Our home away from home

We have had some requests for photos of our exchange house in Brissac.

The house is three stories, with a family room upstairs, three bedrooms on the main floor, and a basement/garage.

The house is very clean and the windows are spotless.  The shutters are functional; many houses here have the shutters closed, for some reason unknown to us.

Front of house

Rear of house

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Relaxing on the rear deck

The tightly organized and compact kitchen has an island with bar stools.

View of kitchen from dining area

Living room

Richard at the dining room table going over tourist information.

First floor bathroom

Master bedroom

Vegetable garden

The yard is quite large, and they take advantage of the large yard to have a large vegetable garden and chickens.

The house is comfortable and more than adequate.

We hope that the French are enjoying our house as much as we are theirs.

Angers

On Tuesday the 2nd, we decided to head into the nearby city of Angers.   We drove in towards the center of town until we saw a sign for the tramway (light rail).  We parked there and took the tram into the city.

The historic center of Anger is as one would imagine a medieval town, old buildings and narrow streets.  The street that we walked down was lined with fancy clothing shops.

Our first stop was the Maison d'Adam, which sold art and crafts.  Cynthia bought copies of an old photo of rugby players, with an ironic commentary, as gifts for her boys, who played rugby.

Our next stop was the cathedral Saint Maurice, which was huge and impressive.  It was built in the 12th and 13th centuries.  One of the interesting aspects was a stained glass panel depicting the life of Saint Eloi, a goldsmith, who is a favorite saint of mine.

We had a nice lunch outside at the restaurant La Ferme.

Our final stop was the Chateau/Castle of Angers, which was huge and impressive.  It is hard to depict  the size in photos.  It was surrounded by a huge dry moat containing gardens.

The Tapestry of the Apocalypse is kept there.  It was made around 1370, and depicts the entire book of the apocalypse.  There were six sections, 20 feet high by 80 feet wide, containing 90 scenes.   It is truly impressive, especially the scale of the work.  It is one of the oldest medieval tapestries to survive.

The fall of Babylon

We took the tram back to the car.  We were very concerned about getting our car out of the parking lot; we picked up a card when we entered the parking lot, but we had tried to pay the parking fee without success.  However, when we got the car to the gate it just opened, without us inserting the parking card!  Much concern about nothing.  We got confused getting out of the city, but stopped for directions.

There is a lot to see in Angers, so we will be back another day.

Brissac and Saumur

Saturday we walked around and discovered the town a little. We stopped in the tourist office and looked at their artist gallery. We made a lengthy visit to the church in Brissac-Quince, St. Vincente en Aubance. We saw a large gathering at the school, a party for the end of the school year.

Richard feeding the chickens

Saturday evening Jean-Marie and Marie-Helene took us to a free concert by Barbara Hendricks, an American opera singer who now lives in Holland. For this concert, she sang blues, but ended with several songs from the civil rights era, including “Strange Fruit”, a Billy Holiday song about lynching, which I had never heard performed.

On Sunday, we went to mass in the nearby village of Les Alleuds; it was well attended. Having read about a special event in the nearby city of Saumur, we headed for the military tank museum there. This museum includes 200 armored vehicles, from Europe and beyond, starting in World War I.

Cynthia and a Tiger Tank

The German Tiger tank was perhaps the most impressive, and one of the largest.  There were people playing tabletop war games, and several Germans in historical bright red military officer costumes. We at some point hit the overload line in terms of how many vehicles we could look at and absorb. We learned from the Germans that the big event was not at the tank museum, but a reenactment of various wars at the cavalry museum. These are similar to civil war reenactments held in the USA, with firing of blank shells in rifles and cannons.

 The first reenactment that we saw was from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, in which the Prussian soldiers were obviously better armed and trained than the French troops of that time. In the real events of 1870, the Prussian victory was swift and complete.

The French had the colorful Zouave uniforms with red pants, while the Prussians had more conventional blue and white uniforms; their helmets had a large spike on top.

We also saw some reenactments of World War II, including the Normandy invasion, tanks, and machine guns.

 We spoke to a young man who was a reenactor; he liked WWII and the British, so he joined a group of British paratroopers stationed  in North Africa, as part of a communications unit.  He indicated that one chooses which army and which unit to join.  He buys the uniform and equipment for that unit, and studies the history of the unit.  Most of the reenactors in France are French, as one would expect.

We took the scenic route home along the Loire river, through many small and picturesque villages.

