rhinestone Button" by Gail Anderson-Dargatz. A pretty interesting story and captures the farming life, evangelical preachers, etc. I really do like the way she weaves an image though - this time with the colours Job "hears" - tornado at the end very well done and effective wrapping of the book.
"Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. This year's Booker winner. Might be o.k. if I was in the mood. I don't appear to be so stopped reading it...but I do admit there is a cleverness.
"The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. Another one of those first novel hits it big. Pretty good start for a new writer I would say.
"I, Richard" Elizabeth George. Some short stories pretty obviously churned out for money - probably reworks of early stuff as it seems pretty clumsy. The introductions to them are the best part. Only suffered through a couple.
Thursday, January 09, 2003
I've really got into Emily Carr since taking the course on Kahlo, O'Keeffe, and Carr. One thing our teacher showed us some examples of was a calendar that Carr made with cartoons and comments from her dog, Billie. I really wondered why someone hasn't published this...there's an amazing amount of stuff in our local archives on Carr and they have the complete calendar online. I'll try to make a link and also write out the "wisdom by Billie" for January. (I couldn't scan it very well). The link seems to get you to the archives but then you'll have to search.
http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/www2i/.visual/img_med/dir_96/pdp06071.gif
JANUARY Our studio reopens after Xmas vacation - all feeling after-Xmassy and rotton - Missus and I headaches, the fool parrot girls colds, and the pupils party bedraggled and peevish. Don't think much of Xmas. Don't think much of anybody. Don't think any of us will live long anyway. What's the good of anything. Men are brutes. Leastways C.P.R. men putting dogs down on cold rheumatic wind-swept lower decks when they travel with their missus holidaying - Bit the post-man today and feel better.
http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/www2i/.visual/img_med/dir_96/pdp06071.gif
JANUARY Our studio reopens after Xmas vacation - all feeling after-Xmassy and rotton - Missus and I headaches, the fool parrot girls colds, and the pupils party bedraggled and peevish. Don't think much of Xmas. Don't think much of anybody. Don't think any of us will live long anyway. What's the good of anything. Men are brutes. Leastways C.P.R. men putting dogs down on cold rheumatic wind-swept lower decks when they travel with their missus holidaying - Bit the post-man today and feel better.
Today I'm making my last post from our trip last year. I wrote this after we returned. I'm posting a picture of a sunset in Victoria. Seems appropriate!
Italian Update
April/02
It was a great trip but it is great to be home. Very good flight home, everything on time and just time to change planes comfortably but with no waiting around. We left Nice under beautiful warm sunny skies just as we had found it on Jan 25. Our two weeks in Italy was great but we did have about half of it rather cool and rainy...nothing, however to the extent of the Arctic front that met us at Victoria airport when we arrived Monday (and apparently the weather had improved considerably from the weekend!) After three months of crisp new Euro currency, we could hardly believe the tattered old bills that came out of the bank machine in the airport. Jim almost threw out a tooney at home because he thought it was an old Mexican peso.
Italy met expectations but didn’t exceed them. I guess part of it is we are francophiles to the core. The Italians were wonderfully warm and welcoming and Florence, Rome, and Venice (even though it was flooding when we were there, it is a fascinating place that you can’t imagine the feel of until you actually experience it) were all spectacular in their own ways. Other than Rapallo,the Italian Riviera can’t compare to the French....too many long expanses of beaches with very uninteresting places around them...no neat little French villages like Bandol, Sanary, Carqueiranne, etc. Rapallo was just a lovely, stepping back in time place where we stumbled fortunately on just about the last room to be had as it was Easter. And what a room! We would have taken anything at any price, but when we opened the volets, we had this fabulous view and balcony right over the water in the port and overlooking a medieval castle to boot. After the mainly retirement community (in the winter at least) of Carqueiranne, it was wonderful to see so many children and families strolling the promenade.
We were under budget as we spent about half what we had planned for our six days in Florence. We booked a place through an agency that books places of private individuals. Figure this...we got the name of the agency, which is German, from a colleague of Jim’s, who met the owner in China.
Anyhow, we had this 60 sq meter one bedroom apartment with a big back garden in central Florence. So, of course, when we reached the hilltowns of Tuscany we splurged on a classic old style hotel in Siena with a view of the Tuscan countryside out of Room with a View. It included breakfast and dinner. The dinners were fabulous and we took advantage of their excellent wine list to sample some very good wine of the region. We really enjoyed the European style cooking and service as dining in Italy is quite different than France. Although the Trattoria experence is cheap and entertaining, the Italians tend to scarf down their food in no time flat and the courses are thrown at you at the same rate. You have to seek out a good restaurant, not like in France where they come to meet you at every step. There was a positive side to having a quick panini and beer for lunch when there is so much to see in the major places and we had limited time.
Even in the cheaper places we did get some wonderful food although a lot of it was too salty. Amazing the amount of salt the Italians must eat when you think of all the cured hams and meats and cheeses. I got a gnocci and a minestrone to die for and in another one (not so cheap) we got the local specialty of T-bone steak...absolutely fabulous except for one part that was overcooked. They serve a whole slab for two on one platter and the meat was unevenly cut. The handcutting aspect is part of the deal I think.
I wasn’t that inspired by things to paint in Italy. Shutters are all in dull colours of brown, green, or gray, and the stuccos are drab as well compared to the bright pinks, yellows, etc of the south of France. I was inspired by the old bicycles so many people seem to use and took lots of pictures so will render something out of that. An amazing difference from France is that in Italy many people are riding very old bicycles and small motos. Only seemed to be racing type bikes in France and high powered motos that are going like bats of hell and scare the life out of you on the road. That was nice to be away from in Italy. Also, Italy seems to be making some progress in restricting smoking and it’s actually working. The French seem to be content to smoke themselves to death.
Jim’s come down with a nasty cold and I’m getting over jetlag and doing all the usual unpacking, sorting, etc. We did come home to an immaculate house. Our renters were fabulous and even cleaned up the garden before they left two weeks ago and our neighbours cut our lawn just as we arrived. What a treat!
