The finale of the Fête des Lumières will begin with a Celestial Parade where “The planets and stars of the solar system meet in Lyon on December 8 at Place Kléber and parade along Cours Franklin Roosevelt all the way to the start of the fireworks display in the 6th arrondissement.” We didn’t have a clue as to what to expect but it sounded like fun, and it would end with fireworks at the Rhône river.

Coming here evolved out of several factors. We had originally planned to search out some warmer climes for the winter, but it’s not warm here. Whatever reasons we may have had for being here have been eclipsed by the serendipitous happening of the Fête des Lumières.

Together with our new French friends Nicolas and Lucie, we returned to the Fête des Lumières. The images that are projected on the buildings are filled with motion and constantly change during each performance. Some use the architecture as part of the imagery and some merely use it as a screen on which to project. The music and sounds that accompany each performance truly adds to the beauty and magic.

Last night was the first of four nights when the city is brightened up by 70 installations that create a truly magical atmosphere, and that is in addition to all of the lights in stores and on the streets. The festival is probably one of the three biggest festive gatherings in the world in terms of attendance (after the Rio Carnival and Oktoberfest in Munich) with over 3 million tourists coming to Lyon.

We have always said that our travels do not stem from a desire to leave someplace, but rather to go somewhere else. To us it is a significant difference. I think it is a corollary to the “glass half-empty or glass half-full” thing. And so it was, on 01 December, when we departed Montpellier. It had been a wonderful place to be, to make friends, to eat, and to explore the surrounding areas. We had not seen everything there was to see, but that wasn’t the goal to begin with.

With our apologies to Flat Stanley and Mister Bill. Click image below to view our story of Brioche Saint Nicolas.    

It has been overcast and chilly with some light rain over the last couple of days. One night there was a break, so I took off for a few shots of Montpellier at night before we leave 01 December.

The day started as one of the coldest mornings so far this autumn. It might have been nice to stay in bed, but it was time for another train trip, this time to Arles, just inside Provence. We walked to the station, and after a short wait standing on the cold, breezy platform beneath the Gare Saint Roch, we boarded. It felt good to be on the train. The train rocked gently between towns where people got on and off on their way to work, school, or shopping. We were going to Arles to visit ancient Roman monuments and be…

Our friends Rich and Patti drove from Barcelona, Spain to Montpellier to visit us. That meant they had a car. We ate, drank, and enjoyed each other’s company. On the third day of their visit, a road trip to the ancient medieval city of Aigues-Mortes (102 B.C.E.) was called for. This walled town dates back to the 13th century, though people lived here long before.

Long-time friends from Florida visited us in Montpellier recently. We have known Rich and Patti for far longer than I want to calculate. At our last April Fool’s party (40th wedding anniversary), they threatened to come to France and drink wine with us. To our delight, they drove in from Barcelona where they had spent a few days to do just that.

When one is able to just get in to a car and go somewhere, travel without a car can seem difficult. But today we go by train to Nîmes, northwest of Montpellier. Upon arrival, we began the day with a stroll down the beautiful, tree-lined walking avenue that took us to the Centre Ville - or town center.

Whenever I talk with friends back in the USA about living in France, curiously people most frequently inquire if the French are rude and snobby. I always reply emphatically, no. The fact is that as we travel around the world we have discovered that even though there are different cultures and customs, people are basically the same everywhere. Treat them with respect and politeness and it will be returned to you.

Of all the wonderful things that we have experienced in France, it is the people that have made this such a magical journey. In spite of the fact that my language abilities are rudimentary at best, we have been greeted with patience, assistance and, very often some English has been spoken by almost everyone we have encountered. I was always taught and subsequently verified that if you treat people how you wish to be treated and it will generally be returned in kind. It works. From the people in the restaurants where we ate regularly, who were always so cheerful…

As we took the roads out and away from Carcassonne, the massive fortress dominated the view behind us for quite a while. Even from far away the towers could be seen above the vineyards and trees until they finally disappeared from view and, for us, became a distant, wonderful memory.

The small village of Lastours is less than 10 miles outside of Carcassonne and its history dates to the Middle-Bronze Age around 1500 years BC. Its true claim to fame are four small castles each built on a large 300 m (1000 ft) high rocky ridge. The castles were built to protect the village that has been an important mining center since antiquity.

Just to the south of my birthplace in Florida is St. Augustine, the oldest European-established city in the continental United States. St. Augustine is a charming and historical city, and location of the Castillo de San Marcos, the oldest fort in the United States, whose construction began in 1672. It is a place of imagination and wonder for the young schoolboy I was when I first saw the imposing structure on the waterfront. I never imagined that a place like Carcassonne could exist.

