The Epistle July 2007

Areal photo of our neighborhood

TA-DA!

A few months ago I wrote about some hinges that I had forged over the winter while in France. At the time, I mentioned that I would have pictures available when I would get them installed and I have. Some people are incredulous at how brazen we are in our selection of items to take back and forth to Europe and America. These ‘hinges’ for instance must have looked mighty interesting on the security x-ray scanners at the airport.

Want to see the hinges up close

and personal? You know what to

do, just double click on the photos.

We also brought back a 23-kilo (50 pound) slab of steel. Actually, it was a cast decorative sacrificial iron for the back wall of our fireplace. It was so close to the airline’s weight limit that I could not even carry it in a suitcase. I simply wrapped it in a piece of cardboard and tied a rope around it for a handle. With a sly smile, the ticket agent asked if it was ‘delicate” and subject to being damaged during transit. On our trip over in December, we brought a 4 foot steel sword that had served as a prop for the Illusions I performed.

We simply have no shame and don’t mind looking like hillbillies if it will allow us to move the things we want back and forth across the Atlantic. I remember 2 years ago thinking that the time would come where once we were set up on both continents we could fly back and forth with only our passports in our back pockets.

Great theory. The reality is that since we transition to see some of the kids for several weeks to a month every six months, we need clothes for that period. I also need grubby “work” clothes for doing odds & ends chores where ever we are and our laptop to keep in touch.

Finally, my bride has never failed to find little treasures to fill the 4 allowable suitcases at their maximum permitted weight of 50 pounds each (23 kilos) with things that are needed on the other continent but are only available on this one, regardless of which continent we are on at the time.

What a difference

a few months make!

Our marina being rebuilt in early April

and first boat in the water in Late May

A very close call

For the second time we have come within a hair’s breath of loosing a home to fire. The first time was a fire next to the house in California when I was weed whacking. I had a gallon of gas catch fire when fumes were ignited by the hot tub heater pilot light. We lost and entire water treatment system and hot tub pump and heater system. Flames came within feet of igniting the whole house which would have gone up like a torch.

This time was different. We have kept a metal drum at the “point” of the downwind side of the island to burn construction trash. The point is away from any trees and is surrounded by water. Janice had burned a bunch of cardboard early in the morning and the fire burned itself out. We were home for several hours afterward before going out to the mainland to shop for supplies.

When we returned, we noticed a fire boat with flashing emergency lights racing for the “rift”, the part of the river that separates Canada from the US in which our island is located. We wondered where they were going as this is the “driveway” that runs right by our front door. Sure enough, as we came around the bend in the river we saw them and 4 or 5 other boats tied up at our dock. The house looked normal, there were no flames or smoke but I could see people running all over the island.

I thought that perhaps there was some kind of medical emergency and they were just using our dock to load a sick or injured victim from one of the boats. The problem was that there was so many boats docked that there was no place for us! Finally a neighbor moved his boat as he told us there had been a fire.

It seems that the fire we had in the early morning had heated the metal drum so much that it ignited the “duff” below the drum. This in turn took hours to finally ignite the surrounding blueberry bushes, which burned up to the woodpile and kindling right next to the house.

Two families of passing boaters saw the fire and immediately came ashore to fight it along with a number of our heroic neighbors. They used buckets, a garden hose and even emptied their ice chests to gather water from the river to extinguish the flames. A few of our trees got singed but overall the damage was cosmetic. By the time we arrived to boatloads of firefighters equipped with everything from high-powered river pumps to scuba rescue equipment, it was all over. Red faced and looking rather stupid (we all do what we do best) we could do little but thank everyone for saving our home.

What’s it like living in Canada?

OK, for the North American challenged, let’s start by dispelling a few myths and stereotypes. No, not everyone in Canada lives in an Igloo nor is there snow all year long. Yes, everyone says “Eh?” all the time and like the Brits, can pronounce words in weird ways. Yes there are Indians but no, they don’t live in Tee Pee’s. Honey Bee is located a little south of the latitude from our home in France but a little North of our home in California. The country is large and beautiful (after all, it is right next to the USA) and there are Caribou but you’re not likely to run into them in the larger metropolitan areas. Politics here are as weird as anywhere and Canadians have a sense of humor that is well…..different.

Factoids: Coast to coast, 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the US border. In other words, if you started 100 miles north of our Island you could conceivably not see another human being until you got to the North Pole. While many Canadians would bristle at the idea, culturally you would often have a hard time telling the difference from many similar areas in the US. Similar but think smaller scale.

For instance, in metropolitan Phoenix Arizona alone, there are more medical helicopters than can be found in all of Canada. (We tend to stay close to the border ….) To its credit, Canada has adopted the metric system while the US has not (bad dog!). For all the noise about the Mid East being such a big supplier of oil to the US, most Americans and Canadians I have talked to do not realize that Canada is actually our largest supplier of oil. Food, language and customs are the same as in the US. The exception to virtually everything of course, is the Province of Quebec.

