Sunrise Treat

Sunrise : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Sometimes, getting up early pays off. Saturday is market day in Ferney, so we're usually up early to beat the crowds. The result of getting up early yesterday was being treated to this amazing sunrise. See a few more photos here.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 10/10

Sunrise Geraniums

Sunrise on Geraniums : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 9/10

Sunset Clouds

Sunset in the Clouds : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 9/10

100 Friends and Family: Natasha

Natasha : A colleague and friend : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

This is friend Natasha. We work together at an intergovernmental organization. She's from Russia and speaks four languages flawlessly: Russian, English, French, and Italian. Recently, her mother was visiting from Moscow and they treated us to a traditional Russian meal of borscht, dumplings, and blinis. It was all quite tasty. At the end of the evening, she and her mother played the piano and sang Russian folks songs and we looked through a copy of the book A Day in the Life of the Soviet Union.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Bon Anniversaire

Elsie, an Aussie Jack Russell, beseechingly seeks some birthday cake : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Yesterday was my boss's 50th 30th birthday. A few of us threw a party for her at the home of mutual friends and a grand time was had by all! I took a few pictures, but this was my favorite. This is Elsie, an elderly Jack Russell who still knows how to turn a puppy trick or two. Seriously, though, this was the only picture I took that didn't feature people, so I thought I'd give Elsie 15 minutes of fame. (The people pictures are on Facebook.) :-)

Happy Birthday, Faith!

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Clafoutis + Whipped Cream = YUM!

Pêche et myrtilles clafoutis avec crème : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Recipe for complete and utter gastronomic bliss: clafoutis with cream. YUM!

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Finished Product

Finished clafouti : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

This the clafoutis right out of the oven! (Those are my petunias in the background. I got them because they reminded me of my maternal grandmother and my mom. The tablecloth is a Provencal design purchased in the town of Ribeauville in the Alsace-Lorraine.)

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Summertime, and the living is easy...

Summertime goodness : Peach and Blueberry Clafoutis : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

Summer produce is out and it's fabulous! This is a clafoutis of peaches and blueberries about to go into the oven. (Thanks, Virginia, for the inspiration!)

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 8/10

Maison du Village?

Real or imagined? : Tromp l'oeil : St. Genis-Pouilly, FR

Is this a narrow townhouse on the end of that building or does the eye deceive again? Another tromp l'oeil in St. Genis. This one, across the street from the one featured in yesterday's post.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

The Paintbrush is Mightier than the Eye...

Magie/Image : Tromp l'oeil : St. Genis-Pouilly, FR

I love tromp l'oeil and Europe is full of it. The great thing about that is, you don't have to go to a museum to see it. A lot of the time, all you have to do is drive to a neighboring village and there, against the wall of a building, is a painting meant to deceive your eye into thinking it's depicting a real-life scene. This is the case in the village of St. Genis-Pouilly in France. Everytime I go to France's finest bakery, Sebastian Brocard, I pass this mural that shows us the magic of images.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

Solo Swimmer

Solo swimmer : Divonne-les-Bains, FR

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

California Dreamin'...

California dreamin'... : Divonne-les-Bains, FR

Red poppies are pretty common in Europe and can be seen in fields all over France and Switzerland. On a recent walk in Divonne, though, I noticed some not-so-typical poppies in a private garden. These are California poppies. Normally, you see them in the western United States. My conclusion: the family who lives behind this gate is California dreamin'...

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

Salsa!

I enjoy cooking and trying different combinations of foods. This is a photo of some pineapple-kiwi salsa I made recently for a party. It was also the first time I hollowed out a pineapple to be the dish for the salsa.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

Chateau Voltaire

Chateau Voltaire, home of one of France's best-loved writers and philosophers :
Ferney-Voltaire, FR

In 1758, the French writer and philosopher François-Marie Arouet, aka: Voltaire, moved to the village of Fernex, France, just over the border from Geneva. Voltaire had been banished from Paris by Louis XV for his social reform and anti-Catholic views. He moved to Geneva, Switzerland, but the laws prohibiting theatre performances eventually forced him to decamp across the border into neighboring France and the village of Fernex. Voltaire was so annoyed by the proliferation of villages and towns in the surrounding area ending in "x"(Ornex, Massonex, Gex, etc.), he changed the spelling of Fernex to Ferney (both are pronounced fair-nay.)

