Around the world....

having travelled around the sun for  four decades, hopefully we get smarter, clearer and sparkly

 i have realised a few things this last year 'round....

• i like being on an adventure
• being scared does not mean give up
• only doing one thing at a time is ok
• paying attention to the little things makes the world slow downand one feel younger
• blooming is a slow process, can't you smell the fragrance of joy
• cloud gazing with a child is one of the best things to do, ever
• faces are wonderful
• looking into the faces of those you love feels like home
• there is not enough glitter and sparkles in the world
• i am an artist
• i am free
• i am blessed
• i am loved
• i can twirl
• simple stuff makes for an interesting life
• sleep is goooooood

see you in the on going spin cycle......

sparkle & twirl*

ps. still feeling jet lagging in my brain, better posts & more photos to come

Paris....

Time to say goodbye to Paris & France.

We are on our way back home.

Know that there will be a lot more here about France and our adventures.

Thanks for your interest and comments.

*sparkle & twirl

around the world

Shout it from the rooftops....

“May you always have walls for the winds,

 a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, 

laughter to cheer you, those you love near you 

and all your heart might desire.”

 ~Irish Blessing

 I have this collection of photos.

I have showed you walls, doors, windows, so here are the rooftops.

The style of ones roof is wide and varied in the south west of France.

It is impossible not to notice them.

They are steep, pointy, terracotta, mossy, wonky and interesting.

 The higher in the mountains you get the steeper the roofline.

People have adapted to the snow, and for a person who has not lived with snow, it is is fascinating.

 Here the roof protects the road. Grass grows on the roof. 

Water flows down the mountain. The cold freezes icicles along the edges.

Super cool!

 Old weathered building & roof, captivates my imagination.

How many cars get fixed here?

 The view from the roof, spectacular.

 "How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home. "

 ~William Faulkner

 Shades of red, brown, tan & terracotta.

 Dome roof love.

 Roof with bubbles.

Urban roofline. 

"for a long time...maybe I felt inauthentic or something, I felt like my voice wasn't worth hearing, and I think everyone's voice is worth hearing. So if you've got something to say, say it from the rooftops."

 ~Tom Hiddleston

 Basic black.

Neat & guttered.

 “Mine was the twilight and the morning.

 Mine was a world of rooftops and love songs.” 

― Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy

 “I'm good at exploring roofs. 

You never know when that kind of thing comes in useful.” 

― Enid Blyton, The Rubadub Mystery

The right side sunken & wonky.

Pointy & religious.

A journey through some rooftops i captured along the way.

They are more like the roofs i imagine in fairytales. 

Villages alive with stories. Lived and waiting to be made up.....

sparkle & twirl*

Life is in the details....

When you walk around do you look where you are walking?

 In France you learn to look down.

Not only for the bombs the dogs leave,
but to steady your footing on 500year old walkways.

We were setting off for 4 days in the mountains,

 when we could not understand why it smelled like there was a dog bomb in the car.

Miss 6 had been bombed. 

Her new hiking boot, 

you know the ones with all the grooves for good grip and solid footing,

 had a fresh one imbedded.

Merde....

My job was to find a way to not take this unpleasantness with us.

Resourceful as any mother is, i worked it out. 

Not a great memory. Now shared with you.

 Our journey is intricate, coloured with all the wonderful as well as, some challenges.

The trick is to live in the moment.

I have found by being in the moment and seeking out ordinary beauty,

 i cope with all sorts of situations much better.

 The flowers here are mostly gone. All the public spaces have been cleared.

To find some remaining blooms reminds me the northern hemisphere is going into winter.
It might be time to return home.

They really look after the animal people in this country. 

 Stone is enduring. While everything else has an impermanence to it.

There are no more strawberries left at the markets.

It is one of the nice things here that everything has a season. 

We went to a country MacDo (pronounced doe), as they call it here.

 We ordered these ......  Royal with cheese.