There were a few places we couldn’t go exclusively by train. But going from Montpellier to Narbonne by train, we rented a car and drove the backroads to Carcassonne visiting several abbeys along a circuitous route through the region’s wine country. Our first stop was to the Abbaye Fontfroide, founded in 1093.

We took the tram from Montpellier to the beach today. It is off-season, and the weather was beautiful. We got off the tram not knowing where we were going. A map showed that the town Palavas-les-Flots was about 2 miles (3.4km) down the beach so we walked along the road to what we expected would be a sleepy little beach town. Along the way three guys passed by and two were wearing tutus. Huh? That should have been a clue.

Béziers is one of the oldest cities in France, dating from about 575 B.C. It was old when the Romans arrived. Its location made it a major east-west trade route through the region. Béziers suffered greatly in 1209 during the Albigensian Crusades, in which the Catholic Church exterminated the Cathar religion. The entire population of Béziers was massacred, Cathar and Catholic alike. Today within the Languedoc region, Béziers is known for two things in particular: wine and bullfighting.

“The only thing constant in life is change” ― François de La Rochefoucauld Leaving Belgium on the train, the early morning view through our window was like looking into a landscape painted by one of the old masters. The low morning light bathed the peaceful idyllic countryside. The cattle in the pasture, crops in the fields, and the small village in the distance was just as it was painted centuries ago when Belgium was one of the major centers of the art world. The direct train from Brussels to Montpellier, a distance of about 1000 km (600 mi), took about…

We walked the route to the train station and back yesterday so we would know how long it would take. The tour we were taking to the D-Day beaches, or at least a couple of them, was to meet us at 08:00, so an early departure from the B&B was essential. Our tour van arrived right on time and we were greeted warmly by our attractive, young, French guide and driver Lucille. She explained that there were two other stops in town to pick up the remaining five people that would be joining us. Once on our way, Lucille told…

It was a long day getting to Bayeux from Rennes. It was made longer because we were leaving a place where we had only started to get harmonized with the pace of life and our surroundings. The rhythms of our life were beginning to get comfortable, and we left. The train ride was good, going along comfortably through the countryside ‘til we arrived in Bayeux. Founded as a Gallo-Roman settlement in the 1st century BC and home of the famous tapestry commemorating the battle of Hastings in 1066, Bayeux was also the first city of the Battle of Normandy (D-Day)…

Once again we woke to a foggy morning, but by the time we finished the fresh coffee with our breakfast, the fog had lifted and we had to say our goodbyes to Stang Korvann and Bryan and Jilly. While it had been a wonderful experience, we had a 4:00pm train to catch in Quimper. After packing the car and getting our directions, we first set off for Concarneau before we went to Quimper. Concarneau is France’s third most important fishing port, and a town with a fortified island, the medieval Ville Close, in the center of the harbor. Thursdays are…

Morning came with a fog that surrounded the trees and buildings in an ethereal haze. It made for a slightly later departure which allowed us to linger over our breakfast a little longer. Bryan offered to prepare eggs and we enjoyed the delights of the region. Fresh eggs, croissants, butter, homemade comfitures, fruits, and good coffee would fill us until lunch. Checking with our hosts on the best routes, today we were driving to Huelgoat to hike in the woods on paths along a stream strewn with massive boulders. Again, the roads took us through fields of corn and pastures…

I left the window open a crack when we turned in. So as the morning light crept in to wake us there was a chill in the air. Not getting up wasn’t an option, but the big, warm bed was so comfortable. Yet, the day called with new adventure. We had planned to drive to the coast, to Crozon, and then from there were many places to see all within relatively short distances. We had a delicious breakfast with fruits, muesli, yoghurt, coffee, and fresh croissants topped with some of Jilly’s homemade confitures (jams). Bryan offered to make us eggs…

As we close in on our final days in Rennes, we felt drawn to explore more of Brittany (French: Bretagne; and Breton: Breizh). Bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Bay of Biscay to the south it is an ancient land. The region has a strong Celtic heritage that sets it apart from the rest of France. Celtic traditions are alive or recalled today in Breton folk music, its Celtic festivals, and its many prehistoric monuments. And yet Bretagne itself is very diverse. We wanted to have…

Home Alone - Jeannie This weekend featured an air show outside of Rennes. Chris had been looking forward to it and we planned to attend on Sunday as it was to begin in the morning and we thought it would be less crowded. On Saturday we walked around the town hall looking an exhibit of photos from the time of the liberation of Rennes 70 years ago. Happy yet difficult times. As we strolled through the town, we first heard the roar and then saw several jets swoop across the sky, leaving blue, white, and red trails. We caught a…

We traveled to Mont Saint Michel by bus to Beauvoir, a small village near to the Mont. We were greeted warmly by our hosts, two British expats They spoke English. We had lots of great conversations and discussions. The downside? We didn’t work on speaking French. Even at Mont Saint Michel, since it is a major international tourist destination, everyone seems to speak multiple languages with ease.