Voltaire bought a chateau that included a church on the grounds. Disdainful of religion, he began to disassemble the church until a priest from a neighboring village passed by on the road through Voltaire's property and saw this desecration. The priest reported it to the Bishop of Savoy, who compelled Voltaire to rebuild the church. Voltaire grudingly complied, building a crypt for himself* and posting a sign over the door that reads:

DEO EREXIT 

VOLTAIRE**

 Deo Erexit VOLTAIRE : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

After Voltaire's death and the French Revolution, the town was renamed in his honor. Sadly, Voltaire's chateau and his gardens and grounds are in disrepair. As I walked around the premises, I couldn't help but think of another esteemed estate that fell into disrepair, but was saved by a group of insightful women. Just as Washington's Mount Vernon was restored and today is preserved and maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Voltaire's chateau needs a similar association. Granted, while estates like this are a dime a dozen in France, it seems a shame that the home of one of France's foremost thinkers lacks a benefactor.

* Voltaire was obsessed with the fear that he would be forgotten in death and buried in a pauper's grave, so he built himself a tomb in this tiny church. He need not have worried, however, as he is buried in Paris in the Pantheon--the final resting place of France's national heroes.
** Latin: Erected to God by VOLTAIRE.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

Bastille Day

Bastille Day Fireworks : Prevessin, FR

On July 13th, the village of Prevessin held its annual Bastille Day festivities. The next night, the neighboring village of Ferney-Voltaire held its annual celebration. Here are a couple of photos from each villages' fireworks' display. The photos aren't the best and lack a good backdrop, but I did the best I could without a tripod attachment (Prevessin) or knowing the exact location of the display (Ferney). That said, these are definitely a far cry better than last year. Next year, I think a trip to Paris to see the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower will be in order.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 7/10

Zoom! Zoom!

Zoom! Zoom! Zoom! : Divonne-les-Bains, FR

This kid car caught my eye the other day during a photo shoot in the French town of Divonne-les-Bains.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 6/10

Balloons at a Festival

Early morning balloons at a festival : Divonne-les-Bains, FR

While recently waiting for friends in Divonne, I noticed the early morning light on these balloons and liked the colors.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 6/10

Duck Duck Goose

On an evening walk, these basketball standards in the yard of a school in Ferney stood out and made me think of the children's game Duck, Duck, Goose.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 6/10

Service Fiscal

Service Fiscal : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

This is the French part of the border crossing near where I live. The stations--there's a Swiss one about 100 yards further up the road--are rarely staffed by French or Swiss border guards. Occasionally we see the local police, but rarely. As a result, the locals call it the Smuggler's Route. With the Schengen Agreement, travelers in the EU can cross borders without presenting passports. Even though Switzerland isn't part of the EU, they participate in the Schengen.

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 6/10

Stormy Weather?

 Stormy weather? : Ferney-Voltaire, FR

The weather can't seem to decide today. First, it was sunny and bright. Then, it turned cloudy and breezy. Currently, it's partly cloud and somewhat sunny. Will it rain? Who knows what it will do, but it makes for dramatic skies. (And by the way--when the weatherperson says "partly cloudy, mostly sunny" or "partly sunny, mostly cloudy", what does that mean? What percentage of cloud cover or sun exposure determines their choice? I'm sure it's a more/less than 50% thing, but honestly, why can't they just say "mostly sunny" or "partly sunny" and leave the rest out? Yes, this is how my mind spins.)

Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 6/10