My Little Paris Sewing Room

I just love my little Paris sewing room.  I'm trying to get some major projects done before I head to my big Alaska sewing room in May.

I'm making progress on my blanket stitching...

just two blocks to go on this project.

I have a 440 Aurora Bernina and it is great for this project. I bought a #23 foot to make this job much easier as the foot is clear plastic and has a little channel that really helps me follow the edge of the appliqué.

So while all the fabric is strewn about from this project I went ahead and started another blanket stitch Christmas quilt.

Just working on the fusible appliqué part of this project. 

And just a quick look at the progress on my latest stocking.

Walking Paris

Back to the routine! Yesterday we had intermittent  showers so I didn't walk and I regretted that at the end of the day so I made sure to get outside by noon today. It is warmer and plants are budding with a few spring bulbs blooming so I decided to deviate from my normal  route and hit the Jardin des Tuileries which is a large public garden that sits between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde.

You can see the grey skies but no rain! This is a large fountain at the end of the garden closest to the Place de la Concorde.  I did a little reading about this garden. The wife of Henry the II, Catherine de Medicis had the garden designed in the style a  Florence Italian garden which was her homeland. Successive monarchs made changes and expanded the garden.

There are lovely statues throughout the garden...and most are of Renaissance themes and styles but there are several modern art sculptures too. This is a Henry Moore bronze piece from 1951, Reclining Figure. 

The fallen tree is actually also a bronze sculpture, L'Arbre Des Voyelles by Guiseppe Penone. I have a few of these kinds of sculptures at my home in Alaska and they were made by nature!

This is the end of the garden facing the Louvre.

Here is the end nearest the Louvre looking back at the gardens...I wanted you to get a feel for the number of people walking around the place. The name of the garden came from the original workshops that sat on the site to make roof tiles...called "tuileries."

This side of the garden seemed a couple of days ahead in blooms than the other.

Then I got on with the rest of my walk.  The trees are starting to get a green fuzzy look on their branches...and what a perfect place for a statue! This is General Lafayette...remember him from American history class? He was a French aristocrat who served as a general in the Continental Army with George Washington.

Here's the place we should have rented...a houseboat on the Seine right across from the Eiffel Tower.

Safely Back in Paris

We were not flogged for speaking English at the Normandy Chateau but we did get some stern glares...

I apologize for the lack of photos but we are going back in two weeks and by then the flowers should be blooming so I hope to have some pretty photos. 

This is not a great photo of the chateau...it really was prettier from other angles but apparently I am not a good multi-tasker. I was consumed with French words running through my head.

Here are some shots of our room.

This bed is adorable and it was pretty darn comfortable.

The chateau was built over the course of 300 years! The first section was constructed in the 1700s with additions added about every 100 years from there. I will do a much better job of photographing next time. Every day was very full. We started with a petite dejeune (breakfast) at 9 a.m. Lessons started at 9:30. We worked until dejeune (lunch) at 12:30 or so. Our host, Taco, would teach part of the morning lesson and then spend the rest of the day preparing our food. I really could kick myself for not getting photos of his meals. They were French farmer recipes...rather rustic and so wonderful! I don't like fish or seafood so he always made a special plate for me if that was the main course. I was well taken care of! 

We had a second instructor, Adam, to work with us the rest of the day. After lunch we would be in lessons until 6 p.m. Then we had a couple of hours of free time before dinner at 8 p.m. But of course... French was supposed to be the only language...we were very skilled at getting our hosts sidetracked and into conversations in English (we are so bad!). Politics and travel were two areas of conversation that often turned to English because it was just easier!!!!

English-Free Zone

I guess I should be thrilled we have been allowed to move our French lessons to a Normandy chateau...but I'm very anxious...I think we will be flogged if we speak English.  I think our location is near this site...

Mont St Michel

I requested to visit the island castle. Looks pretty amazing. I did a Wikipedia search in English so I know a little bit about the place. We will be in Normandy until noon on Monday. My husband is trying to be encouraging by saying it will only be 48 hours...I think I'll be counting down every one of those hours...in French of course.

Dreieich, Germany

We are spending two days in Dreieich, Germany...a suburb of Frankfurt. This town boasts two historical distinctions.  At one time it was the hunting grounds exclusively for the emperor. It also has the oldest and best preserved medieval castle structure in Germany.

