Why Frenchwomen Don't Get Fat (Really)

Number one reason:stairs

There are many explanations about why Frenchwomen don't get fat but after spending a month in rural France, I have some of my own ideas. The number one reason is stairs. Over the last 4 weeks, I have been averaging 7 flights a day. At home, I take the elevator to my third floor apartment. 

lots of walking paths  (with benches to rest)

I really enjoy walking for a while and then sitting on a bench to enjoy my surroundings or to read.

There is a lot of work being done to promote the enjoyment of the natural setting of the Loire River. Benches, lounges and tables are located at regular intervals. 

I've been stopping at the tabac (newsstand) to buy a French newspaper or magazine.

In France, I have been enjoying the fresh fruit from the Saturday market. Each of my days begins with 

slice of fresh melon. The fruits and vegetables from the market taste so flavourful. I'm wondering how to enjoy better quality produce at home.

I love the Satuday market.

The French like to label. Real estate listings include graphics showing energy costs and CO2 emissions.

Food has labels indicating nutritional values.

My tuna salad and Bio bread are A rating and my ham is  C.

 

I bought this San Pellegrino drink but it is an E rating. I have not drunk it.

It seems to me that although there are pastries at the boulangerie and a menu formule includes three courses (entrée, plat and dessert), portions in France are smaller than in North America. 

I have only a few days left in La Charité before taking the train back to Paris. There are rail strikes in France and UK right now so plans need to be changed constantly. I've a couple of days in Paris before I meet daughter in London. She's bringing me a size smaller pair of jeans. Those stairs must be working!

Pourquoi? Why Stay in La Charité?

Raison #1: I love the river.

I have never enjoyed a river as much as I have enjoyed the Loire River. I often walk across this bridge to reach a small island. There is almost no car traffic on the island but there are paths to walk and cycle, benches on which to sit and read while looking across at the town, stone houses with gardens and a restaurant with a terrace and a friendly dog. Yes, the dog belongs to the restaurant.

She watches the restaurant patrons but she doesn't beg. Tilde could learn from her.

My second reason for choosing La Charité is its size. It's a small town with a rich history. The ramparts, priory and chateau form a backdrop for modern small town life. As the population is just under 5,000

people and September is back to school and work time, tourists are few. Many shops are closed Monday and Tuesday and almost all shutter for a 2 hour pause mid-day. Restaurants will not serve before noon or after 2:00. They open again (sometimes) at 7:00pm. There are community-based activities. I have visited two brocants that have supported the Lions children's programme and a church refugee fund. Vintage linens, housewares, books....I wish I had a bigger suitcase.

A brocant in La Charité is like a treasure chest of French collectables

 And then (raison #3), there are the mots (words) painted on walls under windows, over doors, everywhere you look.

You are forced (if you read French) to pause, read and think. Something that I enjoy doing. 

Perhaps, for today, I should let the walls have the last word.

 

Bienvenue à Mon Aventure

I am in France but Tilde is not.

After a long blog sabbatical, mostly caused by the disappearance of my earlier works, I have decided to resume my efforts.  Naming the blog is important. I have tried "Home and Away" and "Wondering and Wandering" but it seems that there are too many variations of these words on the Internet.

So, as I lay in my cozy bed in the French town of La Charité-sur-Loire, my mind would not stop. What name would be unique to moi? Surely, there can only be one dachshund named Tilde and I always spell the familiar maternal title "mum." I am also the mum of a darling daughter who will soon be travelling with me but she's quite private.

my bed in La Maison des Mots, boarding house and B and B in La Charité

Everyone who knows me, knows that I am a reader, a dreamer and a traveller. Not so much a tourist

as a person who likes to "borrow other people's lives." I'm greedy for experiences. My "real life"

is enriched by books, films and travel.

I love to visit France

France is my special destination. J'adore everything French:the language, the food, the style...and on it goes. During Covid, I worried that I might never get a chance to visit again. I turned 70 this year. What if I wasn't strong enough to navigate cobblestones and train stations? What if? What if?

I mentioned that I like to vicariously enjoy different lives. Well, during Covid, I began to visit Instagram.

Who can resist crazy dachshund dogs (not as cute as Tilde), French décor (lavender. faiënce and candles),

or gardens?

My mantel in France houses books that I have read and  bottle of Domaine La Petite Forge that I purchased on a personal visit to a winery.

Over a year ago, Meta (with its omniscient algorithm) suggested that I might visit #maison-des-mots. Barbarajo, a former Vancouver bookseller, had renovated a house in the French town of La Charité-sur-Loire. I already owned one of her cookbooks Cooking for Me, and SometimesYou. More investigation

She had a garden, two libraries and a cat called Minette. My husband is allergic so we have no cat. Quel bonheur! I sent my deposit immediately. Covid or not! This was my 70th birthday present to myself! Une chambre d'hôte in La Charité-sur-Loire. Bienvenue à mon aventure!

My soon-to-be travelling partner. (I am also her Mum.)