Italian Update
April/02
It was a great trip but it is great to be home. Very good flight home, everything on time and just time to change planes comfortably but with no waiting around. We left Nice under beautiful warm sunny skies just as we had found it on Jan 25. Our two weeks in Italy was great but we did have about half of it rather cool and rainy...nothing, however to the extent of the Arctic front that met us at Victoria airport when we arrived Monday (and apparently the weather had improved considerably from the weekend!) After three months of crisp new Euro currency, we could hardly believe the tattered old bills that came out of the bank machine in the airport. Jim almost threw out a tooney at home because he thought it was an old Mexican peso.
Italy met expectations but didn’t exceed them. I guess part of it is we are francophiles to the core. The Italians were wonderfully warm and welcoming and Florence, Rome, and Venice (even though it was flooding when we were there, it is a fascinating place that you can’t imagine the feel of until you actually experience it) were all spectacular in their own ways. Other than Rapallo,the Italian Riviera can’t compare to the French....too many long expanses of beaches with very uninteresting places around them...no neat little French villages like Bandol, Sanary, Carqueiranne, etc. Rapallo was just a lovely, stepping back in time place where we stumbled fortunately on just about the last room to be had as it was Easter. And what a room! We would have taken anything at any price, but when we opened the volets, we had this fabulous view and balcony right over the water in the port and overlooking a medieval castle to boot. After the mainly retirement community (in the winter at least) of Carqueiranne, it was wonderful to see so many children and families strolling the promenade.
We were under budget as we spent about half what we had planned for our six days in Florence. We booked a place through an agency that books places of private individuals. Figure this...we got the name of the agency, which is German, from a colleague of Jim’s, who met the owner in China.
Anyhow, we had this 60 sq meter one bedroom apartment with a big back garden in central Florence. So, of course, when we reached the hilltowns of Tuscany we splurged on a classic old style hotel in Siena with a view of the Tuscan countryside out of Room with a View. It included breakfast and dinner. The dinners were fabulous and we took advantage of their excellent wine list to sample some very good wine of the region. We really enjoyed the European style cooking and service as dining in Italy is quite different than France. Although the Trattoria experence is cheap and entertaining, the Italians tend to scarf down their food in no time flat and the courses are thrown at you at the same rate. You have to seek out a good restaurant, not like in France where they come to meet you at every step. There was a positive side to having a quick panini and beer for lunch when there is so much to see in the major places and we had limited time.
Even in the cheaper places we did get some wonderful food although a lot of it was too salty. Amazing the amount of salt the Italians must eat when you think of all the cured hams and meats and cheeses. I got a gnocci and a minestrone to die for and in another one (not so cheap) we got the local specialty of T-bone steak...absolutely fabulous except for one part that was overcooked. They serve a whole slab for two on one platter and the meat was unevenly cut. The handcutting aspect is part of the deal I think.
I wasn’t that inspired by things to paint in Italy. Shutters are all in dull colours of brown, green, or gray, and the stuccos are drab as well compared to the bright pinks, yellows, etc of the south of France. I was inspired by the old bicycles so many people seem to use and took lots of pictures so will render something out of that. An amazing difference from France is that in Italy many people are riding very old bicycles and small motos. Only seemed to be racing type bikes in France and high powered motos that are going like bats of hell and scare the life out of you on the road. That was nice to be away from in Italy. Also, Italy seems to be making some progress in restricting smoking and it’s actually working. The French seem to be content to smoke themselves to death.
Jim’s come down with a nasty cold and I’m getting over jetlag and doing all the usual unpacking, sorting, etc. We did come home to an immaculate house. Our renters were fabulous and even cleaned up the garden before they left two weeks ago and our neighbours cut our lawn just as we arrived. What a treat!
Wednesday, January 08, 2003
I think I have to end the letters from Provence with the first painting I did on our trip and one that remains my all time favourite. I know I have posted this before but here we go again.
Meditérranean rockfish on a provençale style tablecloth
Painted in Carqueiranne Feb/02
9 x 12 acrylics on paper
Lettre #3 cont'd
Carqueiranne, France
11 mars, 2002
One of Jim’s colleagues mentioned we were about to experience a “charming French custom”. It seems the truckers are blocading gas as part of their job action. We had noticed large lineups at the pumps recently and wondered why. Tomorrow we’re off on a few days trip to Avignon, Orange and all those beautiful villages in the Luberon. Hope we don’t get stranded....
20 mars,
An incredibly warm Mistral blowing today. Quite an interesting sound from the wind last night. Jim described it as a “chorus of billygoats” - not having had experience with billygoats I couldn’t really say if this was accurate...
No problems with gas. Seems that was all a rumour that got out of control and actually did create some shortages since so many people filled up. We had a wonderful time in the Avignon area. Weather was pretty good but you can certainly realize this part of the midi is a whole different climate from our lovely warm corner of the Mediterranean. We got some incredible wind yet wind wasn’t even predicted. Our last day we had done some tasting (and buying) in Chateau-neuf-de- Pape and had found a very cosy bistro with a restaurant on the second floor. We had just nicely settled in and then wind, rain, thunder and lightening like you wouldn’t believe began. It was great to be inside watching out. The first half hour of driving back to Carqueiranne was a nightmare but as we got closer (a two hr drive home), the clouds cleared, the sun shone. It didn’t look like our little corner of paradise had any of this extreme weather. We have been exceptionally lucky this winter for lack of rain - apparently it’s the driest in 40 years.
While we were in this part of Provence, we came across some people with very strong midi accents. In fact, at dinner our first night, I mentioned to Jim that I couldn’t even understand what the people next to us were saying. Jim pointed out that they were speaking German...guess that explains the lack of comprehension!
The villages lived up to expectation although none had quite the magic of Uzes. They almost seemed like ghost towns since the real season is summer and week-ends. We visited Gordes, Rousillon, Menebres, Bonnieux, and Oppede-le-Vieux. Also, LaCoste where the Marquis de Sade’s castle is (very much in ruins at the moment). Pierre Cardin has apparently just bought it and hopes to restore it.
The real surprise and highlight was Fountain de Vaucluse. This was not a ghost town - absolutely packed out with people even though it was a weekday. It wasn’t mentioned in the “Most Beautiful Villages of Provence” book I have but it is quite a place. There is an amazing source of water and even Jacques Costeau and his team didn’t manage to reach the bottom (and this was after 80 dives). The water comes over the cliffs and it runs as waterfalls and rivers through the town. Petrach lived here between 1337-53 and wrote some of his finest poetry during that time. The Roman amphitheatre in Orange (one of the best preserved in the world) was quite stunning along with their Arc de Triomphe.