Being here long-term and adapting to French culture doesn’t preclude our being tourists - far from it. Anyway, we had to do the tourist thing and journey to Fougères, to visit the Château de Fougères (literally, Castle of Ferns), one of the best preserved fortified medieval castles in Europe. Begun in the 10th century as a wooden fort at a location protected by high palisades on a rocky outcrop in a basin of the River Nançon, it wasn’t until two centuries later that the massive fortress emerged as a formidable stronghold.

Even though we study and learn new words and phrases, they seem to drop out of our brains as quickly as water through a sieve. Actually, the ones that don’t drop out of our brains we carefully line them up, analyze their position, gender, tense, and potential pronunciation. Then we open our mouths and what comes out is unintelligible gibberish.

Bécherel, Brittany's booktown, with 750 residents, one bakery and 15 booksellers was the destination of our Sunday adventure. The locally famous book fair was being held and it was sure to be an interesting metro and bus trip out to this small village; in spite of the fact that the books would all be in French, maybe they would have pictures.

Our daily life moves in slow motion for me. I laze in bed each morning with a cup of coffee, reading e-news, checking posts from friends via email and FB. Long walks every day, daylight lasting much later into the evenings, and window shutters that provide total blackout in the apartment, all contribute to later awakening. Now if we could only hush the sounds of late night revelers; guess I need to try some earplugs. Some days we don’t leave the apartment till late morning. Chris is usually busy with his photos and writing for the blog (my excuse is…

On a walk past an elementary school playground ... this is an audio post. We hope it makes you smile.

Not the hairstyle, but in this case, our description of the way that a pâtisserie or boulangerie will twist the ends of the small bag that contains another French twist, the croissant. Of course, a fresh croissant is so flaky and light that crispy bits will end up all over the table and/or your lap.

I hope you don’t mind if I write a bit more about food. The markets are spectacular, with such variety of color, texture and aroma. But making an actual purchase can be a bit daunting. For instance, in French, how do you ask for a certain quantity of something? It’s easy to point to the food item desired and hold up some fingers, but quite another to really know how much to ask for. But we’re learning.

Life without a car has, so far, been easy. Local trips have logically been on foot, covering 5-8 miles (8-12km) per day. That doesn’t include any transport on the Rennes Metro or bus system which we try and use daily. Beyond Rennes, it is the train. If you have to get older, and considering the option, it’s not so bad if you take advantage of discounts.

It’s been a long time since Chris and I set up household in a new place. How quickly one forgets all the little details, and working in a different language adds a whole new dimension.

Although "cacophonous" and "plethora" are considered somewhat pejorative terms, teaming them up with “delightfully” truly makes the description adequate. Rennes Saturday market is the second largest in France, with over 300 producers with their stands. There is food everywhere. There are people everywhere. It is gastronomic overload! It was great. Enjoy the photos.

When we arrived in France we weren’t alone. I am not speaking in figurative terms, I know that all the good wishes of friends, family, and colleagues are with us on this adventure. But on our arrival, we had friends already visiting in Rennes, and the next day family (my brother Mike, his wife Kathy as well as her son and his girlfriend) arrived. We had such a wonderful time with them all, together and separately. But, today will be the first time we will be on our own. We have waved goodbye to the last of our visitors.

Nothing has been routine for a long time. From the time we launched our lives into this sea of unknowns, things just haven’t been the same. Habits have been broken, patterns disrupted, and things taken for granted have disappeared. Now that we have settled in one place for a time, we are subtly looking for some organization in our lives.

As transatlantic flights go, it was a good flight, long, with little sleep. The arrival in Paris was also uneventful. Well, let me rephrase that, as I don’t think that “arrival in Paris” should ever be paired with “uneventful.” The arrival involved no bureaucratic issues. But as our bodies said that it was 12:30AM (6:30AM Paris) the brains were a bit foggy. The train to Rennes took about 2 hours and the morning countryside was stunningly beautiful, what little we saw of it between naps.

When we first selected Montpellier as the starting point for our nomadic life, I assumed we would likely see it after we’d sold our house, put things in storage, and booked our one way ticket. But then Chris suggested that we should probably check it out just to get a taste of life there, to determine if it would work for us. Having just returned from 10 days in an apartment there, our decision is a resounding Yes!

"It’s easy to get the feeling that you know the language just because when you order a beer they don’t bring you oysters…” Julia Childs