The province of Quebec is a French enclave within the North American continent that for decades has toyed with and at one point came darn close to succeeding in promoting its political separation from Canada. Think of it as Canada’s Kurdistan. The thing is, much like Canada’s military, nobody takes it seriously.

Canada is similar to France in that it has never heard of a tax it did not love and would not adopt in a New York minute and it has a system of socialized medicine, although unlike in France, here many feel it is not as successful.

We have to remind ourselves that we live in Canada as we are so literally intertwined, going back and forth across the border. Sometimes we cross back and forth as much as 3 times in a day. Often by boat, sometimes by car and many days by swimming. We do remind ourselves though because unlike in the EU, crossing the border here is serious business and custom officers on both sides have no sense of humor about casual crossings. For the record, in the event that this blog should come to the attention of US or Canadian Customs, we always report as required. Yes, always….

Going Green

Returning unapologetically and unrepentantly recently from yet another unnecessary flight from Europe got me to thinking about some of our friend’s and family’s concerns regarding our wasteful ways. You know, the global warming thing.

OK, so I am not likely to worry about the spotted owls when I trim the trees at the Bee this summer but that doesn’t mean I can’t do my part to help save the planet and delay the end of the world, right?

So, in the spirit of compromise and just plain wanting to get along, I have come up with a dozen things I vow to do to help reduce our “carbon footprint”.

From now on I promise that I will:

Reduce the amount of ice cubes in our cocktails (hello!!!! It’s all about the electricity!!!)
Not wear a tie, reducing the need for cooling.
Dry my swimsuit on the dock instead of in the dryer.
Forgo first class and fly economy. (Sorry honey, smaller seats use less fuel)
Keep our little boat and cars instead of upgrading to a yacht and a Hummer
Pay our bills online to save the trees
Eat by candlelight
BBQ often this summer instead of using electricity to cook
Turn the lights off at the island before leaving for the winter
Not get a job, eliminating all the driving back and forth to work
Always put the “pedal to the metal” when we are in the boat so we can get there faster and use less fuel
Live in France during the winter to reduce our heating needs.

I figure with such frugal use of my PCA (personal carbon allowance) I could sell the rest as 'carbon credits' if you are not as environmentally sensitive with your ‘PCA’..….

Project update

Ok, I am seriously beginning to feel like I am building the Winchester house**, in installments, in three different countries on two continents.

We do believe that this summer will see some huge visual and comfort improvements here at the Bee. Last year we had some hiccups in the system and it took us a week to get completely up and running. This year we were pleased that it only took us 6 working hours and with new systems in place we think we can cut it down to 4 hours next year. (The only damage done was a toilet seat cracked from the cold) The goal is to make our arrival as easy as possible and to have a fully functioning and comfortable household without a lot of time, effort or drama.

You have to remember that unlike our arriving at home in France, no one has been in the house here in 6 months, the place has been frozen for half that time and all plumbing has been drained with the water pump raised out of the river. We are our own water company so we are responsible for filtering and treating our own water so that it is safe to drink. Meanwhile the phone has been turned off, satellite TV and Internet suspended… you get the idea. It takes a little time to get everything up and running again.

How do you get washers, dryers, dishwashers, etc.
to an Island?

Easy. Just toss'em in the back of the boat!

Since our arrival we had installed the last of our windows and French door upstairs in the bedrooms as well as the large picture window in the living room. It took 3 buddies to help manhandle these large heavy monsters into place. Now we will work on finishing the bedrooms in preparation to receiving the natural log circular staircase we commissioned last summer and should be ready by mid August. It will replace the hideously sorry excuse for a staircase that we have endured since we bought the place.

That done, we got busy installing our dishwasher, washer and dryer that we had ordered while on the road in Italy. No big deal for you maybe, but a BIG deal for us. Having done without for several summers, we are beginning to feel like this is becoming the home away from home we had always intended it to be.

** For my young readers, the Winchester house is the 110-room mansion in San Jose, California of the famed rifle manufacturer by the same name. After he died, his wife believed that if she ever stopped construction in her house, she would die. The mansion is filled with rooms within rooms, staircases that lead only to the ceiling of the room and many other odd architectural details built for no apparent reason.

The Epistle June 2007

Chateau La Roche Jagu

Built in 1405 on the site of a fortress erected in1100, the Chateau lies on the banks of the Trieux river. Evident in it's construction are elements of it's defensive as well as residential nature. Currently used for cultural exebitions (photo, painting, etc.) various charity events as well as a backdrop for private weddings.

Unfortunately, the interior has been “modernized”, that is the stone walls are by and large covered with stucco, drywall or other non-period finishes. There is no period furniture so the most interesting part of the visit are the grounds, which are lavishly landscaped. The chateau is about a 20-minute drive from home.

