When in Nantes, 28 October 2022 (9 September 2022)

Distractions kept me from posting photos from our recent travels.  I shall take steps to remedy this oversight.

In September, 2022, we traveled to France and Greece for long planned and long postponed vacations.  After repeated delays and changes, the travel followed a three-part structure.  The first part was a week of vacation in France near Bordeau and Perigord, a week of being in the "delegation" in Nantes, and a week of sailing in Greece.  

On our first night in Nantes, we had dinner that featured the local tradition of crepes made of buckwheat, dining al fresco.  We stayed in an unusual hotel - Micr'Home - and took in art throughout the town.  The walking was good and helped us fight the insidious tendrils of jetlag.

The destinations of the first week required that we pick up a rental car at the Nantes airport.  We traveled with our son, A, to Les Epesses, home of the famed Puy du Fou historical theme park.  Puy du Fou is an interesting place.  On the one hand, it is a bit schmaltzy (campy) for Americans, but it is extremely well done and a lot of fun.  Various bits of history have passed by or near a chateau near Les Epesses, and these historical facts are turned into spectacles.  For example, there is evidence that Romans were nearby and so there is a colloseum with a spectacular show that involves chariot races, wild animals, and gladiators.  There is evidence that Vikings raided in the area, so there is a spectacular show that involves a Viking longship and burning barns.  Laperouse, a famous explorer, is featured in an exhibit about his explorations because he was born in the nearby town. 

I seem to be having trouble with the blogging tool, so I will stop (albeit abruptly) and continue in the next post.

Smoke - 15 October 2022

We have returned from travels to France, Greece, and Canada, only to find that the fire season continues and air quality is getting bad.  When we returned yesterday from Canada, the air was hazy but did not smell.  Today, the air is much hazier, smoky looking, and there is a clear scent of burnt wood in the air.  An odd thing we noticed that that there were air quality alerts for metropolitan Seattle but no such alerts for metropolitan Vancouver (BC) - yet the air quality seemed about the same.  I conclude that Canadian authorities have lax requirements, either for air quality or for reporting of air quality.

We flew to France via Amsterdam.  I masked the entire trip as I was spending time in a small aluminum tube with a couple hundred strangers.  It only takes one or two hoseheads to make an entire airplane sick (I debated using a different phrase, a more sympathetic tag, but I cannot imagine why an intelligent person knowingly ill or feeling ill with COVID symptoms would intentionally travel on an airplane, but I digress).  We staved off some jet lag by wandering around Nantes (FR) and settled on a small crepe restaurant for dinner.   The next day or so, we picked up a car at the airport and headed out for some tourism.  There were three prongs to our travels: Puy du Fou, Cognac, and cave paintings.  I will give particulars later; for now, it was a great leg of the trip.

For the second leg, we were in Nantes and environs as members of the "delegation" from the Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association (SNSCA).  Originally scheduled for 2020, the trip was to celebrate the 40th anniversity of the twinning of Seattle and Nantes.  COVID changed the world, so the 40th became the 41st and then the 42nd anniversary.  With any luck, the 45th anniversary will be celebrated in 2025.

For the third leg, we flew to Greece to go sailing.  We met up with six friends to sail a 48-foot catamaran among the Saronic islands, including Ydra (Hydra) and Poros.

Shortly after returning home, we went to the cabin in Canada to do the annual burn.  This was to be for the Canadian Thanksgiving, a long weekend (3-day) in October that is the traditional weekend when the holiday is celebrated and the cabins are closed down for the winter.  The winter rains have usually settled in by now, making it safe to burn the accumulated prunings and tree cuttings down on the beach.  This year, we are in a continuing drought and the days remain clear and warm.  The burn ban remains in place, so we hope to return in mid-November to burn.  We could wait until Spring for the burn, but that gives the brush piles a lot of time to build up thick growths of mold and mildew that will give my sinus passages a rough ride.  We have burned in the Spring in the past, and it was no fun.

Now back at home and looking forward to the rains and the end of the fire season.

Seven Pounds - 15 April 2022

Quickly lose weight!  I just lost about seven pounds.  It may be temporary but it sure was fast.  My secret?  Well, I shall tell you.

COVID seems to be winding down.  I emphasize seems because the hospitalization numbers are down, I have my full vaxx and booster, and the weather is getting nicer.  After two years of caution and lock-in, it feels like it should be OK to get out and circulate a little among selected (healthy) groups. So I did.  We have a group, a delegation, visiting Seattle from France.  Although 2020 was the 45th anniversary of the twinning of Seattle (USA) and Nantes (FR), COVID postponed the plans for an exchange of delegate groups.  In early 2022, all the signs were shaping up and they culminated in a group of 40-50 visitors from Nantes arriving in Seattle.  The group represented maritime, aviation, elected/municipal, and cultural interests.  From this, a series of meetings and explorations were planned throughout the week to explore opportunities.  During the times of roaring COVID, we had arranged cultural exchanges such as art shows and a collaborative beer, #8000Kilometers with Lantern Brewing, and some face-time allowed us to seek other common interests and issues.  

As a cultural and social activity, the local Seattle-Nantes Sister City Association hosted a potluck dinner that featured local and American foods.  This brought people together for an evening of socializing.  We were brave: we went without masks indoors.  I left the event very tired and went to bed somewhat late.

It was not a pleasant night.  I woke in the middle of the night with classic symptoms of the flu.  A low-grade fever, general pains, nausea, dry heaves.  I was sorta-kinda OK until I went into the kitchen for some water.  The lingering smell of warmed pizza (a midnight snack for someone else) hit me like a bat and I went straight for the toilet to empty my stomach.  I went back to bed and repeated this dry/wet pattern a couple more times.  I was pretty empty, dehydrated, groggy, and listless.  I belabor all this because I do not think it was COVID - no breathing problems at all - just classic influenza symptoms coming down hard.  I basically napped the next day and only kept down about four ounces of water throughout the day.  The second night was unpleasant but far better than the first.  I slept better, even after napping much of the day, and did not need to get up.

During this time, I skipped a pub crawl in the Ballard area one evening and a mayoral reception in Seattle the next.  Sacrifices were made.

I woke up the next morning feeling fine.  A bit dehydrated throughout the day, but alert and feeling fine.  

So with this as context, I dropped seven pounds in 48 hours.  I do not recommend the method, but I must admit it is effective.  I shall do my best to make the advances stick and even multiply them, but that is only a silver lining from a very dark cloud.

The photo is from the Seattle Japanese Garden in the Arboretum.

Because of Easter weekend, US Taxes are due Monday, 18 April.