Time to sign off as Italy becons. Thanks, Annette, for the idea about writing these letters. I don’t think I would have kept a journal and I’ve forgotten lots of what I’ve written already. I hope you enjoyed them.
Amitié.
Jim and Janice
P.S. 29 paintings to date
Meditérranean rockfish on a provençale style tablecloth
Painted in Carqueiranne Feb/02
9 x 12 acrylics on paper
Lettre #3 cont'd
Carqueiranne, France
11 mars, 2002
One of Jim’s colleagues mentioned we were about to experience a “charming French custom”. It seems the truckers are blocading gas as part of their job action. We had noticed large lineups at the pumps recently and wondered why. Tomorrow we’re off on a few days trip to Avignon, Orange and all those beautiful villages in the Luberon. Hope we don’t get stranded....
20 mars,
An incredibly warm Mistral blowing today. Quite an interesting sound from the wind last night. Jim described it as a “chorus of billygoats” - not having had experience with billygoats I couldn’t really say if this was accurate...
No problems with gas. Seems that was all a rumour that got out of control and actually did create some shortages since so many people filled up. We had a wonderful time in the Avignon area. Weather was pretty good but you can certainly realize this part of the midi is a whole different climate from our lovely warm corner of the Mediterranean. We got some incredible wind yet wind wasn’t even predicted. Our last day we had done some tasting (and buying) in Chateau-neuf-de- Pape and had found a very cosy bistro with a restaurant on the second floor. We had just nicely settled in and then wind, rain, thunder and lightening like you wouldn’t believe began. It was great to be inside watching out. The first half hour of driving back to Carqueiranne was a nightmare but as we got closer (a two hr drive home), the clouds cleared, the sun shone. It didn’t look like our little corner of paradise had any of this extreme weather. We have been exceptionally lucky this winter for lack of rain - apparently it’s the driest in 40 years.
While we were in this part of Provence, we came across some people with very strong midi accents. In fact, at dinner our first night, I mentioned to Jim that I couldn’t even understand what the people next to us were saying. Jim pointed out that they were speaking German...guess that explains the lack of comprehension!
The villages lived up to expectation although none had quite the magic of Uzes. They almost seemed like ghost towns since the real season is summer and week-ends. We visited Gordes, Rousillon, Menebres, Bonnieux, and Oppede-le-Vieux. Also, LaCoste where the Marquis de Sade’s castle is (very much in ruins at the moment). Pierre Cardin has apparently just bought it and hopes to restore it.
The real surprise and highlight was Fountain de Vaucluse. This was not a ghost town - absolutely packed out with people even though it was a weekday. It wasn’t mentioned in the “Most Beautiful Villages of Provence” book I have but it is quite a place. There is an amazing source of water and even Jacques Costeau and his team didn’t manage to reach the bottom (and this was after 80 dives). The water comes over the cliffs and it runs as waterfalls and rivers through the town. Petrach lived here between 1337-53 and wrote some of his finest poetry during that time. The Roman amphitheatre in Orange (one of the best preserved in the world) was quite stunning along with their Arc de Triomphe.
Time to sign off as Italy becons. Thanks, Annette, for the idea about writing these letters. I don’t think I would have kept a journal and I’ve forgotten lots of what I’ve written already. I hope you enjoyed them.
Amitié.
Jim and Janice
P.S. 29 paintings to date
Le pique-nique
8 x 10 felt pens on paper - May/01
Lettre de Provence #3 cont'd
le 11 mars 2002
Carqueiranne, France
Searching desperately for peanut butter today - no luck. Funny how certain cravings come after you’ve been travelling a while. I looked forward to and enjoyed immensely a McDonald’s meal. We went mainly because we wanted to eat before we saw a 7pm film. It still does amaze me that no other restaurant other than McDonalds serves a meal before 7pm in the evening...but then Hyeres is a fairly small town and it isn’t the tourist season. I also wouldn’t mind a pizza like we get at home. It can be quite good here but it is different and they seem to be obsessed with “feu au bois” (woodburning ovens) for pizza. Most of them don’t have an open fire so you don’t get the smoke taste - it mainly seems to serve the function of burning half the crust. Even the travelling vans that make pizza have their woodstove. It’s funny to see smoke streaming out the roof. All adding to the various smoke by burning around here - some farm related and a year round forest fire problem because of the lack of rain. Saw the Canadairs out the other day. Along with the pollen of mimosas and other things it does make it somewhat irritating for the eyes. I did manage to replicate a home-made hotdog - my hamburgers were not a success.
We did see two good films, “Amen” (a new Costa Brava film) and “M. Patignole”. Both about the second world war. Seems to be a popular subject for the French. I’ve become quite fascinated by these “campaniles” - the wrought iron bell towers on top of so many towers and steeples here. Some are extremely ornate, although I am more attracted to the simple ones. I got a very good book from the library on them. I was quite interested to see that some designs are taken directly from nature. They showed a picture of the shell of a fruit (pavot?) and it was the same design as the campanile. I did one today. I was quite pleased with it; however, mine will never manage to be symetrical. I guess they’ll be like the carpets that are never squate as only Allah is perfect.
12 mars, 02
I’ve done 20 paintings now and am running out of white paint and need some more brushes. The three brushes I have can’t quite manage a lot of stuff I’d like to do. I have pictures and ideas for future paintings to last me for years. Perhaps I’ll even be inspired by local subjects when I get home.
Very close to us is an area where they do wind surfing and “kite boarding” (they use the English name for this although the wind surfing is called “surf voile”). It’s very colourful to see and the kite boarding is amazing to watch. It’s like snowboarding with a large kite so they get airborne and do flips and stuff. I bought a magazine on it and it seems they do it in the snow as well. I hope to render it in a painting. I surprised myself by doing cyclists on the path along the coast. It turned out quite well. I even did one of a group of brightly coloured motorcycles we saw in St. Tropez. These are all attractive subjects for me because of the bright colours. Even the non-racing cyclists seem to wear the multicoloured racing gear here. This cycling path is wonderful for people and it gets a lot of use. I believe it goes along the coast from Marseilles to St. Tropez. There are breaks in it but the coastal road is safe for cyclists too. People are driving pretty reasonably.
