It is March 8th, the last full day in Lignieres for us this winter. We packed our clothing and essentials (olives, oranges, crackers, cheese, wine) for our trip north thru Paris and on to Amsterdam. We'll stay in Amsterdam 3 days to see Anne Frank's House and to go to Haarlem and take a boat ride on the canals and take a few pictures.
We packed lightly to go home, leaving the heavy things behind in Lignieres for next winter. 2 Suitcases and 2 carry-ons and a sachel bag that contains two other sachel bags so we can use them back in California in the ensuing few months. We brought back chocolate for Vern and Ashley, Milk, of course. Chocolate has it's own section in the aisles of the supermarkets here, so many brands, so many kinds. Many are labelled with the percentage of chocolate, so 40%, 50%, 55%, 70%, 80% are all common. It's all soooo smooth and rich and good for you too! Andi from the tourist office will be taking us to the nearby (9 miles away) SNCF train station at 9am tomorrow morning. I never look forward to leaving our little house in our little village. This place is so very Rich and lovely that leaving to return to all the hub-bub of The States is difficult at best. Alas, we ARE Californians, Americans through and through and really do identify with the place whether that is good, bad or indifferent. When we are here we are so very immersed in the culture of France and of The Berry Region and of Lignieres our adopted home. When in California, we work, work, work and spend time
with our friends and neighbors who implore us with "When do you go back?" It's hard on them, I know, that we have adopted this dual-country nomadic existance but for us it's what we love and will do until we can't. Only a certain lack of health will halt our sojourns back and forth. My being a heart patient and Kelly's asthma are potential threats but we are both good at taking the prescriptions and being easy on each other when we are ill that maybe we can do this for a long time, I certainly hope so. Well, enough for now, I have to renew my acquaintance with the underhood area of the Avensis so I can hook the battery back up so we can go out to dinner tonight in St. Amand Montrond on the Cher. There's a small Italian restaurant that we've been eyeing for the last two years that needs a visit, tonight's it's turn.