Dom and J-M came for the weekend. It’s the first time that they have driven here so on Saturday afternoon they invited me out with them. We went to Brouage which is a fortified village which was once close to the sea. It was a holiday so there were lots of tourists milling a round as there are craft and gift shops and there was a market. It was very pleasant. On the way home we stopped at Rochefort-sur-Mer. I’ve been their several times but only in the shopping streets. We went to see the Corderie royal (where the cordage for French ships was made – a very long building) and the arsenal and wondered around the grounds and other buildings which had been built by the military. It was beautiful, the chestnut trees especially reminded me of England. Both of these were designed at some point by Vauban who seems to have created fortifications in just about every part of France. One of Dom’s old school friends, Q, came with us. He told us a lot about the buildings. His father is an architect so I can imagine Q being shown all of these places as he was growing up. He was a good guide and as he’s spend time in Sweden And Norway has an amazing accent when he speaks English. My voice was disappearing as we were on our way home. I hope I didn’t talk too much.
This evening they’ve driven off and I waved until they went round the corner out of site. It’s quiet and the house seems so empty now. Olivier will be here on Tuesday. The year since last September has gone so quickly.
Dom asks if any of my readers (!) can recommend places to see and things to do in Chicago
4 comments:
Never been to Chicago.
We used to have a huge building called the 'sheet loft' on the harbourside here. It's gone now, but it's where they used to repair and treat sails and railway truck covers. There's an old lady called Maisie who comes in my shop, she worked there until it closed in the 1950's, and she has many stories and gossip to tell about it. I'm sure they were the happiest days of her life.
Chicago? I went there once when I was a teenager, y'know, on a "walkabout backpack" holiday for 6 months.
It was a "dirty old town" in those days. I don't know what it's like now, but I certainly wouldn't go again!
Go to Oprah's show. I have never been there either. Been through it but not stopping.
Graham: Can you imagine manufacturers being able to use so much space nowadays.?
Keith: I expect they've cleaned it up since the middle ages.
Phyllis: I'll suggest Oprah to her. She does have a friend who spent time there recently and one of her colleagues is from Chicago so I imagine she'll be okay.
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