Happy New Year!
It's the last day of 2006. Let's hope for nothing but the best in 2007.
Ghost ad for the apéritif wine called SuzeOn the main highway that leads east from the Saint-Aignan area over to Romorantin and Vierzon, there's this old wall ad for Suze. Suze is a before-dinner drink, an appetite stimulant supposedly, that is made from the gentian plant. Before-dinner drinks are called apéritifs.
About gentian, the American Heritage Dictionary says:
gen·tian n. 1. Any of numerous plants of the genus Gentiana, characteristically having showy, variously colored flowers. 2. The dried rhizome and roots of a yellow-flowered European gentian, G. lutea, sometimes used as a tonic.
A Suze ice bucket that I bought in Laon in 1994According to the official Suze web site, Suze-style gentiane drinks were made as early as 1795, but it was in 1889, the centennial of the French Revolution, when the name Suze was created. That same year, the Eiffel Tower opened to the public.
A close-up shot of the wall sign on the N76 highway near Saint-Aignan* * * * *
Correction and addendum to yesterday's post about the house across from us at La Renaudière. It is not being sold. The son and daughter of Mme Simonnet are having it appraised for other reasons. I imagine they will inherit it 50/50 and they want to know the value in case one of them wants to buy the other's stake in the place.
Hi Ken from another American living in the French Riviera~
ReplyDeleteI loved looking at the ads on the buildings - and when we went to Nice the other day, I saw one that I snapped at the Cannes train station - of Marilyn Monroe. (It's here if you'd like to look: http://www.frenchrivieralife.com )
I've bookmarked your blog and will enjoy reading about life in another part of France. By the way, if you come to my neck of the woods, we'll have to get together for one of those aperitifs! (Although my personal preference is kir.)