This part of the castle was a residence for a Lord of Hagen ( I think there were several Lord Hagens and they were pretty important in Germany at one time. It's terrible to be so ignorant about European history).  It was built around 1180. 

Now we are inside looking from the great room toward the kitchen. There are examples of Romanesque and Gothic vaulting in the remains...read that somewhere. It is amazing...I could see the base for the brick oven and bases for pillars that supported the ceiling.

Here is the oldest side of the castle, dating from 1080. It is now used as a staging area for concerts in the summer. Not much happening at the castle right now...I pretty much had the place to myself!

Here's a look from the outside...at one time the castle was surrounded by a moat. The newer, light structure is a church from the 1780's...the inside of it is closed right now.

Within the old walls of the castle is a picturesque town that was built between 1905 and 1915.

You can just imagine how cute this place is at Christmas time...why I even found the perfect Christmas house.

There are even little houses for sale that are just what you need for a Christmas village setting around your Christmas tree. Unfortunately this shop was closed or I might have bought a whole village.

Cute little restaurants.

This was in the middle of the town but I couldn't quite figure out what exactly it went with...just a reminder of the age of some of the structures I guess.

Obertor upper gate was added to the outer wall of the castle in 1350.

The other side of the gate which didn't get the decorative remake in the early 1900s.

One last look at a castle tower wall. There seems to be a inner layer of rock work that was covered with a nicer, outer layer. The area was deserted while I was touring it...poor timing to visit the town. The town is decked out for Christmas and there is a big jazz festival in the summer. Pretty sure we won't make it back for any of those events.

Mainz, Germany

Morning walk in Mainz...34 degrees...my husband checked...it was 33 in Anchorage.

 But it was sunny and maybe it's going to be the coldest summer for Europe in over 130 years too...so I'm trying to just get on with enjoying the day! My husband directed me to a park and the plants there are trying to get on with warmer weather too.

I have no idea what this pokey looking shrub is but it gets points for interesting texture.

Lots of small flowering bulbs are popping up...

A perennial bed starting it's season.

We have a similar flower like those below that grows in wilds of Alaska.

My favorite kind of grass...mixed with naturalizing flowers.

The walk back to the Mainz plaza...adorable boutique shopping...didn't bring any money or credit cards on the walk...poor planning on my part.

Adorable buildings wherever I look...

Market day for Mainz.

Then I decided to walk down to the Rhein River...it was just two blocks away. This would be a great place to sit on a warm and sunny day!

A pair of swans...I guess they don't mind the brisk breeze...I was chilled.

Back to the Mainz shopping plaza. Here's the back side of Mainz Dom...the front side is covered in scaffolding. This is the cathedral my husband and I got to tour in the dark when we were here last November.  This terra cotta brick is everywhere...it matches the color of their soil so it is obviously locally produced. I think it is lovely.

We might do a little shopping before heading to Frankfurt this afternoon.  Not expecting any cute buildings there...it was annihilated during the bombing of WW II so it is full of all new buildings and very industrial. I'll see what I can find there to do for a couple of days.

Progress Report

Europe has experienced the coldest winter in over 130 years!!!! I feel a bit like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh...I've got a little grey cloud following me.  At one point yesterday it was warmer in Anchorage than Paris...I'm not kidding. The temps, which are hovering in the low 40s, have irked me and as a result I've hunkered down in my little Paris sewing room.

I finished the blanket stitching by machine on five blocks.  Listening to audible books has really made my stitching enjoyable. I finished "Les Meserable," and have started a new collection of French classics by Honore de Balzac. I'm almost through listening to "Le Pere Goriot," in English. I can listen to it in French for free and I'm going to do a little of that too.

Speaking of French...we are advancing to a weekend intensive at a chateau in Normandy next weekend. Only French will be spoken. I don't think I'll be doing much talking.

But first...we leave today for Germany. My husband has a 3-day conference in Frankfurt. We will spend tonight in Mainz. It will be a road trip. I haven't ridden in our car in two months! 

And just in case you are wondering...the French do daylight savings time also and they made the spring leap on Saturday.  I have a hard time making that forward adjustment every year...I was so hoping it didn't happen here...oh well!