After staying at the sheep loft for four days, we had an opportunity to help on an archaeological dig in Sainte-Marie-Aux-Mines, the small town where my great grandmother was born. The building we stayed in was (I think) an old mill, and a stream of water ran past outside. It had the interesting layout of…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 12: SHEEP RODEO
We helped in a minor way with shearing the sheep while we stayed in Alsace. It’s a difficult job to restrain a wiggling sheep and shear thick wool away from its skin without hurting it, so our job was just to catch them, turn them into a sitting position (much harder than it sounds), and…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 11: Alsace
We are staying very close to the German border, among the low, rolling mountains of the Vosges. The air is much thicker here than in the alps. Tall pine trees cover the land except where it is cleared for pasture or hay, and the little houses far away look made of gingerbread. It is a…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 10 : Trains, Trains, Buses, and Trains ( En Route To Alsace)
We get on a train heading for Lyon Part Dieu at a fairly early hour, while Teenager whines that his ear buds are broken, and that I “owe him a new pair”. We are also minus a green t-shirt that was left behind in Savoie – a victim of the Teenager’s habit of strewing all…
Last Hike
Last hike in Savoie before we leave. Two dogs from the Fromagerie came along with me. I feel like I’ve left a little piece of my heart here.
The Fromagerie
The next day is cold and rainy in the morning, and it’s just me because the Teenager warned me not to wake him up early “or else”. This means the backpack is WAY lighter. I am prepared with a waterproof backpack cover and raincoat. They are still milking when I arrive, so I wait and…
Out With The Goats
A neighbor has a fromagerie where they make cheese from goat and sheep’s milk. In the past few days, several sheep and goats were killed by wolves. They have a guardian dog, but he is very young. Our host asks if we would like to go stay with the goats and sheep in the pasture…
TRAVEL JOURNAL 6: THE MAGIC HOUSE
We wake up the next morning and hear roosters crowing in the yard. I have missed animals. There are chickens, a friendly barn cat, a playful dog with beautiful ice-blue eyes, two cows, a donkey that trumpets loudly from time to time, and a draft horse. The farm here specializes in training draft animals. There…
Travel Journal 5: Escape
Morale is high when we are finally out of the clutches of the Medieval House, like being set free from a prison work camp, despite feeling simultaneously hungry and ill after the week-long bread and raw vegetables diet. Problems with railroad near Digne make it necessary to take a bus at St. Andre. The Teenager…
Travel Journal 4: The Medieval House
After a top-speed, swerving ride over a mountain, interupted by a flock of sheep, we stay somewhere in the Alps-Martimes. The house was once the home of a medieval knight and has been beautifully restored. The garden is full of raspberries and rose bushes, and there is a little white dog. At first glance it…
Travel Journal 3: The Monastary Garden
The monastery near the Roman-Gaulish ruins had a beautiful garden we explored. It was large and diverse, with large rose beds first, and tall trellises for climbing roses. There were so many lovely colors and shapes, including a violet rose. Beyond this were the most beautiful flower beds planted according to color in geometric patterns….
Travel Journal 2
The afternoon of the second day, the sun is low and after the heroic walk up to the ruins a soak in the ocean sounds appealing, so we go to the beach. It isn’t as good as the Florida beaches. There’s no sand, only rocks that slide and hurt your feet so you have to…
Toadstools And Fairy Rings 