It’s interesting to see the differences in packaging. I’m pleased to see recycling depots in many places. In one sense the French have always recycled with the habit of taking baskets for shopping, getting table wine in their own bottles, etc. Also, cleaning products refills come in plastic sacs so lots of plastic bottles get reused with very little garbage from the package. In another sense the packaging is very wasteful. So much is packaged in small quantities. Even when you think you are buying a large size, often there are lots of little packages in it - rather like unwrapping Russian dolls. I guess concerns about freshness and a lack of storage in cupboards and fridges drives this. Although they do have sales with a price reduction, the best sales (for food especially) are usually something like “buy 2 get one free”. And the 3 items are shrinkwrapped together, always. Pricewise we aren’t really spending anymore than at home since wine and cheese are much cheaper (major items for us!)
Restaurants often mark up wine 3 to 4 times yet food, especially if you order from the 3 course menu items seems a much better value than Canada. In fact, I can’t quite see how they do it. To give you an idea, we had a lunch in a good restaurant with a view of the port for $27 each (all tips and tax included). I had a warm goat cheese salad to start (ingredients would have cost around $5), then lamb chops ( the four chops would have been $12 and then there were also veg which aren’t cheap around here, but very good and fresh by the way), fresh strawberry pie for dessert ($6 to buy in a pastry shop). So, I would have paid close to $27 myself...go figure!
Sunday, January 05, 2003
The picture today is of a Deux Chevaux...I just love these old simpe French cars.
Deux Chevaux
8 x 10 felt pens on paper
Carqueiranne, France
Lettre de Provence #3
11 mars, 02
Yesterday, a Sunday, was probably the best day of the year for weather - sunny and warm all over France. It was great to see everyone out (and their dog...). We had a wonderful day in Cassis. Although it’s fairly close to Bandol, we hadn’t been there before. Beautiful vinyard country and then you come across this wonderful port and beach town - very charming, lots for the eye to see. We started by seeing an exhibition of a local Cassis artist whose style I really liked - naive, provençale scenes - also a number of rather jarring religious scenes in quite a different style (these were priced at over double the other paintings - I guess salvation still comes at a cost).
There are also the highest cliffs in Europe in this region and they can be viewed from the port. In Ireland, we also saw the highest cliffs in Europe apparently. These in France are very white and not quite as rugged looking. Something about the North Atlantic as opposed to the peaceful Mediterranean. In Ireland we had a quite scary experience (Susan and Alan, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten it!) in a small boat trying to see these cliffs from the ocean. Our guidebook had recommeded the boat over the “scary” road. Another opportunity to appreciate the power of the ocean. We were going to take a boat to see this cliff and others but lunch “en pleine soleil” stretched to about three hours so we’ll do it in two weeks time when we return. There’s a fabulous restaurant right on the ocean that was completely booked so we’ve made reservations for that Sunday.
We had a a great meal of mussels, shrimp, and prawns washed down with the local white wine - quite renowned but very limited quantities so you almost need to come to the region to get it. People next to us were in rapsody eating their sea urchins and other slimy looking things out of shells. We’ll probably go that route next time. We met a very charming couple from Lyon. They were having squid stuffed with mussels - also looked very good.
Cassis seems to be the place to come on a Sunday and show off your latest outfit. The women were especially elegantly dressed. There were even a number of children and retired folks in swimming. It was about 30 degreees in the sun. We spoke to these older folks and aksed them about the water temperature - about 12 degrees. We’re not wimps about ocean temp but that’s a little chilly for us. They said you get used to it. The summer temp of the ocean is just perfect for us...around 20 degrees.
We came back via Bandol hoping the Hotel Splendid might be open but it was still closed for the season. Very pleasant to see the area again anyway....Annette, Chris and Susan....the Splendid retains its charm.
The other day we drove up to Menton. We enjoyed Menton very much and particularly the Italian influence. It is only a matter of miles from Italy. We heard lots of Italian and it really has whetted our appetite for Italy. We ate in an Italian restaurant. Jim had some wonderful veal and spaghetti and I had “fritures” - tiny fried fish to die for. Monique, we hadn’t had these in France since you introduced them to us in the lakeside restaurant in Annecy. We did have them in Whistler once and tried to have them again, didn’t we, Don and Elaine? I’m sure you remember that dinner well...no friture, Jim forgot his wallet, salt rimming the Spanish coffee, etc.
I’m sure we were seated across from the Mafia (could it be my imagination...I had been reading about the Mafia presence in that area...) One older man did all the talking to a younger man who kept asking about “protection”. The older man was flanked by a thuggish looking fellow who said nothing and ate numerous plates of frites. Ah...the intrigue...(and this was before I started watching The Sopranos). It was a very unpleasant drive, though. Too far in one day and Jim insisted on barelling along in our little car at 85-90 miles an hour. Many people going faster but also many going slower. It’s too fast really. We’re going to drive slower in future. Maintaining the autoroute speed means driving quite aggressively and weaving in and out a lot. Combine that with very high terrain and tunnels and I begin to feel very uncomfortable. Trucks, cars, and motorcycles passing and whatever in these tunnels. The reopening of the Mont Blanc tunnel after three years in the news all week (very serious accident with 39 dead 3 years ago) but seemed to have no effect of driving habits in these tunnels.
We did drive the coast route back through Monaco and Monte Carlo. Patty and Terry, it brought back many pleasant memories of that trip we took with you that day in the convertible. Richard, we didn’t see many fancy cars coming back from the Casino this time. Perhaps that’s more a summertime thing.
Deux Chevaux
8 x 10 felt pens on paper
Carqueiranne, France
Lettre de Provence #3
11 mars, 02
Yesterday, a Sunday, was probably the best day of the year for weather - sunny and warm all over France. It was great to see everyone out (and their dog...). We had a wonderful day in Cassis. Although it’s fairly close to Bandol, we hadn’t been there before. Beautiful vinyard country and then you come across this wonderful port and beach town - very charming, lots for the eye to see. We started by seeing an exhibition of a local Cassis artist whose style I really liked - naive, provençale scenes - also a number of rather jarring religious scenes in quite a different style (these were priced at over double the other paintings - I guess salvation still comes at a cost).