Mandy sneaks in a visit

Days before we pulled up stakes for the season, Mandy had several days off from school so she took the train to come get a little face time with mom and dad. We did not get a chance to visit her in Germany, nor she having the time to join us for a part of our Italian trip because of studies and exams.

Not being one to miss an opportunity, Mandy had recently returned from a sponsored week long volunteer assignment in Washington DC, where she was a group leader for the “People to People Ambassador Youth Program” begun by President Eisenhower.

We got a chance to show her a little more of Brittany including one of several local flax ponds. Few people know that many of the Manoirs in Brittany were paid for by the owners of these little cash cows. Historically, Brittany’s linens were famous for their quality and sought the world over. They were produced by growing flax which when harvested were soaked in the flax ponds for several days then carded like wool prior to spinning.

Mandy is just like us when it comes to loving to seek out and visit these offbeat sights.

Who needs a license?

(Welcome to France)

Without a doubt, The French have interesting perspectives on some things. Many laws of public order are openly flaunted or circumvented in ways that seem daft to the rest of us. I have mentioned before the common practice of violating parking laws. But many other commonly accepted laws and rules that govern peoples daily behavior elsewhere are only seen as ‘suggestions’ or are ‘optional” here.

For instance, a sizable number of people in France drive cars or motorbikes that do not require driver’s licenses.

Come again?

Yes, they purchase and drive vehicles that meet the criteria to be on the road without a driver’s license. OK, they are not tooling around in Porches or Maserati’s. Although ‘car like’ in appearance, they are technically a quadra-cycle. The rules are that the vehicle cannot be over 50 CC, cannot be driven over 27 MPH (HA, HA, HA. as if!!!), not weight over 900 pounds dry, not be longer than 9’ and be a two seater. They are allowed anywhere but on the freeways or the ‘peripherique’ around Paris. Price? Around $10,000.

They are marketed to the young, the seriously budget minded, people in cities that have horrendous parking issues and…this is a biggie… those who have lost their drivers licenses due to driving offenses including DUI’s.

How does that grab you?

To add insult to injury, they can continue to get insurance coverage as long as they are not involved in yet another substance abuse related accident.

Only in France…..

Our world in transition

It’s that time again. It’s goodbye to the only bread on the planet worthy of the name (except for California sourdough), goodbye to spectacular architecture, art, history, chateaus and forts more numerous than pebbles on the beach.

On the other hand, back in the land of milk and honey it’s hello to public bathrooms where the toilets actually have seats, a 30% reduction in our cost of living, where everything is open all the time, parking spaces are big enough not to have to crawl out of your window to get out of your car and being able to enjoy a great big juicy hamburger without people looking at you as though you were biting into lizard entrails.

Returning to America always requires several days to adjust from the jet lag (9 hours difference) and a period of cultural re-orientation. It took me almost a week to stop pulling over every time I saw an oncoming car, remembering that the roads here are actually wide enough for cars to pass together. Imagine that. Several times, I caught myself starting to drive up on the sidewalks to park before the glaring and astounded looks of pedestrians reminded me that “ that dog don’t hunt” here.

We started this season’s trek in Seattle Washington, home of the planet's 4 greatest grandchildren. (#5 is in the oven!) Our little man Christopher is slowly on the mend but is tended at home with an outside nurse 12 hours a day to help out. I finally got to take a tour of the Boeing aircraft assembly plant (worlds largest building) with son Wesley and grandson Alex. We visited the 777 assembly line and saw the beginning of the new 787 Dreamliner production.

Flying on to California, we arrived back into our hometown. After seeing just how many people smoke in France, we were really struck by the fact that in 1990 San Luis Obispo was the first city in the world to ban smoking in all public buildings, including bars and restaurants. Since then, many municipalities around the world have followed suit using us as a model.

Over the years we have heard the hue and cry of many other communities who struggled over the same concerns ours had over the decision, mainly that business and tourism would be hurt. Today, both are booming beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.

As long as we are going down memory lane, San Luis Obispo was also the last city in the United States to have a gas lamp lighter on its payroll after electricity became the standard for street lights

While home, we had a chance to do our usual bit of maintenance. A little roofing, fence repair and cleaning up the property to keep our renters happy. It’s all good. It was great to be back at our home church and catch up with friends while staying at Janice's mother. On a few occasions, we spent happy hour enjoying great Mexican food outside at sunset overlooking the Pacific from our favorite restaurant. Man, I love it here.

As we go to press we are still 5 days from flying to the Bee, our tiny little island home. We can hardly wait. We feel like kids about to be let out for recess.

The Epistle May 2007

Recently started Italian tradition.
Suitors pledging their undying love for their special someone add their own lock.

