Maison Simsion, Les Morats, Tramayes

Tramayes is close to Cluny in Burgundy. It is a fairly small town, arranged in little hamlets. The hamlet that la Maison Simsion was located in was Les Morats. The town center has a tourism office, as well as a lovely bakery, a good butcher, an ATM, and a 8 a Huit (a convenience store French style which is a far cry from our 7-11s!) On the single lane road to Les Morats, there were many happy cows and bees (the beekeeper next door made the most amazing honey which Jim fell in love with while in Tramayes.) There were also irises everywhere. The countryside is incredibly hilly and there were amazing views everywhere, even though it was cloudy and approaching the evening hour when we arrived.

Journey's End - or Journey's Beginning?

Ensconced on the correct train, we relaxed (some of us maybe even slept in a jet-lagged kind of way). Louise and Alex (who was in a different car) text-messaged each other to make sure we didn't completely fall asleep and miss our stop. Ah, the wonders of modern technology. At last we arrived at Macon-Loche TGV station, the starting point for our adventures in Burgundy.

Michael retrieved our bedraggled trio and drove us through some amazing scenery to Tramayes, our home away from home.

Musing at L'Orangerie: Paris Part Cinque

Following this delightful interlude, we began our journey across the Seine to L'Orangerie. On the map it SEEMED like a short distance, but it wasn't really! We went across a footbridge, marveling at the busy scene on the water.

After a long trek we arrived at L'Orangerie, home of Monet's famous water lily paintings. Here are two photos of the exterior - you had to get special dispensation (which we didn't have) to take pictures inside. In any event, it would have been impossible to do the paintings, or the architectural design of the museum, justice. The paintings are arranged in two oval rooms, with muted skylights. Both the paintings and design are stunning.

Here is a view on la Place de Concorde - part of my obsession with lampposts, which you will see many examples of.

Following our brief stay at L'Orangerie, we had a slight misadventure trying to find a cab to return to the train station in time for our trip to Macon-Loche on the TGV. Unlike in most American tourist destinations, the taxis don't just hang out in long lines. We finally positioned ourselves across the Place de la Concorde and flagged down an unoccupied taxi. The traffic was horrendous. We arrived at Gare de Lyon in a panic, successfully retrieved our bags from the luggage locker, and then had several bad moments (a) trying to find which level the train left from, (b) trying to figure out which "berth" the correct train left from and (c) trying to figure out which car(s) and seat(s) we were supposed to be in. The train actually pulled out (we WERE on the right one) before we knew for sure!

Musing at Musee D'Orsay and L'Orangerie: Paris Part Quatre

On our way to the Impressionists, we stopped outside on a balcony for a view of the Seine.

The Impressionist paintings and sculptures were amazing, but my photography could not possibly do them justice. Suffice it to say we were awed and humbled, and maybe even a little overwhelmed. And then, we were hungry. Perched on the top of the museum was an incredible cafe. The food was excellent and the price was right, whetting our appetite for the gastronomic delights to come in the week ahead. One of the coolest features in the cafe was a "Harry Potter" clock.

Getting Squirrelly

Various cities have had artistic efforts involving statues of appropriate animals decorated by local artists and then auctioned off as fundraisers. Boston and Baltimore had codfish (and then Boston had cows), Cincinnati had pigs, and other cities have had cows and other animals. The townships in Cincinnati have joined in as well, each picking their own "base" image. The best we've encountered so far are the Glendale squirrels!

Eye Doctor Squirrel

Doctor Squirrel

Ciel Reaches the Holding Pattern!

It's birthday time! In honor of Ciel reaching the age at which one no longer inquires about age to ladies, Jared, Jim, Jaime, Bill, Louise and Ciel all travelled to an avant-garde restaurant/clothing store in the Fort Point area of Boston. Ciel was modelling one of her J'aime Colette designs and creations, Jaime was dressed to the nines after a day of work at Elderhostel, and Louise was tranquil (or "tranqued" as Alex would say) after her afternoon flight home from Ohio.

The food (which was quite good if pricey) came in sizes - Small, Medium, Large and Extra-Large.

Cici had a cute little candle in a chocolate parfait to die for as a dessert! The wine was quite appropriate to honor Ciel in the celestial theme.

You Know You're Getting Older When....

I (Louise) and Alex made the trek from our separate coastlines to our birthplace (Cincinnati, OH) to visit our mom and escort her to our niece Victoria's graduation party the weekend of May 3oth to June 2nd. For some unknown reason, the hotel rates for this weekend had skyrocketed. It turned out the best rate we could get was with my AARP card. Sigh!

Unfortunately Mom was not well enough to attend the festivities, or leave the nursing home. She sent her best wishes via digital movie. Alex and I indulged in some excellent barbecue (courtesy of brother Jeremy and family) at a beautiful setting in Winton Woods, a large park area in Cincinnati.

Victoria was happy to receive many gifts to help her in her first year of college, including a beautiful silver belt buckle for horse shows from her Grandma.

The highlight for Louise and Alex was hearing numerous youngsters calling little brother Jeremy "Grandpa!"