There are also the highest cliffs in Europe in this region and they can be viewed from the port. In Ireland, we also saw the highest cliffs in Europe apparently. These in France are very white and not quite as rugged looking. Something about the North Atlantic as opposed to the peaceful Mediterranean. In Ireland we had a quite scary experience (Susan and Alan, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten it!) in a small boat trying to see these cliffs from the ocean. Our guidebook had recommeded the boat over the “scary” road. Another opportunity to appreciate the power of the ocean. We were going to take a boat to see this cliff and others but lunch “en pleine soleil” stretched to about three hours so we’ll do it in two weeks time when we return. There’s a fabulous restaurant right on the ocean that was completely booked so we’ve made reservations for that Sunday.
We had a a great meal of mussels, shrimp, and prawns washed down with the local white wine - quite renowned but very limited quantities so you almost need to come to the region to get it. People next to us were in rapsody eating their sea urchins and other slimy looking things out of shells. We’ll probably go that route next time. We met a very charming couple from Lyon. They were having squid stuffed with mussels - also looked very good.
Cassis seems to be the place to come on a Sunday and show off your latest outfit. The women were especially elegantly dressed. There were even a number of children and retired folks in swimming. It was about 30 degreees in the sun. We spoke to these older folks and aksed them about the water temperature - about 12 degrees. We’re not wimps about ocean temp but that’s a little chilly for us. They said you get used to it. The summer temp of the ocean is just perfect for us...around 20 degrees.
We came back via Bandol hoping the Hotel Splendid might be open but it was still closed for the season. Very pleasant to see the area again anyway....Annette, Chris and Susan....the Splendid retains its charm.
The other day we drove up to Menton. We enjoyed Menton very much and particularly the Italian influence. It is only a matter of miles from Italy. We heard lots of Italian and it really has whetted our appetite for Italy. We ate in an Italian restaurant. Jim had some wonderful veal and spaghetti and I had “fritures” - tiny fried fish to die for. Monique, we hadn’t had these in France since you introduced them to us in the lakeside restaurant in Annecy. We did have them in Whistler once and tried to have them again, didn’t we, Don and Elaine? I’m sure you remember that dinner well...no friture, Jim forgot his wallet, salt rimming the Spanish coffee, etc.
I’m sure we were seated across from the Mafia (could it be my imagination...I had been reading about the Mafia presence in that area...) One older man did all the talking to a younger man who kept asking about “protection”. The older man was flanked by a thuggish looking fellow who said nothing and ate numerous plates of frites. Ah...the intrigue...(and this was before I started watching The Sopranos). It was a very unpleasant drive, though. Too far in one day and Jim insisted on barelling along in our little car at 85-90 miles an hour. Many people going faster but also many going slower. It’s too fast really. We’re going to drive slower in future. Maintaining the autoroute speed means driving quite aggressively and weaving in and out a lot. Combine that with very high terrain and tunnels and I begin to feel very uncomfortable. Trucks, cars, and motorcycles passing and whatever in these tunnels. The reopening of the Mont Blanc tunnel after three years in the news all week (very serious accident with 39 dead 3 years ago) but seemed to have no effect of driving habits in these tunnels.
We did drive the coast route back through Monaco and Monte Carlo. Patty and Terry, it brought back many pleasant memories of that trip we took with you that day in the convertible. Richard, we didn’t see many fancy cars coming back from the Casino this time. Perhaps that’s more a summertime thing.
Friday, January 03, 2003
Today a table I painted of our favourite hotel in Bandol. We've been going to the Hotel Splendid since 1976.
18 fevrier
25 fevrier
We had a super lunch and afternoon with Monique’s mother and partner in their new apartment they’ve rented by the year in St. Aygulf. It’s about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Carqueiranne, very close to St. Tropez. Monique, you will really enjoy being there - wonderful sandy beaches very close by and lots of interesting places to explore like Fréjus, St. Raphael, etc. I took some video of your mom and even Roger cooking the “sauté de veau” as well as the apartment and the region. It was a very special afternoon - we hadn’t seen Jacqueline for over 15 years but it seemed like we’d just seen her last week. We had a wonderful drive home all along the coast and driving into a fabulous sunset in the end.
People really do seem quite spoiled by the weather here and complain if it isn’t brilliant sunshine all the time. It’s quite amusing, really. We had a wonderful meal in one of the restaurants in the port that specializes in fresh seafood of the region. First of all, “Degustation des Coquillages” (shellfish - 2 types of oysters (fabulous...Don and Elaine, I think they were even better than the Donegal oysters) shrimp, mussels, sea-snails, and something they substituted for the sea urchins since they weren’t available - a wonderful taste - like tasting the ocean. We then ordered from the “fish cart” - they bring you these freshly caught fish and you choose. We chose “Sars” - something very special from Provence waters. The presentation was incredible. They brought the two whole fish out on a flaming platter (soaked in anisette) with thyme and laurel branches on fire and sending off the most fragrant smoke. They then deboned the fish, made sure to get the cheeks out as well - to die for! I think I’ll try this with whole sole and thyme and rosemary branches - any volunteers?
4 mars
We just returned from a weekend trip to visit friends in Montpellier and to explore more of interior Provence to find letters from Annette and Elaine posted on our door. What a wonderful surprise! Thank you both so much. I really enjoyed reading the clippings. Mail seems to take a long time. I think the postal workers are taking some job action.
We visited Nimes and Arles and were incredibly impressed with their Roman arenas. Still bullfights in both at certain times of the year. Although it is a very cruel sport, it does remain a fascination for both of us. We saw a couple of bullfights on TV when we were in Nimes - very interesting to see it up close. The one we saw many years ago in Barcelona was in a massive modern arena. We won’t have the opportunity, but somehow, seeing a bloodsport on a sweltering day in an arena where gladiators fought it out over 2,000 years ago has a strange appeal.