Italy or Bust (Part II)

Last month I left off as we were on our way to our second house exchange. This was actually the family apartment (located in the mountains near Cosenza, famed for it's mushrooms) of the same people we had exchanged with in our first 10 days. While they were wonderful and their homes are quite nice, it is still Italy. Both times we killed ourselves to get precise and exact directions to the homes, with street addresses, phone numbers, emergency contacts and a physical map with the homes clearly shown on it. Great theory.

In practice, the streets that the homes are on are not actually on any map. The homes do have legal addresses but they were not on the homes to be seen. We got a lot of “it’s right near to” and “it’s right around the corner from”…. type of directions. Not to worry because they gave us phone numbers of family located nearby to call in case of problems. Perfect, except for the fact that they did not speak a single word of English. My total Italian linguistic repertoire consists of “Mama Mia” so that was of limited use. My idea of speaking Italian is using the same English words I always use but add some weird ending to them and throw in what I think the Italian accent would sound like.

Our
'street'
in
medieval
Viterbo

Language issues aside, we always find where we are going by using what we have dubbed “The 100 meter rule”. The Italians were very gracious and always tried very hard to help. Still we found it best when we pulled over to ask directions for anything and they began to blabber, not to listen to a word. Listening to what we won’t understand would only distract us from what we really needed to do, which was to watch their hands. By watching their hands we had a shot at seeing if we should go straight, turn left or even turn around. With enough practice you can even get the first few turns correct before getting hopelessly loss again. That’s where “The 100 meter rule” comes in. If necessary, we go 100 meters (100 yards), usually a turn or two and ask again. You would be surprised how by getting the first few rights and lefts correct, a hundred meters at a time can soon get you back on your way to a sign you can read. Meanwhile, these poor people think that my understanding of Italian will improve if they explain it again or my favorite –LOUDER- as if I am deaf.

Medieval “street” in front of our home exchange. Left up to her own devices, Janice would move here in a minute. Good thing one of us is sensible and has a little more self-control, huh?

The other thing we found was that unlike in America where cities are largely laid out in a grid pattern, or in France where many cities are laid out like a wheel with spokes emanating from a central hub, in Italy many of the cities are laid out like a maze. On purpose, no less. This, we were told was to give the maneuvering advantage to the home team when attacked by outsiders which history tells us, happened frequently.

This is great, but as a visitor you can walk just a few blocks and never find your car again. Janice came up with a brilliant solution. We now carry fluorescent pink chalk and mark our way subtly at street corners like Hansel and Gretel with their breadcrumbs. We have not lost our way since.

After leaving the house in Santa Maria Al Bagno, we drove to Cozensa in the mountains (above Sicily) to the second home exchange. Upon our arrival we meet a young couple our age (plus or minus 28 years) that were neighbors (he a criminal lawyer, she a journalist). They invited us out for dinner and we had a great time discussing his mafia clients. He told us he was going out of town for a few days to a court hearing that was to be held in an underground bunker. Puzzled, I asked why it was underground. He said that the risk was too high for an assassin or bomber to attempt to silence his client. Life in the fast lane, Italian style. They were an absolute kick and we enjoyed each other’s company immensely. It seemed odd in a way to be making adult friends that are younger than our older kids.

We spent the next 3 days touring the area before driving North to our third home exchange in the heart of the medieval walled city of Viterbo, just above Rome. Along the way we drove along the Amalfi coast, classified as a World Heritage Site (WHS # 74), http://www.ecostieramalfitana.it/costieraamalfitanatour/amalfinf.htm

and the Archaeological ruins of Pompei (WHS #75) http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/829

In Amalfi we found ourselves stopped at a traffic light when a young woman standing on the other side of the street with her friend looked at me and named some village up the road. Thinking that it would be odd for her to ask, I said “yes”, that was where we were going. Before I could blink, I had two buxom 25 year olds in the back seat and a scowling, fuming wife. I felt like I had just kicked a hornet’s nest and stood on top of it to see what would happen. Apparently, I had inadvertently and quite innocently offered a couple of babes a ride. (As much as a guy can claim picking up two chicks as an innocent act). As a result, I am no longer authorized to step out with the car keys to so much as get a quart of milk.

Later, I had a chance to redeem myself when we were out in the middle of nowhere. An old woman stood by the roadside in front of her farmhouse and flagged us down. The custom in this outlying area was that she would flag anyone down who came by and ask for a ride to the local village. I pulled out a map of Italy and assured her I would drive her to anyplace in the country she wanted to go. At least I could then claim that I was not profiling 25-year-olds.

In one of the little villages we stopped at, we walked around the streets that are as wide as a sidewalk. A woman stopped to greet us as we were obviously not locals. Unable to communicate, she invited us nevertheless to come in for coffee. We spent the next 45 minutes visiting with us explaining that we were “Americanos di Californiato”. She looked puzzled, so I figured adding “New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles” would clear things up. She had never heard of either of them but pulled out a map of south America and asked that we point to the country we were from.

