A Pinay in Europe

TREES

“I THINK that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me….”

Joyce Kilmer. 1886–1918

This tree was always the source of our delight everytime we went walking along this footpath by the river.  Its thick branches would be so heavy with leaves, drooping, almost kissing the river flowing next to it.

But alas, we saw it one day being fell down, one branch at a time.  It’s devastating.  This tree must have been standing there for at least some thirty years, giving joy to every passer-by, and shelter to hundreds of migratory birds.

But for just a couple of hours, it would be gone, forever, chopped down without mercy.

“…….But only God can make a tree.”

Ollainville, Ile-de-France

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I’m back in Ile-de-France after a short respite in the hinterlands of the French Riviera and what a better way to start the day than to tag along with H on his trip to the dentist in Arpajon and while he sat on the dentist’s chair, I was doing a quick tour of the town which is particularly sleepy at 3 in the afternoon.

The streets are normally quiet except for few locals going about their daily routine.

The meat shop (boucherie) staff have put up the chicken in the rotisserie to be snapped up later in the day.

Gourmet cakes displayed at patisserie windows, perfect for Fridays soirees between friends and families.

Town cleaners tidying up the market hall after the Friday market vendors have packed up their produce and went home, leaving behind their left overs and, of course, rubbish.

This man, and his opponent (not seen), playing boules in the park at 100 Grand Rue

The three audience pensively watching the boule players, against the backdrop of art objects which are actually the creation of Arpajon schoolchildren and have been displayed here as part of the project, ‘L’Enfance de l’Art (Children of Art).

One of the children’s art display at the park

Staff of the town’s Art and Culture Section preparing an exhibition of some sort.

And the best way to spend the mid-day afternoon:  Siesta!
At the gardens of Villa La Source

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It’s the Vide Grenier season again and what a thrilling way to spend our sacred Sundays than to explore towns and villages and at the same time window-shop for grandmotherly articles, not necessarily to buy them but to photograph them for my vintage collection.

Yes, every Sunday and special days, a vide grenier is held even in remotest places. The things you can find here will most likely last for another hundred years - for just pennies - than the brand new ones you buy in shops, Made in China, which will eventually end up in rubbish bins in a week or two simply because they are made of cheap materials that wobble when assembled.

One of my favorite photographic subject is this facade of a building attached to the church of Saint-Clement.  The sign says “School of Jeanne d’Arc”.

The hanging plant display of the Mairie (town hall)

Arpajon is always popular among vide grenier enthusiasts. 

What a fun way of disposing one’s tired objects.  I am curious about that bowl with several legs!  And the glass horse in blue is awesome!

I saw a similar “globe on a stand” in the Palace of Versailles, I didn’t realize it is also a bar when opened! 

 Must be a 1950’s scooter.  A bit of tinkering and servicing could attract those vintage collectors.

A painting of museum quality, all of one euro!

A Euro each: for the hat which is definitely a must-have this summer; and for the mannekin jewellery holder.

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While everyone dislikes going to the laverie (laundromat), I, on the contrary, looks forward to it not as a domestic chore but as a guise to discovering new towns. 

Every other week, we do a sort of laundromat-hopping activity as the 40minute wait while the clothes are washing is wisely used sightseeing rather than sitting and staring at the rotating machine.

Last Saturday, we chose the big city of Dourdan.  A 1oth century chateau, a 13th century cathedral, a wooden marketplace, medieval ramparts, it’s like a French town taken out of a historical film featuring a king and his knights!

Approaching Dourdan, you get a grandiose view of the Church of St Germain d’Auxerre

A typical house in Dourdan is huge, although this one now belongs to a bank

Before our trip to the laundromat, we decided to treat ourselves with lunch.  This bar-restaurant is full so we had to wait at the bar and, naturally, ordered some red wine.

After waiting for half an hour, we finally got a table. 

We helped ourselves with the entrèe (appetizer) buffet which is included in the 3-course meal of 12.50euros

For the plat principal (main dish) we ordered steak and fries. The steak is sooo good but surprisingly cheap. The waiter says they buy their stock in Rungis, the biggest meat and fresh market in France.

What a warm ambience!

While our clothes are getting washed in the laundromat, we went for our walk.  This is the medieval rampart of the town situated in Avenue des Allies

Cherry blossoms peeking out through the ramparts

A roof garden with its box of daffodils

There was an exhibition going on and we had the chance to vote for the sculpture and painting we like.  These two, the sitting girl and the impressionist painting were our favorites.

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“Vide Grenier” in French literally translates to “Empty the Attic”. It is the same as ”flea market” in English and is normally held on Sundays or public holidays. For many, it is one good reason for a Sunday out and to be amongst the crowd, for the others, it’s a way of finding collectables and basic items at bargain prices. Today, we went to our first Vide Grenier of the year, held in our local car park. We are lucky with the weather as it has been raining the past few days but it was freezing cold nevertheless.

We had a fun time looking at treasure-troves and some odd and outlandish items! 

A vintage gas cooker, a collectable item!

Vintage bar chair

This copper vat is old.  It belongs to the grandmother of the seller.  It costs 150euros!  Great for cooking jams.

One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.

This could be made into a wedding dress…”something old!”

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After the photoshoot in Sermaise, I wanted to put my new P&S into more tests.

For Motion Photography, here are the shots taken from our moving car:

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The (now bare) tree-lined avenue of Le Val du Marais.  This road gets thick with foliage in the summer.

This old manor house now the seat of our region’s Conseil General

 Chateau du Marais
Le Val du Marais, Ile-de-France

Everytime we drive around this roundabout, I can’t help but notice this perfection, thanks to the town gardeners who meticulously trim the grass, pluck off the weeds and change the flower display every turn of the season.

A car barbecue? No, the wood is too long…..oh well, just pray that no traffic police is in sight

(Almost) Close-Up Photography 

My mint plant is coming out! Hurray! Soon, we would be enjoying mint tea evenings, curry meals, mint and tomato salad to accompany a meal of grilled fish, etc..

After the snowdrops, now the primroses!  I just love Spring!

Didn’t feel like cooking lunch so we went for a sandwich formule at a bar-tabac. A Formule is a combination of a bite and a drink for a reasonable price. Here, we had ham and cheese sandwich accompanied by glass of beer, all at 5.70euros

A miserable dog…

…in his miserable sweater….in a miserable winter afternoon

What are these? They are the diggings of MOLES!
These small mammals attack in the winter and early spring. They are the bane of farmers, gardeners and golf clubs because they ruin lawns and damage gardens.

Verdict on my P&S:  Very Good!

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To test my brand new Point and Shoot camera (Olympus), we went driving in the countryside today for some photoshoot. Despite the grey skies and the light drizzle, I think this camera is not bad, considering that at 79euros, it did not really break the bank!

First stop: The village of Sermaise
30 km southeast of Paris, 10 km from Versailles

Cross at the entrance of the village

The village of Sermaise

Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Side entrance to the church

A guard dog. In 1855, the first tax on dogs was voted in Sermaise. One Franc for guard dogs and 5Francs for hunting dogs.

A monument to the memory of the children of Sermaise who died for France

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