Seen at Saint-Denis-d'Oléron

Which element in this picture doesn't really belong?


And should we tell this person that his or her hair is on fire?

Gone to heaven

Walking from the Marais toward the Ile St-Louis in Paris yesterday, along the rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, I noticed this shop.

"Look," I said to my friend Cheryl, "we've died and gone to Heaven."

"Well Heaven looks a lot like Paris," she replied.

Walt says it might be as close to heaven as any of us will ever get.

Window display in a bakery in the Marais in Paris

Le Marais aux Oiseaux

Little owls in a cage at the bird rescue park on Oléron

Another place we went to see on the Ile d'Oléron was called Le Marais aux Oiseaux — the bird marsh. We read about it and thought it would be a nice nature trail with opportunities for seeing local bird life.

A swan and her cygnets

Instead, it turned out to be a big bird rescue facility in a park. It was full of chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and swans. There were also some herons and cranes, some owls and falcons.

Cygnets

It was a nice walk and Cheryl and I both took a lot of pictures. But it wasn't the calm, serene nature trail we had pictured. There were several groups of school kids in attendance while we were there. The tiny kids, 4 or 5 years old, were really cute, but were a little intimidated by the geese and swans, which walked around at liberty. The groups of teenagers were rowdy, almost drowning out the loud goose and peacock shrieks.

The Chassiron lighthouse on Oléron

Le Phare de Chassiron on the Ile d'Oléron

Out at the far tip of the Ile d'Oléron there's a lighthouse called Le Phare de Chassiron. We drove out there one afternoon and Walt and I climbed to the top to take in the view. It looks a lot like a lighthouse you would see in my native North Carolina.

The view from the top of the lighthouse back over the island

Cheryl decided to stay on ground level with the dog. Somebody needed to dogsit, and going to the top of the phare meant a 224-step climb.

Cheryl walking Callie along the cliffs
at the base of the lighthouse

There were cafés, restaurants, and shops, plus plenty of parking, as we arrived at Chassiron. We weren't the only people visiting that afternoon, but it wasn't really crowded. The landscapes and seascapes were beautiful on a beautiful day.

Windswept trees at Chassiron

As we were leaving, we drove along next to an amazing field of artichokes. It was very tempting to go pick some. But not possible, of course.

Artichokes and typical houses on the Ile d'Oléron

I'm off this afternoon for three days in Paris. Walt came back last night; it's his turn to watch the dog. Let's hope the weather turns nice.

We had violent thunderstorms yesterday in Touraine, and the Cher River is out of its banks in spots. People's basements are flooded. Luckily, we live on high ground. There was bad weather in Alsace too, according to radio reports, with damage and injuries.