From Aubenas to Grenoble by bus speaking in chinese

After spending the morning in Aubenas we took the bus to go to Grenoble. We passed by the Escrinet's pass and we could enjoy a fabulous landscape.

 It was very funny because we spent a long time to chat in chinese with Nan Yen who gave me a intensive chinese course during few hours, I am so grateful to her for that! The people in the bus thought, as in the Aubenas's market, I was the official traductor of the two taiwanese women hihihi!!! so funny!! My chinese is so poor, that's why it is really funny to think that!! Althought I was so used to take this road during two years, I was very happy to see the ardeche's countryside and to come back here. I was happy to see my taiwanese friends liking very much this place. And I was thinking about Jeff who spent a lot of time to bring me in this kind of places in Taiwan. It is so nice to take the chance to visit very special places of a country... Nan and Shu spent their time in watching the landscape and trying to take some pictures but in a bus it is really difficult. They saw the "Long he" 龍河 that is to say the Rhône, the second most long river of France (I think...). At last we arrived in Grenoble and few days after that， we met for a dinner in the town center of Grenoble.As usual in Grenoble during the summer, there was not a lot of people in the streets but the atmosphere was relly different from Kaohsiung, and the air was so good to breath!! (sorry for my friends who are now in Jakarta or in Kaohsiung...!! ;-)) Grenoble seems to me now, after one year in Taiwan so typically french!!! People take the time to go and to have a talk with friends, or to go in a park or to drink something in a café. I love that!

We eat together at the Grenette place and Nan Yen, who is really brave, decided to try the Ravioles which is a typical food from Grenoble. They took picture of the plates and we gave a chinese name to Mickaël, I can't write it because my laptop here is not in chinese... Now they are both in Marseille with July.
I just want to tell them; thank you very much for the great moments we had together, and I wish you a good travel in Germany and a save flight to Taiwan!! See you there!

Aubenas's church with my taiwanese friends

Before going to Grenoble, we stopped to Aubenas to see the market and visit the place. The weather was really good and sunny, it was very pleasant to see the little producers of goat cheese and the sellers of vegetables. Nan Yen bought some peachs. It was the fisrt time for me to visit the Aubenas's church, inside it was really quiet and very beautiful. From outside it doesn't seem so old and well done.

A walk in the countryside

This morning we go to have a walk in the countryside just next the house. The weather was really cooler because the weather forecast announced a storm :-( We could see the old walls did by ancient people. They did them because in these mountains it was too difficult to make growing some vegetables. They built these walls everywhere but now the population has gone in the city and the countryside is full of tourist people. It is sad to see all this huge job destroyed by the wild animals, the wild boar. It search food so it destroys all the walls to find food in the grass.

The wild boar likes very much chesnut. Now there are too young, you have to wait october to take them and make marmelade, hummm!! so good!

My friends really enjoyed this place and took a lot of pictures. They told me that in Taiwan the landscape is totally different, no place looks like that in Taiwan. But in China you can see little walls in the mountains. They did the same to cultivate some vegetables until now. So landscape looks a bit similar!

France is a catholic country even if people don't believe in god, you can see in the trails some cross. This kind of monument is old and in the countryside you can see a lot of cross just next to the road.

The weather is so dry that the grass is yellow and it is forbidden to put water in the private swimming pool in order to keep enough water to drinking use. Every summer it is the same problem; not enough water, and sometimes they cut the water, and we can't use water at all.

The "gorges de l'Ardèche" et the Madeleine's cave

It is so hot here, 35 degres!! But we don't care, we go here and there to visit and see the landscape with my taiwanese friends!

Today we go to see the Ardèche gorges and the we visit a cave, 100 000 years old at least. It was so good to be at -65m because the temperature was very fresher, 15°C!! Great! We almost needed a coat to go there!

The pont d'Arc is very famous in Europe because it is a very beautiful part of the Gorges. My friends love that, and me too because I realized it was the first time I go there!

The day after we go to Ruoms, an old city. No tourists in the streets because they don't know that inside it is so beautiful. They prefer going to the beach in order to be fresher in the water of the river.

The Ruoms's church is very beautiful too, more than the Vogüe's one. Older and smaller... I've met some guys outside, they were preparing a theater stage for a show. I wanted to go but tonight we prepare shui jiao, I mean dumplings with pork meat and some vegetables from our garden! so good!

Vogüe et Balazuc with my taiwanese friends from Kaohsiung

The chinese center chairperson arrived in Ardèche with her friend. It is very funny to speak chinese in south of France with them. They are chinese teachers, both of them, so I improve my chinese thanks to them.

We went to Vogüe and Balazuc to have a walk there. It was really hot, sunny and a lot of tourists were walking in the streets. We could here speaking english, german, deutch and belgium language.

