Like the cord to connect my camera to the computer.....otherwise I cant load any pictures from my 35 SLR. So the really cool pictures of the helicopter that scared the bejeezus out of me won't be seen until Julia can find her cord.
How did that happen? Good question.
I was sitting on the terrace having breakfast when I heard the drone of a helicopter. It was about 10:30 on our first day. Someone who will remain nameless was still asleep....stayed that way almost to noon.... and I was just having a little tea.
A chopper flew overhead, fairly low. Then it turned around and flew back AT MY EYE LEVEL!!
A huge plume of spray came out of it and I realized, that is how they spray crops over here. The vineyards are small and narrow, so planes are out of the question.
The helicopter made several passes. I think he waved at me. I stood fascinated by it when I realized I might be in the drift zone.
So I went inside, closed the doors and windows and waited for him to finish.
That was the highlight of the first day.
It is hard to get over jet lag, although I did a better job than Jackie. She finally got up in time for lunch, but ate breakfast instead.
Julia asked that I take down the recycling.
Now for us in the states it is an easy task. Put it in a bin and set it out at the curb. Here, it is not so easy. They recycling "center" is about one half mile down the road. That is where you can recycle glass, plastic, used cooking oil, aluminum. steel cans and I don't remember what else. Notice, paper is not listed.
I made two trips there. Lots of wine bottles and plastic pop bottles.
By this time of the day, it had warmed up. Instead of sitting with a sweatshirt on, I was actually starting to sweat.
Once the glass and plastic was gone, I focused on paper.
Paper gets picked up every other week at the curbside. Unfortunately, Julia missed the last pickup or two, and had some paper and boxes to dispose of.
So I wandered down to the paper drop off site, which is about half way to the other center.
By a stroke of luck, or good planning, there is a sidewalk leading from the main drag up into Chardonne. So I dropped off the paper and took the steps up, knowing full well where I was headed.
La Patisserie. The bakery. (Sheri, it still smells great!)
I took a few shots with my trusty pocket sized camera, only to realize the battery was dead. Thank you Dan and Linda for loaning me your charger. I will not lose this one.
And yes, they had a tasty Chardonne in the counter. After explaining to the nice lady I could not speak French, she engaged me in a rather long conversation, in French, of which I understood two words.
I believe she called it le(s) gateau du Chardonne. It is like an elephant ear, only extremely sugary and tasty. They are only made in the afternoon and sell quickly. Timing is important.
A hop, skip and jump later, I was back on the terrace...fume and helicopter free... nestled under a blanket and eating my gateau, as the lovely lady described it. I even shared a little with Jackie. A little. A very little.
We spent the rest of the afternoon waiting for a delivery. Julia has ordered 50 boxes for packing.
I think I will need some more gateau du Chardonne for this job!
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