To more tranquil subjects. We also visited an astoundingly beautiful village called Uzes which has, among many things, a beautiful cathedral and tower (rather like the leaning tower of Pisa. I probably took a roll of film in 10 minutes since everything was so wonderful for the eye. Even the cats sunning themselves on the roofs seemed to have some magical aspect. We arrived on a Sunday morning as the bells were tolling for Mass and we went inside the cathedral to see the interior before the Mass started. The young priest was greeting and chatting with all the parishioners - a very charming scene after all the physical beauty.
uzes.mov
Uzes Cathedral, Sunday Mass
On the main street of the village there was even a flea market and we found a really neat old publicity ad for one of our water bottles dating from the 50’s. Many antique stores, all with dogs lying across the threshold in the sun. We went into a very large one mainly to look at the beautiful tables, armoires, huge paintings etc. - nothing very portable but beautiful to look at. Lo and behold, in a little corner was an old Ricard water bottle from before WW II. He sold it to us for a great price ($15). Then onto Pont du Garde, that very well known Roman Aquaduct - a wonder of the world, really. A Unesco sight now and very well done. Many, many inspirations for painting. I’ve done 15 paintings so far.
Amitié,
Jim and Janice
18 fevrier
25 fevrier
We had a super lunch and afternoon with Monique’s mother and partner in their new apartment they’ve rented by the year in St. Aygulf. It’s about a 1 1/2 hour drive from Carqueiranne, very close to St. Tropez. Monique, you will really enjoy being there - wonderful sandy beaches very close by and lots of interesting places to explore like Fréjus, St. Raphael, etc. I took some video of your mom and even Roger cooking the “sauté de veau” as well as the apartment and the region. It was a very special afternoon - we hadn’t seen Jacqueline for over 15 years but it seemed like we’d just seen her last week. We had a wonderful drive home all along the coast and driving into a fabulous sunset in the end.
People really do seem quite spoiled by the weather here and complain if it isn’t brilliant sunshine all the time. It’s quite amusing, really. We had a wonderful meal in one of the restaurants in the port that specializes in fresh seafood of the region. First of all, “Degustation des Coquillages” (shellfish - 2 types of oysters (fabulous...Don and Elaine, I think they were even better than the Donegal oysters) shrimp, mussels, sea-snails, and something they substituted for the sea urchins since they weren’t available - a wonderful taste - like tasting the ocean. We then ordered from the “fish cart” - they bring you these freshly caught fish and you choose. We chose “Sars” - something very special from Provence waters. The presentation was incredible. They brought the two whole fish out on a flaming platter (soaked in anisette) with thyme and laurel branches on fire and sending off the most fragrant smoke. They then deboned the fish, made sure to get the cheeks out as well - to die for! I think I’ll try this with whole sole and thyme and rosemary branches - any volunteers?
4 mars
We just returned from a weekend trip to visit friends in Montpellier and to explore more of interior Provence to find letters from Annette and Elaine posted on our door. What a wonderful surprise! Thank you both so much. I really enjoyed reading the clippings. Mail seems to take a long time. I think the postal workers are taking some job action.
We visited Nimes and Arles and were incredibly impressed with their Roman arenas. Still bullfights in both at certain times of the year. Although it is a very cruel sport, it does remain a fascination for both of us. We saw a couple of bullfights on TV when we were in Nimes - very interesting to see it up close. The one we saw many years ago in Barcelona was in a massive modern arena. We won’t have the opportunity, but somehow, seeing a bloodsport on a sweltering day in an arena where gladiators fought it out over 2,000 years ago has a strange appeal.
To more tranquil subjects. We also visited an astoundingly beautiful village called Uzes which has, among many things, a beautiful cathedral and tower (rather like the leaning tower of Pisa. I probably took a roll of film in 10 minutes since everything was so wonderful for the eye. Even the cats sunning themselves on the roofs seemed to have some magical aspect. We arrived on a Sunday morning as the bells were tolling for Mass and we went inside the cathedral to see the interior before the Mass started. The young priest was greeting and chatting with all the parishioners - a very charming scene after all the physical beauty.
uzes.mov
Uzes Cathedral, Sunday Mass
On the main street of the village there was even a flea market and we found a really neat old publicity ad for one of our water bottles dating from the 50’s. Many antique stores, all with dogs lying across the threshold in the sun. We went into a very large one mainly to look at the beautiful tables, armoires, huge paintings etc. - nothing very portable but beautiful to look at. Lo and behold, in a little corner was an old Ricard water bottle from before WW II. He sold it to us for a great price ($15). Then onto Pont du Garde, that very well known Roman Aquaduct - a wonder of the world, really. A Unesco sight now and very well done. Many, many inspirations for painting. I’ve done 15 paintings so far.
Amitié,
Jim and Janice
Thursday, January 02, 2003
I was making ratatouille in my early days of drawing so did this still life.
Ratatouille Provençale
8 x 10 felt pens on paper April/01
Carqueiranne, France
Lettre de Provence - 2
Chers amis,
12 février
I just went out to get my Times newspaper and noticed a fisherman coming in so went out to see what he had caught. Not a whole lot but according to the people around here it seemed like a fairly good day. He had been out since 3am and it was now about 10am I guess the fish are depleting around here as well. He hadn’t been out for a while because the Mistral had been blowing. With these small boats I can see why they don’t go out in wind. He had the fish separated into those to fry up and those for bouillbaise. I bought some of the frying fish (some were still moving). They will be part of a still life (well, almost still...) I plan to do and then we’ll have them for dinner. I wanted to do something special for my first painting here - this will be perfect. A woman who was also buying fish was encouraging me to buy the ones for bouillbaise and to make the soup. When I proferred the excuse of a small kitchen, she admonished me by saying you can do lots of things in a small kitchen...you only need the will to do so....
17 février
I have painted four pictures now and am quite pleased with them. I set up the fish on a white plate with blue trim and the plate on a blue and white striped tablecloth. I thought the plae, shimmery colours of the fish would be a good contrast to the blue and white bold stripes. It was all very dull and not my style at all. I added yellow stripes to the tablecloth - still not enough, then red stripes, no, still not enough colour. The pale fish became red, blue, and yellow (I’m sure there are fish those colours somewhere in the Mediterranean!). Still didn’t quite work so then I got the idea of making the striped tablecloth like a provençale pattern and added lemon and olive branches and sunflowers to it. Now it worked!