We visited the Vogüe's castle, a very old one. Before it was private but since few years it belongs to the city, so now you can go inside and see the architecture.

To go back home we follow the "défilés"'s road just near Ruoms. We've seen the canoe in the river, the Ardèche river. I think it really looks like Taroko in Taiwan, in east coast.

This is the Balazuc village, a very old one. The church was built in the XIIth century.

The church is open since two years, and now it is possible to visit it. You can see an art exhibition. It is very quiet and original to see.

One week in Ardèche, south of France

I arrived in Ardèche for one week, the weather is so good, sunny and it is really quiet here! It is the countryside!

In the garden I met a beautiful butterfly, it was eating the flower. Seen from the house, the landscape is fabulous, and there is only the sound of the birds and the wind. I love spending some days here!

But sometimes you can meet a snake, like in Taiwan. The french snakes are smaller but as dangerous as Taiwanese snakes.

After one day at home we decided to go to visit a traditional market. There, some musicians sang with strange instrument, like here. This guy seems be coming from north Europe according to his language.

The Ardeche markets are night ones, it is very confortable to have a walk there. In the evening the weather is better, less hot, because in the afternoon it can be 35 degres.

Savoie with Marlène!! So coOool !!

Marlene arrived in Savoie for on day and half so we decided to go in the mountains in order to show her how this place is wonderful!!But we don't have any car so we decided to ask people to bring us in the mountains!!

After waiting during 30 minutes to catch a car, a very nice woman bring us to Meribel and from there we took the "télésiège" and a "télécabine". It was a bit scary at the beginning. The landscape is so beautiful from there that it was really marvellous to be there, in the air... in the silence of the moutains! We have fun in taking photo of the cake of Bernard, the "vacherin". He bring it in Emilie's flat, it was really icy with some cranberries. The Emilie's plates are very funny, look this one just above...!

Marlène arrived in Emilie's flat with some cake and sweet things from Aix, it was so delicious after one year in Asia! I like the Emilie's flat, watch the interior decoration you can see she is an arts teacher!

A trip in Italy with Bernard and Emilie

It is funny to go to a tourist trip with my two friends Bernard and Emilie because they are the two who came to see me in Taiwan last year! This time we decided to go to Italy by the St Bernard pass. I really don't know what this Saint Bernard did in the mountains but there, you can see his statue, and in Italy you can see his house.

At the frontier we met the "carabinieri" it means in italian: the italian policeman. But since the Europe organization and the Maastrich law there is no any frontier between european countries. It is very easy to go to Italy, England, Germany, the policemen just stare at you and that's all. No need visa, or any papers to go there.

We were at 2188 m and it was really cold!! We saw snow here and there... I was regretting Kaohsiung during few minutes!!

We met guys who were skying on the road, it is a strange sport, you wear skis with wheels on your feet and you follow the road. It is not roller, it is different because it looks like ski.

We stop to play with the snow, because it was too funny to think that it was the summer but we were in the snow. After 5 minutes I was so cold that I decided to let Bernard and Emilie playing alone and I went in the car. This picture is very good, I didn't know I succeeded to take in photo the snow ball of Bernard.

As I told you we follow the trail to go to the Bernard's house, but we never found it... We just stopped to see the church, fabulous one!! I am going to see you the picture later after the lunch.

The italian lunch was very good but a bit strange, we choose the "menu promozione" but it was 18 euros!! The food was really good, the name of this small city is La Thuile. After this sorrt of bacon we ate a bit of polenta with meet and the dessert was the best:

"gelati" ice cream with red fruits... humm!! After the meal we go to visit the town, it is a tiny touristic town, very cute!

Emilie bought a funny thing to put at her window, in the wind. I remember now that I forgot to give her the autocollant of Daila lama... I have to send you by mail now!!

This is the church I was speaking just before in La Thuile. So cute, and so old !! One year in Taiwan and I forgot how old is Europe... !

Inside is very traditional, but I didn't meet any religious woman, monk. It was really beautiful and so quiet.

It was a so good day in the mountains of french Alps, the weather was not really clear but the light was very surprising. I hope next year to live there and to invite all my friends of Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan...

First week in France (for my friends in Taiwan!!)

Quand je suis à Taiwan j'écris pour mes amis français alors j'écris en français, mais maintenant que je suis en France I write in english for my friends in Taiwan, logique non?

I arrived in Savoie, in the town of my friends. When I arrived, there was a lot of people in the streets, so cool!!! because it was the market with cheese, fruits juices, vegetables, fruits, fish...

I met Emilie in the street and we went to eat to the Mic Mac, the mediterranean restaurant. We ate a real couscous, different from the one I did for my friends Donivan, Sabina and Eric in Kaohsiung.

At last I ate goat cheese!!! tiny pieces of cheese, so GOOD!!!! It was a very good week in France.