Water, Water Everywhere….The Loire River, France

….thanks Jez for hosting Water, Water Everywhere….https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2022/05/09/canal-reflections-water-water-everywhere-125/

The longest river in France is the Loire. It is 634 miles (1,020 kilometers) long. The Loire Valley is a popular tourist area known for its châteaus (French for “castles”). The scenic valley is sometimes called the Garden of France.

The Loire River begins about 4,500 feet (1,370 meters) above sea level in the Cévennes mountain range of southern France. It is fed by melting snow from mountain peaks. The Loire flows north through central France before swinging in a great curve past the city of Orléans and turning westward. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean near the city of Nantes.” Sourced from kids.britannica.com

We saw the Loire in Tours and then again on our castle visits in Amboise and Blois.

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In Tours, France

On our visit to the Royal Chateau Amboise, we saw the river from the top of the castle, overlooking the Loire Valley.

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View from the top of the castle

On our last castle tour in Blois we saw the Loire River again from the lookout on the castle grounds and then again at street level.

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I’m a Fan of …….Spring Blossoms

….thanks Jez for hosting I’m a fan of…..https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2022/05/09/coots-fan-of-155/

This year I experienced three spring seasons. The first was in France where the blooms were out in early April, then in London where the trees were flowering in mid to late April and now in Toronto in early May.

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Happy Mother’s Day Everyone

…..to all women who are mothers at heart to their families, friends and colleagues

What a beautiful day. A day to be celebrated by anyone who is a mother, has a mother or knows a mother. I am blessed to have known my mother for 40 years, been a mother for 42 years and have so many friends who are mothers, step moms, godmothers, sisters, cousins, nieces and aunties.

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To all those family and friends who did make it into this collage please know it’s only because I ran out of space. You are all loved and I’m thinking of you on this special day.

Thursday Trios on Friday – May 6, 2022

I started this post yesterday and then ran into some problems with WordPress and my phone

Hopefully all my problems are now resolved (until the next time) and this post will go through without a hitch. On my last day in London I came across my first Bobby and not just one; there were three of them.

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If you have any trios to post why not join the fun. As you can see you don’t have to post on Thursday. Just copy my link and paste it into your post and I’ll be sure to get back to you and make a comment.

Whatsoever is Lovely …..week 16….Spending 24 Days With our Granddaughter

….thanks to Kate from for hosting Whatsoever is Lovely https://www.thesquirrelchase.com/2022/04/27/whatsoever-is-lovely-2022-week-16/

Our trip to Europe, France and London to be exact, was a blessing because we got to spend every day with our youngest granddaughter. Sevin is just two so of course there were moments when everything wasn’t sunshine and lollipops but for the most part we loved spending time with her and now that we are back home she asks her parents where are Oma and Big Papa.

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I’m a Fan of Duck(s)

thanks to Jez for hosting I’m a fan of…..https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2022/05/02/ducks-fan-of-154/

Ducks are everywhere and I can’t help but take photos when I see them.

In France, Duck is a very popular food item and at Easter we treated ourselves to a roast of duck stuffed with prunes. I couldn’t bring myself to buying the whole bird at the market. The heads were still attached.

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In London we went Clissold Park, in the Highbury Islington area. Here we saw ducks in the pond.

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On my first walk when we arrived back in Toronto I walked to the Rotary Peace Park and found this lovely female Mallard who had absolutely no fear of me.

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Travelling Day – April 30, 2022

….waiting for our Uber driver

I can’t believe that our 24 day vacation has come to an end. I think the worst part of a trip is the packing. Packing for the trip and then packing again to come home.

Many people end up with more bags coming home but some how we have one bag less. I was cursing my carry on bag when we moved from Tours to Paris to London. Even with the new clothes and gifts for family and friends I managed to reorganize my packing and get everything into two bags instead of three. I’ve left my carry on bag with our son here in London.

It’s impossible to say which parts of the trip were my favourites but spending these last three and a half weeks with family has been priceless.

Now that we have one trip under our belts we are ready for more adventures. New Brunswick here we come …….not too soon……I have a marathon of painting to do before my show in July.

Ciao!

Last Minute Shopping in London

….today was our last full day in London

Tomorrow morning an Uber driver will pick us up at 8:00 am and take us to the Heathrow Airport. All week I wanted to return to Liberty so that I could browse through this amazing but expensive department store.

Today we took the Victoria South train and headed towards Oxford Circus. When we got there I wasn’t disappointed. When you first arrive you are greeted by the most wonderful flower shop attached to the Liberty store.

As you enter the store your senses are accosted by the smell of perfume and the bright colours of the fashion display that is currently featured.

I was hoping to find a nice Liberty scarf for a friend’s birthday but the sticker shock may have sent the feint of heart back onto the street. I proceeded to the elevators and headed for the floor where the Liberty fabrics were on display. I knew that on this floor I would find something that fit into my budget. I wasn’t disappointed.

Kevin was walking around the floor while I went through a bin of fabric ends. When I selected a couple of pieces he assured me there was nothing else to see. When I peaked into the next room I found plenty of things that caught my eye. At the far end of the room there were some cosy chairs so Kevin settled in while I browsed some more. He quickly engaged in conversation with a couple of middle aged American women and I could hear them laughing half way through the store.

After making a few more purchases I picked Kevin up and we made our way to the basement where the men’s wear resides.

One of the things that Kevin has wanted for many years is a Barbour coat. Sure enough they had them there but unfortunately or perhaps fortunately they didn’t have one in his size. I say fortunately because we walked over to Carnaby Street and there was a store devoted to only Barbour clothing for men.

Not only did they have Kevin’s size they also had it in the blue colour that he really wanted, The best part, however, was that it was £90 cheaper than the same coat at Liberty.

We continued to walk through Carnaby Street and throughly enjoyed being tourists.

It was a great way to end our trip. After returning to our flat we started to pack up a few things and brought some of our leftovers over to our daughter-in-law, Azadeh, and we had a couple of new picture books for Sevin. Azadeh made us a wonderful farewell dinner. Unfortunately our son, Brendan had to work late tonight. He will drop by early tomorrow morning before our Uber arrives to take us to the airport.

Good-bye London. We had a great time and hopefully we’ll be back soon.