Ironically, when arriving in tiny remote villages of Italy, they would see us drive up with French license plates and naturally, assume we were French. Go figure! It was a little complicated explaining what Californians were doing driving a French car in Italy but we only got warm friendly receptions everywhere we went.

Part of the reason we chose to spend 10 days in Viterbo was its proximity to several other World Heritage sites. Over the next week, my co-pilot and California babe (J) directed us to a couple of Papal summer homes and a whole slew of Etruscan tombs, including the ones at Tarquina (WHS #76)

http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/classics/students/belanger/tarquinia.html.

We thought that these bad boys were more impressive than the Anastassi cliff dwellings we visited in New Mexico. For one thing, they are a tad older, as in 400 BC. For another, they have beautiful Frescos painted in them. For a third, there were 6000 of them.

Some of the tombs I crawled into on hands and knees, past overgrowth covering the entrances. Some were as much as 30 meters deep, 10 meters wide and not quite tall enough to stand in. They were dug out of solid rock into the Cliffside but being seriously prepared, I brought a large searchlight to explore the interiors and saw many-opened sarcophagus. (Up to 50 per tomb) It made ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom’ look like an amateur.

Hanging out around Rome for several days, we visited the WWII invasion site and the American cemetery at Anzio, Hadrian’s villa (WHS # 77) of Scotland’s Hadrian’s Wall fame http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/901_Hadrians_Villa.html , Villa d’Estes and the Tivoli gardens (WHS #78) http://www.gardenvisit.com/ge/dest.htm , San Gimignano (WHS #79) http://www.castellitoscani.com/sgimignano.htm and spent a day at the Vatican (WHS). Whew, we need a vacation! It had been 4 decades (Yikes!) since I had last been so I was seriously due to return. It was fantastic to see the Sistine chapel again since it underwent a 3-year restoration.

Villa Estes and the Tivoli gardens




It was time to call it a wrap and head back to the crib. North to Bologna, crossing back into France through the massifs near Lyon, on to Bourge and home.

We pulled in after 5 weeks on the road.

Whine, whine, whine.

You would think that with all my whining last month on the subject of Italian driving skills, I would have gotten it out of my system. But noooooooo, there is much more whining to do. Having driven 9,500 kilometers during the past 5 weeks (the equivalent of driving from Los Angeles to New York and back!), most of it in Italy, I feel that I am in a position to offer an opinion. It turns out that it is one of the daily experiences that separates this trip from others in a significant way. You might detect a tad more diplomacy in my comments as we now have Italian friends who are new readers and well, as you already know, I am a sensitive millennium kind of guy.

During the past month, we have observed many drivers who have displayed their skills by:

• Riding in the front passenger seat with an infant in their lap. (An Italian airbag?)
• Pass other cars in two-way tunnels (over the double lines). 1/3 of the long and winding tunnels don’t have lights, making the experience extra exciting.
• Cut in line in front of 20 cars at a toll both. Cutting other drivers off is so prevalent here it is like a national pastime.
• Pass a dozen cars and trucks by driving down the center double line with half of their vehicle in each lane, flashing their headlights to the oncoming dozen cars and trucks to force them to ‘make way’ or get ready for a head on collision. I kid you not.
• And my personal favorite; having gotten half way across and deciding they did not want to proceed, 2 cars decided to back up….on a &#%*@ …bridge!

Parking in tow away zones is so common that we do it all the time ourselves without giving it a thought. There is a completely different mindset in Europe about parking. Rarely enforced parking regulations means that it is every man for himself (sidewalks, median strips, double and triple parking, crosswalks, etc, it’s all good!)

I said it last month and I will say it again. It’s the Wild West out here! So wild, you can still order horse meat off the restaurant menu and purchase it at the grocery store…..

Morgan Mag

A couple of months ago we got a call from the editor of local magazine called ‘Morgan Mag’. It is a bilingual quarterly publication about life in France as experienced by the English who move here from the UK. Well we have been around the block about this whole ‘English’ thing before, so I was quick to point out the obvious, which is that it is a language, not a nationality. The French here mistakenly say that we speak ‘American’, as though that was a language as opposed to a nationality. Anyways, I digress. The editor asked if she could drive up (she came from 2 hours away) to interview us regarding our experiences as Americans in Brittany and in France in general. It turned out to be a puff piece (one of those warm and fuzzy pieces as opposed to an ambush: “Go on, admit it!!! Bush lied, kids died” types of interviews) so it was a lot of fun. I was a little surprised that politics never entered the conversation, but it does not seem that it is that kind of publication.