Monday was a rest day, in which we went to the store, and reviewed our pile of tourist information. We had a glass of wine with our neighbors, and admired their garden.

Paris and the Loire Valley

On Wednesday the 26^th Cynthia and I were dropped off by Kelly at the Denver airport, bright and early, for an 8:30 AM flight to North Carolina. We had lunch in Charlotte, and then caught the flight to France. As usual, we slept little, but after an uneventful flight, arrived in Paris at 7 AM. We caught the Rossibus into town, and then had to wait a while to find a cab to our hotel.

Our hotel was La Manufacture, named after the drapery and tapestry company that previously had been in this area. The lady at the front desk was very friendly and helpful. Our room was fine, although small.

We had resolved to stay up as long as we reasonably could, so we headed off for the Chapel Saint Chapelle, famous for 13^th century stained glass, telling the entire bible story. This chapel was built by King Louis IX, later Saint Louis. The stained glass is currently being restored, but most of it was visible. Impressive, especially given the area of stained glass. It would have been nice to have binoculars to look at the upper stained glass, which was hard to see. There was also impressive stone carvings.  The chapel is part of a government building complex, so we had to go through security.

Bridge over the River Seine

We were getting tired, so we stopped for lunch. After lunch, we decided to go to the Middle Ages Museum, sometimes called the Cluny Museum, where we saw more stained glass, but smaller panels close up. There were also many statues, tapestries, and other objects from the Middle Ages. However, Cynthia was starting to fade, so we left without seeing the entire museum, and and took the bus back to our hotel.

We went to bed around 7 PM.  We had been up for 30 hours.  Richard woke up and saw 9:30 on his watch.  He saw light outside, not realizing that the sun sets very late this far north, and figured that it was 9:30 AM the next day, so we took showers and started to pack.   Cynthia was complaining about her bloodshot eyes.  It turned out that it was really 9:30 PM, so we went back to bed. He learned that the time on his iPhone does not say AM or PM, assuming that one must know which is which.  But this is not a good assumption for a jet lagged tourist. His watch does say AM or PM, but in tiny letters.

Friday morning we woke up at 9 AM, and went out for a substantial breakfast. Then we went to a supermarket to get some food to eat lunch on the train, but that meant that we left the hotel later than we intended. We took a taxi to the Gare Montparnasse, where we rushed around and had to ask for directions to find our train.  We boarded the train with 15 minutes to spare. The TGV is the Tren de Grand Vitesse, the high speed train. At some points we could see that the train was going much faster than cars on the nearby highway.

We were picked up in Angers by our French neighbor, Jean-Marie, and taken to our delightful house in the small town of Brissac-Quince.  This is the house that Richard exchanged for his house in Boulder.  We will be here about three weeks.

More Colorado Springs

Friday, we started our day with a little hiking around the Garden of the Gods, a famous park with spectacular rock formations. This is of course very popular, but still worth doing. This park was donated to the city by the family of a prominent citizen, around 1910.

We stopped at McDonalds to use their WIFI to check email and post to the blog. Looking at Trip Advisor, one of the recommended restaurants was Bird Dog BBQ. This was out of the way, but very good food. We both had the daily special, the Brisket Sandwich. Unlike many barbeque restaurants, the meat was not marinated in barbeque sauce; you could choose your own sauce from the table.

On the drive, we were both somewhat amazed at how large Colorado Springs has become; it was seemingly endless housing developments.

We then headed out to the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, which was Cynthia's idea. Most of the museum consisted of glass cases containing photos, text, and objects, related to famous rodeo people. There were also bronze sculptures, saddles, and other displays. Although Cynthia and I have been to some rodeos, we are certainly not steeped in rodeo history, so almost all the museum was new information for us. The museum is surprisingly large. Ultimately, we suffered from burnout, leaving after more than 2 hours. Although it was somewhat interesting, I felt that it was primarily of interest to rodeo aficionados.

Contrary to Richard, I thought that the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame was stunning. The glass cases have individual photos of famous riders, pieces of their personal equipment, and the reasons why they are in the Hall of Fame. The displays were grouped by rodeo events; ie calf roping, bulldogging, bullriding and such. There is a room devoted to Chris LeDoux, his music, and his rodeo accomplishments. If you know nothing about rodeos, you will come away in awe of the athleticism, danger, and brute power on display at a rodeo. Very nice bronze sculptures, usually of a bucking horse, are displayed throughout; the 2D art is forgettable. Your next winning bar bet: Deer Trail Colorado held the first ever rodeo. Cynthia.

