The Snail Farm (July 8, 2014)

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So I went to a snail farm! Who knew, right?? When I hear about it I told my family I'd love to see it because I thought my kids would find it interesting. I hope you will too!

Here, the group is gathered as the farmer gives is an introduction to snails and the process of farming them.

(Side note: notice the clothing. It is summer. More thoughts on this later.)

After some explanations we entered the laying room.

This table is full of mature snails. The room is climate controlled and you can see the white feeding trough. They keep the snails in the box by having an "electrical fence" around the edges that will cause the snail to change directions if he gets too close to the edge.

I've cropped the photo a bit so you can see the "fence" at the back and the little peat pots. The snails, when ready to lay eggs, will burrow into the pots to deposit their eggs.

The farmer knows where the eggs are because they look for signs of burrowing. They then empty the pots to harvest the eggs.

This farm prides itself on being organic so the eggs mature in nature. 

It doesn't look like much but that is a  snail field. There is netting to keep birds out and there is another electrical fence. It is not easily seen in this picture but each row has planks of wood placed about every two feet.

Same picture as above but cropped so that the snails can be seen more closely. The snails are harvested by size.

As for preparation for market well... I can't actually tell you that. It was not something shown on the tour but it was discussed. However... By this time the young children on the tour became bored and as all bored children do, they became a distraction which means (a) I wanted to go all mean mom/teacher on them and (b) because my own concentration was shot I missed the rest of the presentation. Thus, the ending is a mystery to me!

On the bright side it began to rain and I got to take a nice selfie and pretty pictures of the country road. 

The end.

My Weekend in Paris (Part 4)

After wandering the streets of Paris for hours Saturday night I was exhausted and in no hurry to get up the next morning. As it turned out this was perhaps a good thing because when I woke I realized it was raining. I like most people who live in Maricopa County find falling rain a rare and beautiful sight! I found myself to be very content to stay in my room with the window open, snuggled under my blankie, reading my book. This was in fact a wonderful option as I was also reminded that I am a human barometer and suffer from some pretty gnarly headaches depending on the pressure of the storm. Sunday's headache was no fun but it was not behind my eyes which made reading possible. Rain, cool breeze, blankie, book, and naps. A different type of Parisian bliss.

Eventually the storm began to pass and I took these pictures from my room, so pretty!

Eventually my stomach cried out for dinner so I made my way down to one of the corner cafés. I chose the one called Indiana which is roughly a Tex-Mex restaurant. I hadn't eaten all day and could not decide what I wanted so I went with their combo platter!

From the top you see a beef taco, BBQ ribs, Spanish rice, enchilada, guacamole, and chili. It does not compare to home but it was good! Tried everything but couldn't finish it all. I know that if I move to France I'm going to have to learn to make tortillas and have to have green chilies sent over from home! Trust me... I checked to see what was available!

The one downside to dinner, sitting in any  open air café and something that I find a bit surprising is cigarette smoke. I will address this in a later post but below you will see the stealth picture I took of the offenders that night.

Monday morning I packed my stuff up and went out for the day because my train didn't leave until after 7pm.

I decided to head out to Sacré Coeur because the view is awesome and I like the shops around there.

Beautiful, is it not?? 

Paris is an amazing city. I am so thankful that I was able to spend time there. To be honest I probably could have spent the whole six weeks there and still leave wanting more.

My Paris Weekend (Part 3)

Saturday (July 5th) I left my little room with no destination in mind. The area where my room was located is just off of two very lively streets with many stores, boutiques, cafés and restaurants. So I just started walking. What fun! 

I bought some dish towels. Silly I know but the price was right and it will make doing the dishes a little more pleasent. It was in a small boutique and the lady had time to chat. Eventually she gave me the best compliments I could hope for... I speak great French and have a great accent (not obviously American). I told her she was my new Parisian best friend!

Much of this day was dedicated to just shopping and enjoying the sales. A couple if things to know... In July and January they have the "grands soldes" and the prices are very enticing even by American standards. The second thing you should know is that they have fabulous shoes! Seriously I have become a shoe addict! Because (I assume) they do so much walking here there are shoes that even I can wear! Seriously! It is my own personal addiction!

