Sunday, July 15, 2012

A Moving Story From Dijon

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The town of Ornans, FR along the Loue River

Sometimes no matter how much you travel to get away from the mundane realities of everyday life, it just has to follow you across oceans.  I took off in a car to drive to the city of Ornans in the Doubs region to see a special exhibit at Musée Courbet and saw a lot of this

Comte cows, eating the grass that defines Comte cheese
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And of this

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One day soon I hope to tell you all about it, but when I returned to Dijon that night Brad announced that once again we had no hot water and would have to move to a new apartment.

Yes, I came all the way to France to deal with plumbers.  Our landlord tried to fix it a few times.  No luck.  And in this country you don’t just call a repairman, put in an order for a new water heater, and have it installed the next day like at home.  So Brad and I had to pack up everything – a daunting task because we accumulate while here – and move on Saturday.  We also spent the afternoon looking at apartments to buy because we’re contemplating owning our own little piece of this country.  By the time we got moved in and I figured out how all the appliances worked I was even too tired to celebrate Bastille Day, but I hear the fireworks as I type.

Even though I’ll return home very soon the stories of France will continue.  You’ll hear more about Paris and Ornans and tidbits of France.  Meanwhile, read all about the roses that fill the country on Lynn McBride’s Southern Fried French.  Lynn is a transplant from Charleston, SC who offers wonderful recipes that combine her Southern heritage and her new French influences.  She gardens in the Burgundy region just south of Dijon, near Lyon.  Next to the ubiquitous red geraniums, roses seem to be the second most visible flower here.

A perfect rose in the garden of Musée Courbet
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Since we’re talking roses, tell me in the comments box, how does your garden grow?  My sister said in an e-mail today that all the lawns and gardens are dead in the Midwest.  Has your garden fared better?  What’s your favorite flower or plant in a garden?  If you have a link to a favorite gardening site, share that also.  Or you could share your own plumbing stories.

8 comments:

Patricia said...

Hey Julie - I just discovered a few weeks ago the love of France that you and I share! I'm really enjoying following your blog and learning about an area so different than the Cote D'Azur, where my heart lies. It's fascinating that such simple issues, like plumbers, back here in NA are so complicated in France.
Enjoy the rest of your time there!

Julie Farrar said...

Thanks, Patricia. Nice hot showers at our new apartment.

Annette Gendler said...

Sorry to hear you had to deal with moving but alas, life is life, even in France.

Thankfully in this drought across the Midwest I don't have a garden to worry about and my porch is surviving fine due to daily watering, but the grass outside is indeed straw, and we've had many trees die on us in Indiana and even here in the big city. Many places, like my daughter's camp in Michigan, didn't allow fireworks for the 4th because of the fire hazard. It's so dry and the few thunderstorms we get just don't cut it.

Tami Clayton said...

So sorry to hear you had to deal with moving apartments, but such lovely pictures! Looking forward to hearing more of your France stories.

Cheryl Fassett said...

Julie --
Just wanted to let you know that I awarded you with a Fabulous Blog Ribbon! Stop by my blog, http://cherylfassett.wordpress.com/, on or after 7/18 to see what it's all about!
Cheryl

Liv Rancourt said...

Love the rose photo! And you should know you just did your good deed for the day: I was supposed to call the plumber, but sorta forgot. Your post was a great reminder, and now the plumber is scheduled for tomorrow!
;)

Julie Farrar said...

Oh how I wish it were that easy to call a plumber here and have one appear.

Valerie Brooks said...

I love the comte cow! And it's my favorite cheese. Thanks for posting! The rose photo? Trés beau! My deck is a mini park, many potted flowers, but the red geraniums remind me of Paris and soon I'll have a blog post with photos of places I work and one of them will be the deck. Many people have commented that our three acres along the Leaburg canal looks like a French park. Ah! We couldn't have a better compliment. Thanks for all your France posts. I'm there with you. --Val

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