A chicken with feathered legs, held up for inspection.

Saturday morning we slept in, and started our morning with “Ranch Day” at the state park. Rangers and volunteers had demonstrations and activities related to ranching, for the benefit of us city folks. We learned about chickens, saw a dye demonstration, and learned a great deal about the brands used in ranching.  Branding is not obsolete, and we were told that if we are ever invited to participate or watch a branding, that we should be sure to do so, as it is quite a big deal.  The calf is roped, branded, innoculated, castrated, and tagged, a hard day for the calf.  Cynthia says to enjoy your hamburgers!   Richard is thinking about making a New Age brand, suitable for Boulder. Rather than a Lazy L brand, perhaps a Flying Buddha brand. ;-)

Our next stop was “Old Colorado City”, the original territorial capital of Colorado. We saw the log building which was part of the territorial capital. We visited art galleries, and walked by many souvenir shops. We looked at miniature city scenes in one shop, walked through the farmer's market, and generally took in the area. We had a light lunch at a tapas restaurant, and finished our visit by going to the Agia Sophia coffee shop and bookstore. Downstairs, it looked like any coffee shop. Upstairs, it was a bookstore of religious books from the Russian and Greek Orthodox tradition. The name of the coffeeshop is a play on the famous church in Constantinople (Istanbul) , the Hagia Sophia.

We then visited the money museum, which had a special exhibit on money and the Civil War. The Union printed paper money to cover the cost of the war, while the confederate money, promising cotton after the end of the war, suffered from extreme inflation. As in most aspects of the conflict, the Confederates had disadvantages in the field of money, including poor tax collection and a lack of engraving facilities.

We went to church, had a quick dinner in the camper, and then went to square dancing at the park, which was part of Ranch Day. A good time was had by all at the dance, young and old.

A very full Saturday, but very enjoyable.

Sunday morning we went to the May Museum of the Tropics, a bug museum. A lot of bugs in glass cases, including some spectacular ones, but not very much text or context. An amateur collection, but still impressive. A reminder of the difference between a professionally curated museum and an amateur museum.

On the way home, we stopped in Falcon for Richard to visit his Firebird sculpture, which he had not seen since it was installed in 2009. It looked about the same as when it was installed, so that is good.

The drive home was uneventful. We are now looking forward to France, while Richard needs to get ready for the Loveland Sculpture Invitational show in August.

Exploring Colorado Springs

Like the native New Yorker who has never been to the Statue of Liberty, we live close to the town of Colorado Springs, but have never explored it. We decided to make a short trip to see the sights and visit the museums.

Our first stop was the Western Museum of Mining and Industry. The museum had several large working steam engines, as well as working models of stamp mills, dredges, and other equipment. I am of course always a fan of machinery. We were invited to try our hand at gold panning, but only turned up fool's gold. We had our photo taken with two of the burros in residence.

Cynthia especially liked the old photos of life outside the mines, including the town and the home. There were photos of baseball teams, 4^th of July parades, a schoolhouse and schoolchildren, and a woman who took in laundry and told fortunes. Life was hard, but the immigrants came anyway, looking for a better life.

Our next stop was at Cheyenne Mountain State Park, near Fort Carson, south of Colorado Springs. Cynthia and I did some light hiking, under heavy overcast, on an unseasonably cool day.

We slept in on Thursday. Our first stop was to the Visitor Bureau. Besides the usual brochures and maps, we learned about an historical conference related to massacres. Cynthia called about the conference, and learned that it was full. We might be able to get in if there is a no-show, however.

We headed to the Fine Arts Museum. The upper floor was closed for an installation, but there was quite a bit on the lower floor. Perhaps the most impressive part of their collection was of New Mexico popular religious art, including crucifixes.

After a light picnic, we went to the Pioneer museum, which is a better than usual local historical museum, in the old courthouse. We learned a lot about the hospitals and sanitariums which cared for the people suffering from tuberculosis. The courtroom looked like it came right out of Perry Mason.

Steampunk art - Bonemaking machine

Our final stop was at the Cottonwood Center for the Arts, where many artists have galleries. We saw an exhibit which included many “steampunk” artworks. The photo of Cyntia and I is with a bonemaking machine.   