Here are a few pictures I took either to think about for later or with Bailey in mind! 

Seriously, it is an illness!!

I wish I could tell you those are all the pictures... Sadly, there are more! I need an intervention!

I did find the most beautiful thing on the fantastic pedestrian street behind where my roommate was located. These next pictures will explain everything. And, in case you were wondering it was TOTALLY worth it!!

The finished product! Notice the chubby a Flinstone feet and swollen ankles! Between walking MILES each day in those sandles and the humidity I was quite the sight! But hey! At least my toes looked cute and they matched my fingernails!

After my mani pedi I returned to rest up a bit in my room. Then I left again with no particular destination in mind. I took the metro from the Denfert-Richereau station to Châtlet. There I exited and just began walking. I found myself first at the Louvre.

From there I walked to the Tuilieries Garden where there happened to be a carnival happening.

And I finally are dinner... No fried corn dogs here!

After I left the Tuilieries I followed the River Seine towards the Eiffel Tower.

There I just sat and enjoyed life.

The journey by foot was actually quite long and the journey back to my room ended with a taxi ride. (The explanation why, though comical, is too complicated for this blog. If you really want to know ask me!!)

In the end it was a night to remember.

My Paris Weekend (Part 2)

I was really excited about Friday because I was going to meet one if my students, Madelyn, who happens to be spending the summer with her aunt and uncle here in France.

Of course nothing seems to ever go as planned! We were running late (she was helping with chores and cousins, totally legit). Me, on the other hand was having a glorious morning of errors. First, I left my phone in my room. How dumb is that? Luckily I wasn't too far away when I made this realization but it still cost me time. Then when I went to the metro my ticket wouldn't work! What the heck?! I just bought it. Naturally there was no one to ask about it so I had to walk on to the next station. Not all was lost though as there was a bakery along the way. Yum!

At the next station I pretty much got the "you're an incompetent American" attitude but he let me through. You would think the fun was over... But nope it wasn't! Naturally, the direct route was under construction so I had to navigate a few train changes. The real fun came when it was time to leave the station. I needed to use my ticket again and it didn't work! Gahhh! Eventually I waited at a gate that is used for wheelchairs and strollers and stayed open long enough for me to walk through. Come to find out the ticket was demagnetized. Really dude, you couldn't have checked and fixed that the first time?? Butt head!

The good news is that I finally found Madelyn at the Arc de Triomphe and we were off for our adventure of the day! Our plan was to go to the Musée d'Orsay and then see where the day would take us! Below are some pictures from the museum. Did you know you are not supposed to take pictures at the museum?? Oopsie! Neither did we! 

I have always loved this painting!

The clock that inspired the movie Hugo.

The museum looking very train station-ish.

The beautiful Madelyn!

This picture just does not do justice to the sculpture using two different types of marble to create the look of fabric. It really was just stunning!

This painting is also one if my favorites!

This beautiful guy was just outside the museum entrance and he looked particularly majestic in the rain. 

After our visite to the Musée d'Orsay we decided to go to the Ile de la Cité where, among other things, you will find the Notre Dame Cathedral.

This is such a beautiful site to see. It always takes my breath away when you take time to remember just how long it has been there! The scars she bears and the stories she could tell are undoubtedly some of the great secrets of Paris.

By the time we arrived at the cathedral we were both hungry so we found a café for lunch.

One of the best things about the café was the water (always ask for a carafe d'eau as it is free!) because it was cold! Such a simple joy!

It was so yummy it deserves too pictures!

After lunch we wandered around in the little souvenir shops. We also took the time to enjoy the back side of the Notre Dame Cathedral. There is a small garden park there (clean public restrooms that will cost you a little bit...always good to know where you can find a bathroom!)

The back of the cathedral is stunning. The flying buttresses are an engineering masterpiece! Once again I recommend you read Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (you can find a link on my post about the Bourges Cathedral).

Naturally I had to get this photo of Madelyn in a French beret! 

What a great day we had!!