My second painting was Cyprus trees against mountains. I did it very quickly, even threw in some shadowing just out of my head - it’s a lot more fun to do light and dark shading if you just make it up, I’ve discovered. It turned out rather abstract and I quite like it. Since I’m just getting into the painting, having done mainly pencil crayons and felt pens before, I brought mainly cheap paper and thought I’d do a lot of experimenting here - more sketch ideas I’ll rework at home on proper canvasses when I have more space and better materials. It’s turned out to be a very good idea as it’s freeing me up to play around and take chances. My third painting was some Mimosa branches in a pastis pitcher we picked up at a flea market. These beautiful yellow bloom trees are now out and it’s just wonderful to see them.. My fourth was some old fishing boats from the port. (By the way, the fish were fabulous to eat....you can’t beat fresh off the boat)
It takes a bit of getting used to all the opening and closing times and what day of the week various businesses take off. It varies a lot. I was looking forward to getting paella from the traiteur today, but alas, closed on Mondays. When we were in St. Tropez (really quite neat) yesterday we came across a little business selling a number of things including a soap that cured wrinkles, acne, chilbain, arthritis, eczema, indigestion, etc. (Actually, looked just like soap you get at any market for 1/10 the price). Our ears perked up when she said she was open every afternoon. We felt how simple to remember! Then she said, “excepté, excepté...quand il pleut aux cords” (when it rains cats and dogs). Seems like as good a reason as any to close in this rather magnificent climate. The sun is back today but we did get some rain the last few days. Good for things here as apparently there is a drought.
I’m enjoying watching the dogs in the area. Lots of labs and larger dogs around although the preference seems to be for smaller ones. Quite a few run freely through the village. Rather odd to see dogs on the loose now but was the norm in our neighbourhood when I was growing up. It’s quite interesting to see these dogs free and going about their explorations on their own - different from a dog used to a leash. Picking up after your dog isn’t done but there are street sweepers out all day so the droppings in this little village aren’t really a problem (Paris is another matter...) The big mechanized street sweeper goes through this little town every morning as well. There is one innovation they are trying and that’s a contraption called “Ville Propre” (Clean City). The idea is that the dog does his thing on some wooden slatted area that opens up and flushes. So far, we haven’t seen any dogs using it. People certainly love their dogs and are very tolerant towards them. In the local post office, there is a notice asking people not to use their cell phones when at the counter. However, plunking your little dog on the counter even if it knocks over various things seems to be the norm and almost encouraged.
Ratatouille Provençale
8 x 10 felt pens on paper April/01
Carqueiranne, France
Lettre de Provence - 2
Chers amis,
12 février
I just went out to get my Times newspaper and noticed a fisherman coming in so went out to see what he had caught. Not a whole lot but according to the people around here it seemed like a fairly good day. He had been out since 3am and it was now about 10am I guess the fish are depleting around here as well. He hadn’t been out for a while because the Mistral had been blowing. With these small boats I can see why they don’t go out in wind. He had the fish separated into those to fry up and those for bouillbaise. I bought some of the frying fish (some were still moving). They will be part of a still life (well, almost still...) I plan to do and then we’ll have them for dinner. I wanted to do something special for my first painting here - this will be perfect. A woman who was also buying fish was encouraging me to buy the ones for bouillbaise and to make the soup. When I proferred the excuse of a small kitchen, she admonished me by saying you can do lots of things in a small kitchen...you only need the will to do so....
17 février
I have painted four pictures now and am quite pleased with them. I set up the fish on a white plate with blue trim and the plate on a blue and white striped tablecloth. I thought the plae, shimmery colours of the fish would be a good contrast to the blue and white bold stripes. It was all very dull and not my style at all. I added yellow stripes to the tablecloth - still not enough, then red stripes, no, still not enough colour. The pale fish became red, blue, and yellow (I’m sure there are fish those colours somewhere in the Mediterranean!). Still didn’t quite work so then I got the idea of making the striped tablecloth like a provençale pattern and added lemon and olive branches and sunflowers to it. Now it worked!
My second painting was Cyprus trees against mountains. I did it very quickly, even threw in some shadowing just out of my head - it’s a lot more fun to do light and dark shading if you just make it up, I’ve discovered. It turned out rather abstract and I quite like it. Since I’m just getting into the painting, having done mainly pencil crayons and felt pens before, I brought mainly cheap paper and thought I’d do a lot of experimenting here - more sketch ideas I’ll rework at home on proper canvasses when I have more space and better materials. It’s turned out to be a very good idea as it’s freeing me up to play around and take chances. My third painting was some Mimosa branches in a pastis pitcher we picked up at a flea market. These beautiful yellow bloom trees are now out and it’s just wonderful to see them.. My fourth was some old fishing boats from the port. (By the way, the fish were fabulous to eat....you can’t beat fresh off the boat)
It takes a bit of getting used to all the opening and closing times and what day of the week various businesses take off. It varies a lot. I was looking forward to getting paella from the traiteur today, but alas, closed on Mondays. When we were in St. Tropez (really quite neat) yesterday we came across a little business selling a number of things including a soap that cured wrinkles, acne, chilbain, arthritis, eczema, indigestion, etc. (Actually, looked just like soap you get at any market for 1/10 the price). Our ears perked up when she said she was open every afternoon. We felt how simple to remember! Then she said, “excepté, excepté...quand il pleut aux cords” (when it rains cats and dogs). Seems like as good a reason as any to close in this rather magnificent climate. The sun is back today but we did get some rain the last few days. Good for things here as apparently there is a drought.
I’m enjoying watching the dogs in the area. Lots of labs and larger dogs around although the preference seems to be for smaller ones. Quite a few run freely through the village. Rather odd to see dogs on the loose now but was the norm in our neighbourhood when I was growing up. It’s quite interesting to see these dogs free and going about their explorations on their own - different from a dog used to a leash. Picking up after your dog isn’t done but there are street sweepers out all day so the droppings in this little village aren’t really a problem (Paris is another matter...) The big mechanized street sweeper goes through this little town every morning as well. There is one innovation they are trying and that’s a contraption called “Ville Propre” (Clean City). The idea is that the dog does his thing on some wooden slatted area that opens up and flushes. So far, we haven’t seen any dogs using it. People certainly love their dogs and are very tolerant towards them. In the local post office, there is a notice asking people not to use their cell phones when at the counter. However, plunking your little dog on the counter even if it knocks over various things seems to be the norm and almost encouraged.
Wednesday, January 01, 2003
This is a combination of boats from pictures I had from Sanary and also Ireland.