 Then had the whole Pulp Fiction conversation about said burger.

Classic for anyone who was in their 20's in the '90's. 

It was on tv this week, of course, 

and French husband said much of the dialogue does not translate. 

We missed the Royale conversation. 

You can watch it here if you want.

Its the little differences.

 As we meander through the the differences, we have slowed down.

There is no hurry.

There is life to observe, beauty to invest in and moments to savour.

 Their old is my new.

We just don't have the same way of looking at things.

I love this cup it reminds me of hydrangea flowers. 

I am in love with the wild flowers and weeds on the roadsides. 

But when i look up,
the differences in the kinds of details capture my imagination.

Who lives here? 

 The glass above the doorway in the chapel in Lourdes.

Crowds poured through the doors in  both directions. 

I did not see anyone look up.

Did anyone but me see this gorgeous archway?

 The colour in these window is totally divine.

Each one a little bit different from its neighbour.

And finally i saw this.

Who is she?

What a great name for a character in a book.

Oh, she is the main character in a book.

Another name for Mother Mary, the mystical rose.

I did not know this. I love that i do now.

sparkle twirl into the details of your life

and may you notice a mystical rose or someone in your life.....

*

Magic Mountains....

Ever been to the Pyrenees?

We went this weekend and it was wonderful.

Now where we live we have hills but no mountains we have to drive for a whole day to get to mountains in Australia. Here 90minutes and there they were. 

Today we returned to our city apartment and this is what we saw on the way home.....

 "All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost."

~JRR Tolkien

 We drove up a well know track called the Col du Tormalet.

Remember my crush from 2010.

We are big fans of the Tour de France. This is a popular leg of the race. It is ridiculously steep in the car. We have a new appreciation for how mental the race is. Watching old footage the roads were mere goat tracks and when the cyclists fell down the cliffs they were hoisted up by ropes. Crazy stuff.

The ravine down to the river bed is vertical for a long stretch with only short rock walls for protections. 

We didn't get all the way to the top as snow fall had closed the roads this weekend there.

We drove for 2hours around the mountain to the other side to Pic du Midi. 

 This was our first time seeing snow, ice or frost. This autumn the mountains were capped by it. 

In the summer they are quite brown and in winter the whole area is snowed in. Skiing is big here.

We were excited to find a little bit. Disappointed we didn't get to go up further to jump in it.

There was enough for an Aussie family to sing like the VonTrapps and play till our gloves were wet and hands got cold.

 We wound our way around the mountains.

Around every bend a vista to make you shout "BEAUTIFUL" or laugh that it is so ridiculously spectacular.

 Then we came to Lac de Payolle.

It was a little piece of heaven on earth.

The afternoon was clear and if music had piped down from the sky i could have thought we had died.

 The forests were dense and a shade of green i have only seen in a tube of paint.

The cows were doing what cows do as light streams down on them.
They were very fluffy.
Obviously due to the extreme conditions they have to endure in the winter months.
One had a bell that clanged as it avoided excited tourists and little kids.

 This horse was so gorgeous i thought it was going to grow a horn and magic us into a land of unicorns and forest sprites. The cabins around are for rent and this is a place that would be great to stop and visit for a short perfect while.

 As you travel around the weather changes rapidly.

As you ascend and get closer to the clouds the majesty descends upon you like a royal cape.

Make sure you bring one, with a beanie and scarf. 

 The Cirque de Garvanie is an amazing rock face
with frozen waterfalls and glaciers solid from last year.

 People do live here. 

 Autumn makes the contrast of the white more vivid.

"Delicious autumn! 

My very soul is wedded to it, 

and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

~George Eliot

 The water falls, gravity is visible here.
It is a force which requires a lot of attention and maintenance.
Its colour & power truly does move mountains, just one rock at a time.

 Love this use of colour in a place where for a while there is none.

 Today we had plenty of colour and fresh air.

May your day sparkle & do a twirl cause you can.

*