Speaking of politics, I have been told that the majority of the French do not have a positive view of Americans. I don’t doubt that there are strong feelings about America’s more recent foreign policy forays and I surely know that the general feeling in America is mutual toward France. We however, have never had an unpleasant encounter with any of the French (or Italians) that we have met.

Initially, because of my French Canadian accent, they assume that we are Canadians. I always correct them and tell them we are Americans from California. We have invited them to our home and they have invited us to theirs. I have to believe that this goes beyond simply being polite and not wanting to talk about the elephant in the room.

Admittedly, we don’t talk politics much to our French friends and when we do, they are usually complaining about their government. Of course if things got rough and it were needed, I always have the ace in the hole. I could always remind them that if it were not for America they would all be speaking German today…

To see the article (or any of the pictures) full size just double click on them.

We have visitors

In our last month here for this year we have been very fortunate to have visitors from home. Our pastor and his wife from our home church in California were in Albania doing missionary work with a sister church there. On the way home, they met friends of theirs who were already in Paris and the 4 of them took a little detour to come see us and visit Brittany. They rented bikes and went scooting all over the place during one day and toured the area with us over the next few days as the weather became rainy. We hope to see them at the Bee this summer.

Correction

Last month, I wrote that we had once visited Carlsbad Caverns in Arizona. My Friend Bob in San Diego quickly wrote back to tell me that his uncle's friend's son in law's Grandfather (!) was among the original discoverers of the cavern and that it was located in New Mexico. These are very big caverns and my only explanation for this discrepancy is either we visited the part that went all the way to Arizona or that my proofreader was sleeping on the job, again. The research, as always, was flawless. I do appreciate your feedback and corrective input though.

The Epistle, April 2007

e

Chateau Courbon

Italy or Bust! (Part 1)

As I publish this from a secure undisclosed location, we have been on the road for the past two weeks. We left Brittany on April 1 and headed for Italy for an almost 5 week vacation. Wait a minute!… I have been on vacation for 2 ½ years! OK then, we have been on a trip. Over the past several months we set up 3 home exchanges in all corners of Italy so we are traveling the length and breadth of the country. Down one side of the coast and up the other, crisscrossing as we go.

We started off at the Chateau La Roche Courbon on our way to Bordeaux, from the northwest to the southeast corner of France. Built in 1475 it was turned into a pretty respectable private residence where the older current owners occupy the third floor while we minions visit the rest of the place. On the same grounds of this privately owned chateau are Neanderthal Grottos in the cliff sides. Essentially, they are 50,000-year-old condos.

Knowing that there is so much that we could see and only so much time to see it in, we decided that a good way to start would be to peruse the list of World Heritage Sites (WHS) and see what we could find along the way. After all, these folks have an unlimited budget to see all the very best places in the world and it seemed foolhardy not to take advantage of it. Besides, we have been awed by their choices in the past, having visited 67 of them to date.

Wham-O! We struck gold. At our niece Christine’s suggestion, the next day in Bordeaux we visited two sites that are part of the Pilgrim routes of Santiago de Compostella; The Basalillica Saint Michel (who else!) and The Saint Andre Cathedral. (WHS # 68) It is just around the corner from ‘Pont de Pierre”, the stone bridge commissioned by Napoleon. The afternoon was spent up the road at the medieval fortified city of Carcassonne. (WHS # 69)

http://www.carcassonne.org/carcassonne_en.nsf/vuetitre/docpgeIntroPatrimoine

Heading south the following day, we were in “Aigue Morte”, yet another medieval fortified city on the Mediterranean and onto the “Midi Canal” (WHS #70). Driving east down the French Riviera past Antibes, we proceeded past Nice, Monaco and into Italy. Continuing down by Genoa and Pisa on the Italian Riviera, we stayed in Calci at a B&B in an olive grove where we have been offered an opportunity to return during harvest time and help. (Would that count as a job?) Moving on to Florence, we visited the “Duomo”, a many figured multi colored marble façade cathedral and the “Ponte Vecchio”, a series of gold shops situated on a bridge that crosses the river.

Naples was a disappointment to us. It is a filthy, garbage strewn, graffiti covered, overcrowded, dingy city that reminded us a lot of similar areas of Mexico. We stayed in a place that from the outside gave us the creeps, but once admitted to the inner courtyard it was a different world. It almost made us feel guilty. (Well, nobody is perfect)

As long as I am going all negative on you here, this is probably a good time to let loose on the only other aspect of Italy that did not sit well with us. We found that to date (remember, we are only half way through this trip), the drivers in the north and central Italy are the worse we have seen in any country. The drivers in the major cities of France are quite similar but here it is far more widespread. It is like they are in a permanent state of road rage and think nothing of all but running each other off the road or driving in two lanes simultaneously. It seems like signaling lane changes is illegal and they become furious when a car is in the passing lane and they come barreling down the road at well in excess of a 100 MPH and have to slow down, flashing their headlights like crazy to get them to move over. We have hardly ever seen police on the highways, no speed limits are posted and no one is ever stopped. It’s like the Wild West out here. Old style black smoke belching diesel trucks and cars are still a common sight.