Fishing boats
9 x 12 pencil crayons on paper
April/01
Lettre de Provence #1 (cont'd)
We have experienced the usual frustrations one has when setting up in a foreign country. Driving was quite an adventure initially as Jim was confusing red with green lights. Combined with a different luminosity and different positioning, his partial colour blindness was a problem. We’ve been testing the medical system as well as Jim got a very bad eye infection and I’ve had a cold and a toothache.
We’ve been pleasantly surprised that the people around here aren’t worrying too much about Paris and its numerous regulations as it became obvious the university didn’t do all the official stuff for Jim’s appointment. It could have been tricky as to get paid he needed a French bank account. To have a French bank account, you need a resident permit which is a big bureaucratic deal. We were expecting a big hassle at the local bank but the south of France reaction seems to be to shrug at such foolishness and ignore the rules. Then, there’s always the European Union and all its new rules and regulations you can blame for being confused (and they usually do!).
We really love our little apartment. We have two bedrooms, a large living/dining room, a large (with washing machine) bathroom, large balcony, and a Lillipution kitchen.. It’s rather like playing house with everything so small. The kitchen is really quite cute and is described as an “American kitchen” which I thought meant it had everything...stove, fridge, dishwasher, blender, juicer, toaster, coffee-maker, microwave, etc. (I’ve learned since that “American kitchen” means it’s an open plan so it isn’t shut away in a separate room.) Our apartment is decorated in a nautical theme - really well done and excellent dishes, glassware, etc. Our front window is rather like a large porthole and you can cosy up to the window and perch on the couch watching the activities of the port and the street. They have very nice illuminations on the street at night and we love being a few steps away from everything. It’s so much fun to shop daily.
I haven’t done much reading except the London Times that a little grocery store ordered in everyday for me. Also, we became members of the local library and are taking out books and magazines on Provence mainly. We’ve got some excellent books on the trees and flowers of the area.
Jim’s Camosun email is working well but my Shaw webmail keeps bouncing me off - no doubt a combination of Shaw and a poor connection and slow computer in Jim’s office. It’s not convenient for me to go to the university anyway and there isn’t an Internet cafe close by so I guess I’ll be writing in the old style - I may even learn calligraphy while I’m at it! I’m collecting ideas for painting but haven’t done anything yet, although I have set up a studio in our bedroom and have adapted a clothes valet for an easel.
Jim’s first teaching day yesterday went very well and he enjoyed the students very much. He begins with a two hour lecture then later has two 1 1/2 hr seminars with this group broken in two. Today, he has a repeat two hour lecture and no seminars. That’s his teaching except for some special lectures so we’ll have Wed-Sun free for exploring the area. It turned out to be a rather stressful day as well as they were testing the fire alarm almost constantly during the entire day. Someone hadn’t returned the key for the video cupboard so seminar plans had to be reorganized, printer cartridges still hadn’t arrived even though he had been asking for them for 2 weeks, canteen was inexplicably closed so lunch was a kit-kat bar and a coke, and various other things.
Amitié a tous,
Jim and Janice
P.S. Jim says him mixing of red and green lights is a “pack of lies”....you be the judge!
Fishing boats
9 x 12 pencil crayons on paper
April/01
Lettre de Provence #1 (cont'd)
We have experienced the usual frustrations one has when setting up in a foreign country. Driving was quite an adventure initially as Jim was confusing red with green lights. Combined with a different luminosity and different positioning, his partial colour blindness was a problem. We’ve been testing the medical system as well as Jim got a very bad eye infection and I’ve had a cold and a toothache.
We’ve been pleasantly surprised that the people around here aren’t worrying too much about Paris and its numerous regulations as it became obvious the university didn’t do all the official stuff for Jim’s appointment. It could have been tricky as to get paid he needed a French bank account. To have a French bank account, you need a resident permit which is a big bureaucratic deal. We were expecting a big hassle at the local bank but the south of France reaction seems to be to shrug at such foolishness and ignore the rules. Then, there’s always the European Union and all its new rules and regulations you can blame for being confused (and they usually do!).
We really love our little apartment. We have two bedrooms, a large living/dining room, a large (with washing machine) bathroom, large balcony, and a Lillipution kitchen.. It’s rather like playing house with everything so small. The kitchen is really quite cute and is described as an “American kitchen” which I thought meant it had everything...stove, fridge, dishwasher, blender, juicer, toaster, coffee-maker, microwave, etc. (I’ve learned since that “American kitchen” means it’s an open plan so it isn’t shut away in a separate room.) Our apartment is decorated in a nautical theme - really well done and excellent dishes, glassware, etc. Our front window is rather like a large porthole and you can cosy up to the window and perch on the couch watching the activities of the port and the street. They have very nice illuminations on the street at night and we love being a few steps away from everything. It’s so much fun to shop daily.
I haven’t done much reading except the London Times that a little grocery store ordered in everyday for me. Also, we became members of the local library and are taking out books and magazines on Provence mainly. We’ve got some excellent books on the trees and flowers of the area.
Jim’s Camosun email is working well but my Shaw webmail keeps bouncing me off - no doubt a combination of Shaw and a poor connection and slow computer in Jim’s office. It’s not convenient for me to go to the university anyway and there isn’t an Internet cafe close by so I guess I’ll be writing in the old style - I may even learn calligraphy while I’m at it! I’m collecting ideas for painting but haven’t done anything yet, although I have set up a studio in our bedroom and have adapted a clothes valet for an easel.
Jim’s first teaching day yesterday went very well and he enjoyed the students very much. He begins with a two hour lecture then later has two 1 1/2 hr seminars with this group broken in two. Today, he has a repeat two hour lecture and no seminars. That’s his teaching except for some special lectures so we’ll have Wed-Sun free for exploring the area. It turned out to be a rather stressful day as well as they were testing the fire alarm almost constantly during the entire day. Someone hadn’t returned the key for the video cupboard so seminar plans had to be reorganized, printer cartridges still hadn’t arrived even though he had been asking for them for 2 weeks, canteen was inexplicably closed so lunch was a kit-kat bar and a coke, and various other things.
Amitié a tous,
Jim and Janice
P.S. Jim says him mixing of red and green lights is a “pack of lies”....you be the judge!
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