Where's the ball?? 

The Polo Match or How I starred in Pretty Woman

It is really true. The grandstands empty out and everyone goes on the field and fixes the divets just like Julie Roberts did in Pretty Woman. And not just once during the game, but twice. It was one more of those lovely moments of tradition that England is famous for. And we were there.




But I wasn't there alone. My fellow expats also attended the Polo match with me, waving English flags as we watched the tied game between Australia and England go into sudden death overtime after the two teams of four players each were tied 7-7 in the final 6th chukka.














A chukka by the way, is a 7 minute period of play, and 6 chukkas make up a game.


The queen was also there, but she didn't go on the field to fix the divets.




















And there were really horses there as well and a wonderful game to see. On to the next wonderful English tradition next week with a tour of Buckingham Palace.

Fine wine, fine ambiance, fine food 

Villandry in the Loire Valley 

The Loire Valley

After taking Normandy, we headed further in to the Loire Valley. We actually stayed in a chateaux just outside of Tours that had been owned by Eugene O'Neill - Chateau de Plessis. Our room was called the Lillian Gish Room.

The Loire Valley is an incredible place filled with historical chateaux, beautiful gardens, wonderful wines to try and wine tours to take, tufa stone that have created toglodyte cave dwellings. These caves make excellent places to age and store wine. And the food is wonderful - fromage, foie gras, fresh vegetables, wonderful canard .... so much to eat, drink, and see. The three days we spent was hardly enough to even sample the area.

Mont St Michel 

Travels thru SW France or Musings from a Muse

In the last few months, I have indulged in wonderful travel and company, and as such my blogging, as much of the rest of my life, has been on a restful hold. It seems time to get back to some structure in my life. Not sure why I would say that - structure has never been one of my strong assets. Years ago, I was told that the most consistent thing about me was my inconsistency. I think it was a compliment. While others grew up going to Girl or Boy Scouts, I was taught that rules are made to be broken, there is no box to think inside of, and it is always easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

So what does all this have to do with travels in SW France. Nothing, it is just an intro back into the world of blogging. I did have an incredible trip traversing the countryside with my husband, Ron, who planned the wonderful trip from beginning to end. Starting with a ferry ride to Le Havre, we took Normany Beach and stopped over at Mont St Michel. Mont St Michel is an incredible site, but definitely best visited in the evening after the tour busses have left the premises.

So much more to come about the trip, but I will leave this one with a question - Why is McDonald's the only American fast food restaurant in the French countryside and what is it doing there anyway????