St. Florent, Corsica
June23, 2022
After leaving Corsica, we flew to Toulouse and then drove east to the Montagne Noire which is just north of Carcassonne. Labastide Esparbaïrenque has a population of about 40 residents. There are about 70 homes, many are vacant.
Carter and I are in-residence with a group of creatives at La Muse. (June 21-July 05)
Photos of the small village. Wherever you go—it's either a steep climb up or down.
My project is to fill this accordion book with images of the village—let's see what happens! I have no preconceived ideas, I'm out walking the streets, talking to residents, waiting for the grocery tuck, and today the pattisserie truck at 11:00 am.
June 24, 2022
More about La Muse
We have a room with a view
A great kitchen with an induction stove
A beautiful terrace where we gather for dinner
All-in-all, it's an inviting and inspiring landscape
I have a start on my book...more images to come.
Suspended in Time July 1
Pizza Night at La Muse
Alain Brichau, heads up La Muse, he hasn't used the pizza oven yet. So, after watching a few videos, Carter embarks on a new project.
JULY 1: After a month of travels we're driving down the mountain into the vineyards of Menervois, and then south to Cabardès. Here are a few final sketches done at La Muse.
July 12 Lagrasse, just east of Carcassonne
Lagrasse has a beautiful market on Saturday mornings. We're eating well—a simple goat cheese salad is our favorite. We're done with the charcuterie, and saucisson.
We stayed for 5 days in Lagrasse. A friend of ours, Alan Brichau organized an incredible outdoor International Piano Festival. This is the 10th year.
We stayed a Chateau Cicero, and with the summer temperatures in the low 90's, in between the concerts we cooled off in the pool. Here are a few photos of Lagrasse.
I finished my accordion book while we toured the vineyards of Minervois and Corbières. Then we drove south west to the Pyrénées.
We walked 45 minutes to St. Martin du Canigou. It's called the abbey in the sky...the architecture and simplicity is so impressive.
The abbey of Saint-Martin-du-Canigou is a monastery built in 1009 in the Pyrenees of Northern Catalonia on Canigou mountain in present-day southern France near the Spanish border.
After a full day, we enjoyed garden vegetables from our hosts, Catherine and Pradraig. We normally rent apartments on booking and luckily this one was air conditioned.
July 22: The Open Road—we had to return our rental car, so we decided to stay in Toulouse for a week.
Toulouse is capital of France’s southern Occitanie region, is bisected by the Garonne River and sits near the Spanish border. It’s known as La Ville Rose (‘The Pink City’) due to the terra-cotta bricks used in many of its buildings. Its 17th-century Canal du Midi links the Garonne to the Mediterranean Sea, and can be traveled by boat, bike or on foot.
A view from our hotel.
Really great food, the whole city is like one big outdoor café.
Anchovies!
Pork slices with baked couscous on a bed of peas. And the regional dish—cassoulet. Duck, sausage, and beans.
Shopping for paper, and fall fashions at the market.
On to Paris next...
Late July, 2022
We took a day trip to Fountainbleau.
It was built by French royalty, with parts dating back to the 1100s, the palace houses Marie Antoinette’s Turkish boudoir, the Napoleon Museum and a lavish theater. Its formal gardens feature ornamental lakes and sculptures.
In the afternoon we went to the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte which is a magnificent example of Baroque French architecture. It is now in private hands and opened to the public.
Sunset looking from L'ile de St. Louis. Lin the evening, Parisians head to the Seine to cool off.
A day at the Louis Vuitton Foundation. The exhibition featured the work of Simon Hantaï. We ate at the "Frank" restaurant with the fish above us. We thought about our first introduction to Frank Gehry's work. He designed the Weisman Art Museum just above the Mississippi River in Minneapolis in 1983.
Galerie Vivienne and lunch at the Grand Colbert near the Bourse.
We stayed for 9 days at Hotel de Lutèce, on L'ile de St. Louis.
August 3, 2022
Today we took the RER B to Citizen M Hotel at Charles De Gaulle Airport. After more than 2 years of 'sheltering', this nine week journey has been inspiring and rejuvenating. We're ready to be home and back to our garden.