8 Days on the San Juan River

We had been planning to paddle the San Juan River in Utah for months.  But as the departure date approached, the flows steadily declined to below 300 cfs.  The usual lowest recommended flow is 500 cfs.  We were considering canceling the trip, when further research revealed that there was lots of water flowing down the Animas River.  Warm weather had melted the snow, resulting in 2000 cfs flows.   Our trip was saved by the Animas, which is undammed and untrammeled.  The water from the Animas reached our put in location two days before we put in!  Perfect timing.

The trip turned out to be three people, Randy, Wally, and me.  I was in my whitewater canoe, they were in inflatable kayaks.  The long drive over to Bluff UT was uneventful, and we camped near the put in.   The next morning we headed over to the ramp, which was a busy place, with multiple parties  hard at work packing their boats.

Randy looking over a wall at River House

Our first day involved many stops, including the River House ruins, and the Butler Wash rock art.  The steps carved into the rock were particularly interesting. We camped about mile 6.5.

Anazasi Steps

Butler Wash rock art panel

Our second day included Four Foot, Eight food, and Ledge rapids, as well as the narrows, with a camp around mile 20.

We noticed that we kept seeing collared lizards, day after day.

Our routine was developing, waking up around 7, getting on the river by 9 AM, getting to camp in the early afternoon, and then setting up a tarp to protect us from the sun, until the sun dropped behind the canyon walls.  Once the sun was down, we cooked dinner and headed for our sleeping bags.  Since we had a good current, we did not paddle much, mostly just drifting and watching the scenery.

Wally and Randy reading in camp

Our third day had us going through the town of Mexican Hat, named for the rock formation.  We stopped for lunch at the San Juan Inn.  Randy pointed out an apparent contradiction in the highway signs.  We camped just past Mexican Hat.

Randy is asking which sign do they mean

Our fourth day took us to the Honaker trail, built by a prospector.   We decided to hike it in the morning.  That evening we saw a herd of 30 sheep.  We ultimately saw more than 50 desert bighorn sheep.  How many sheep can you see in these pictures?

Wally with sheep in the background

Our fifth day had us hiking the Honaker trail.  From below, it is virtually impossible to distinguish the route, which goes back and forth through various shelves and cliff bands. 

Randy hiking the trail

Most of the way up there was a spectacular view of the river.  We proceeded to the top of the canyon, with a panoramic view, including Monument Valley.  This hike was the highlight of the trip for me.  We stayed a second night in the same camp.

Richard, with Monument Valley in the background

Our sixth day had the most excitement.  Ross Rapid had a large rock near the bottom.  Randy and I were able to get around it, although we almost bumped it.  Wally, the least experienced paddler, was not so lucky.  He hit the rock and was pinned by the current, his boat full of water.  Randy and I hiked back upstream and were considering rescue strategies.  However, Wally was able to work off the rock, losing some gear in the process.  Randy threw Wally a rope, while I went downstream retrieving gear.

We camped at John’s canyon.  There is a natural tinaca (tank of water) above the camp, but we were unable to locate a safe way to get up there.

Richard, thinking

Our seventh day included Government Rapid, the only class III rapid on this section of the river.   Randy and Wally elected to line their boats down, using ropes to move the boat along the bank.  I elected to run it, and ran it clean, just a little bump as I went past the big rock.  We stuck around to watch other groups run the rapid.   You can see my run at the link below, or just click on the photo below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRsAKEa6tm4

We proceeded to our only reserved camp, Slickhorn D.  In the lower part of the canyon, there are few campsites, so four campsites are located in a small area.  This was probably our worst campsite.

Randy, drifting down the river

Our final day was the longest day, 17 miles to Clay Hills.  Richard remembered bad headwinds the last time he was there.  A rafter also warned us of possible bad headwinds.  We resolved to get up early to beat the wind, which tends to come up midday.  We got up at 5, and were on the river by 6:15.  We paddled steadily, without wind, and arrived before noon, apparently the first party to arrive. 

The drive home started with 12 miles of dirt, and then took us through Blanding and Monticello.   Richard took advantage of his iPhone to research hotels and make some calls.   Many hotels were full in Moab, and the prices were high, due to the Memorial Day weekend.  We took the last room at a motel in Monticello, and were happy to have it.  The warm showers felt good.

We finished the drive on Memorial Day.  We were surprised not to see any backups or delays due to the holiday traffic.

A good and relaxing trip.

Most of the photos are mine, but the video and some of the photos were by Wally, thanks.