We nasty non Kyoto protocol signing Americans are just put zing down the highway, doing our best to reduce our carbon footprint, hugging trees here and there to offset our share of ozone depleting emissions while these guys act like yahoos.

Driving further south past Bari on the Adriatic coast, we went south to Lecci and to our first home exchange in Santa Maria al Bagno. Everyone knows that Italy is shaped like a boot. Well, we are in the bottom of the heel. It is a gorgeous area with our bedroom window facing the Ionian Sea 150 feet away (50 meters) and the ruins of a medieval fortification seen in the photo. This is only the first home exchange for both of our families but we think we are going to love it. We are not confined to a room or two as in a B&B. We have a whole house with a large garden including a fully equipped outdoor kitchen in addition to the main kitchen in the house.

The second day here was Good Friday, so we went to Galipoli to see the Easter procession. Wow! What an event. It lasts from 6PM till dawn with hundreds of men in traditional robes reenacting Christ’s death march, many carrying large heavy floats representing the Stations of the Cross, very slowly and silently through the town streets. This is a serious Catholic stronghold with many people doing the sign of the cross as they walk by a church.

The family we exchanged this home with has been around with home cooked meals and local pastries. They also had us spend a day at Easter with their family nearby. (Their principal residence is 20 minutes away) You may wonder what on earth there is to see in this outer Mongolia part of Italy but it is quite prosperous and very Italian in the sense that we have barely squeezed but a few words of English out of anyone anywhere. The area reminds me of what I think Greece will look like.

We have been here for 10 days so among our day trips we took the time to go to Bari. Six months ago, I had contacted the Canadian Department of Veteran Affairs to ask for my father’s military records (my father was Canadian) so I could try to find specific information about his war service in Bari as a radar repairman. They told me they would get right on it and hoped to have the information to me by April 2008, a full year after I would return from this trip. Gee, thanks.

So I was on my own. We went to the military airbase in Bari but so much has changed over 60 years and so much of what was going on was temporary and scattered all over the area that it was impossible to pinpoint where he had been exactly. Nevertheless, we took in the area to try to get a flavor of what he would have seen. For one thing we could just make out the Albanian coastline from the top of the hill. I also wondered if he took the time on days off to visit anyone of the three World Heritage sights within spitting distance Of Bari. We sure did.

The first was Sassi di Madera, (WHS # 71). It is “the most outstanding, intact example of a troglodyte settlement…the first inhabited zone dates from the Palaeolithic period”. Simply put, it is an entire community built in dug out caves on a hillside. In 1952 the government evicted the last 15,000 people still living in them because of sanitary conditions. By the way, it was here that Mel Gibson’s recent film “The Passion of the Christ” was shot.

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1316817003036367367jSvKHS

The second was the Trulli di Alberobello (WHS # 72). These are homes or storage buildings that are round with gray, stone, cone shaped roofs. (And you thought our Dome was weird!) They are common in the immediate area but found nowhere else in the world. We actually have one in the yard of the home we are in here.

http://www.geocities.com/trullihouses/

The third was Castel del Monte (WHS # 73). Built in 1240 by Frederick II as a hunting lodge shortly before he was excommunicated. He was the big dog in the area until one army or another took all his toys away.

http://www.passcal.nmt.edu/~bob/passcal/catscan/catscan22.htm

Other notable sites were the Grottoes of Castellana. Quite impressive really, they were in the same category as ‘Mammoth Caves’ in Kentucky or ‘Carlsbad Caverns’ in Arizona. It had a couple of underground chambers that were larger than a football field and up to 150 feet high (50 meters). Very cool.

Next, we head for the mountains of Cosenza (just above Sicily)

To be continued….

Blacksmithing 2.0

You might have thought I was exaggerating a few months ago when I told you that our village blacksmith’s forge was like the set out of a horror movie or a torture chamber so I have decided to let you judge for yourself. (double click on any of the photos for a real good view)I have been futzing around with my forging lessons a few hours here and there for the past couple of months now and ---ok, I am no speed demon. I was asking my blacksmithing ‘teacher’ if he thought I would ever finish my project and he said “Of course you will! It will be done in 07”.

Wondering if he really thought it would take me a whole year to finish it, he turned and I heard him quietly mutter under his breath “3007”. Well, I am here to tell you that a full 999 years ahead of schedule, I am done. These were the elaborate door ‘hinges’ I had set out to forge for our main entry door at the Island. They are not actually hinges as we typically think of them but the decorative scrollwork that would be attached to them to support the heavy door. [Pics to be seen in June 07 Epistle when they are installed at the Bee] The boss was quite pleased with the outcome, so she has gone on a forging binge assigning me a number of projects for items both here and at Honey Bee.

