Friday morning Elisabeth came to take me to the local Blanot farm that is selling organic beef. Mimi and Harriet Ann happily tagged along. I bought stew meat for Sunday when Francis, Marie-Annick, and Lauryne will be joining us for dinner. A gorgeous lilac bush grows outside the farm house and the egg producing chickens were busy talking to us.
Harriet Ann and I were reminiscing about what the smell of lilacs triggered...
That afternoon I drove Mimi and Harriet Ann into Cluny so they could visit the Abbey. Instead of paying to park the car, since I've been through the Abbey several times and had a good book to read, I was delighted to sit in the car while they went inside. The parking area is where the Cluny outdoor market is held every Saturday. I took pictures of the space...
The old walls above were once a part of the cathedral...
and that's the "cheese" tower which both Mimi and I have climbed in past years. She and Harriet Ann spent nearly 3 hours touring the Abbey. I finished one book and started another. Gendarmes drove by, but they weren't interested in checking parking tickets so I had a pleasant, peaceful time.
On Saturday we would be returning to this space with Lauryne and Marie-Annick to buy from the market. It took longer than usual because suddenly the road was filled with bicycles.
The road was wet which made the curves extra dangerous. Lauryne pulled over to let the group pass.
Just as we thought the road was clear, another group appeared around the curve.
And they kept coming!
One bike slid out from under its rider right in front of us. He didn't get badly hurt. but that was enough to put him out of the race.
Marie-Annick was fast and caught that picture.
Her picture also shows the curve in the road.
We sat for 20 minutes in this spot as wave after wave of bikers raced past us.
Finally Lauryne took advantage of a lull and moved ahead only to be stopped at the next curve for an additional 15 minutes.
We laughed as we moved around that curve. Cows had come to the fence to watch the race! Once again Marie-Annick got the picture...
Three bikers had fallen at that next curve. We were there long enough to see the car with a sign saying MEDICINE approach.
Needless to say, we took a different road when it was time to go home. Below are pictures of the meringue we bought at the Cluny open air market...
Best Dessert Ever!!!!