Last May before we left, I wrote about commissioning our fireplace implements from our Blacksmith. I told him in no uncertain terms that we wanted serious tools and didn’t want ‘girly man’ equipment. Every inch of it would need to be forged and that the deadline was December 1, 2006 when we arrived. He agreed.

We arrived as planned and he had the andirons ‘almost’ finished while the tools, spark shield and wood rack had yet to be started.

The fireplace tool set will not be finished until we return next December. The one thing I have learned from the French is that if they agree to a drop dead, cast in concrete, draw a line in the dirt, no if’s-and’s- or but’s deadline, the one thing you can be absolutely sure of is that it won’t be ready on time. The work though, speaks for itself. The andirons alone are 114 pounds of steel and would make a medieval fireplace proud. You can just feel the testosterone flying about the room when you have a roaring fire going. The picture is a little deceiving because the fireplace opening is 4 X 4 feet.

Knowing just enough to be dangerous but not nearly enough to be any good, I have decided to skip the required 40 years experience needed to master the art of blacksmithing and go straight to the advanced course. I was recently introduced to a young guy who is a graduate of the school of “Ferronnier d’Art”(Artistic blacksmithing). My older instructor is certainly an artist but he has primarily worked on farm equipment and big pieces like entry gates and window grates. My younger teacher had a studio set up for ‘artsy-fartsy’ forging. These are true art studio pieces that have been forged. This should be very interesting…. We meet when we were referred to him as the ‘go-to-guy’ to have a forged entry lighting fixture commissioned for the house. As we cannot have any garden art like in California, this is a one of a kind piece that he will make over the next 7 months for our entry. It is, well, ‘oh-so-French’. Photo to be available in December 07 Epistle.

Construction updates

I have not mentioned anything about projects for some time and I thought I would bring you up to date. I have been puttering out in the garage and our terrace because the weather has been so mild. First on the agenda was re finishing the cement block walls [inside and outside the garage] with a hand troweled mortar coating. Next was installing a new door from the garage to the courtyard. After was punching through the garage block wall, where I turned the Sauna to face the courtyard so that when we are sitting in it, our view is of the deck and the gorgeous church square. I installed an electrically retracted security door to roll down in front of it when not in use. Then, I sealed the smooth finished cement wall for Janice to paint a “trompe-l’oeil” as seen in the accompanied photo. [Check out the traditional saints niche above the arbor] Next, I re-pointed the stone wall, built the arbor, installed the trellis and decked the area in Brazilian Ipe hardwood complete with deck mounted lights and a recessed planter box for a typically French crossed willow planting. Once done, I was assigned to lay floor tile in our second bathroom. I am now ready to get back to work on our Master bedroom / bathroom in the attic. We hope to have it ready so that upon our return next December we can have it carpeted and move in the new furniture.

Last winter I bored you to tears with the endless drama regarding the construction of our stone fireplace. We had our inaugural baptism of fire just before we left when we got a call from our neighbor next door telling us that there was smoke in his attic (we had some too) Seems that there were tiny cracks in the chimney wall in the upper reaches that allowed the smoke to permeate through the walls. To our horror and my utter shame, we now had a beautiful fireplace that I had spent months hand cutting the stone for but could not have a fire in. We decided to deal with it upon our return in December.

When we arrived, I immediately built a metal funnel to put above the trap, connected it to a stainless steel flue to contain the smoke. The good news was that there was no more smoke in our attics. The bad news was that the chimney no longer drew properly and we now had smoke all through the house.

Having gone this far we decided to have a wind driven smoke extractor (you know the kind that spin with the breeze) installed. It didn’t work either. By now you should know that the saga had a happy ending or I wouldn’t be telling you about it.

The last straw was to have an electric smoke extractor installed and it worked like a champ. It is just like the one over your cook top only this is the big daddy commercial version designed to operate with the high temperatures emitting from a fireplace. Proof positive that if you persist (and throw enough money at a problem) you can usually succeed.

Little Christopher

Our little guy is still in hospital and mom, Amy, and dad, Vance, are relaying to be with him. Brother Wes has arrived in the nick of time and is taking over their guest cabin and keeping up with sisters and brother Alex while mom and dad are spending their time with hospital staff learning how to correctly take care of Christopher’s trach etc. As soon as 24 hour nursing staff signs up for home care, they all will head home at last. So far, one nurse is ready to show up, more are needed. This is surely a time of faith, hope and prayers all around for the Lindor family. Little Madeline sums it all up “ I am glad God gave baby Christopher to our family”, what a 5 year old wonder. We keep faithful that Christopher will not need his feeding tube indefinitely, but will be busy growing out of this need, as well as the tracheotomy. God is able and thank you so for all of your heart-felt prayers for the whole family.