Thursday, July 23, 2009

See No Evil . . .

When I set out the other day to go track down the tomb of a soldier from WWI (see post below "A Canterbury Tale" which was sparked by a piece over at More Canterbury Tales), the end of the day found me strolling in the small northern France town of Le Quesnoy. These are just a few glimpses from that stroll, if you can stand to humor me. . .
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This reflection of the belfry in the brasserie glass is for Nathalie at Avignon in Photos and Loulou at Indiaphragme, as I know they both like reflections in windows . . .
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The baker here goes out to Lynne at Décolleté, as it goes hand in hand with the Village People piece she posted this week . . . and it's not a bad deal for lunch, a sandwich, drink, and dessert for five euros. . .
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This last is a self portrait of myself in the middle, as I can see no evil, and the monkey and I become one ; flanked by Steve at Bloggertropolis and Jeff at Life Is Beautiful, because they're two of the wild and craziest guys I know in the blogging business. . . I'm not sure which is which however . . . and if you look at this image in a mirror they trade places. . .
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36 comments:

Lynne with an e said...

I truly enjoyed this colourful stroll. Thanks for inviting us along.

How remarkable that not only did you track down the Kiwi soldier's grave but were able to locate a long lost kissing cousin of the Village People! You are one remarkable monkey...toad...Monkey-toed Toad!

La Belette Rouge said...

I see no evil, speak no evil and do no evil---but I think I do see you. Are you in the monkey or is in the monkey in you?Hmmmm.....;-)

La Framéricaine said...

I, too, love reflections in windows. Especially, autoportraits possibilities!

Beautiful photos, Owen.

Wild Cayuse Creek said...

I don't know what it is, but I love see no/hear no/speak no monkeys. Maybe because they always look as if that's exactly what they're thinking of doing anyway.

What a wonderful series of photos.

Amy

The Sagittarian said...

Fantastic pix, Owen. It really was very kind of you to go to all that trouble to get those photos for me re WW1 - I have found out he has 2 rellies still here in Christchurch and I will also be meeting the man who campaigned for the statue!
Have a drink, you've earned it.

Cathy said...

I was able to humor you and enjoyed this little trip emmensly, the visuals especially.

The Panorama said...

Very nice pics, Owen. And a nice pic of you too:-D.

I enjoy looking at the pics on your blog a lot. Thanks for this post. Cheers!

@eloh said...

Beautiful and different. I'll have to come back and look at these many times.

Steve said...

I'm definitely the one on the right (you're left) covering my mouth after dropping my foot into it once again...! ;-)

desi said...

hi Owen, long time no speak!! no, nothing evil, promise!
i really love you country, all your pictures have convinced me to travel there one day!!
I am also addicted to history and France has so much historical places! its beautiful!

only one problemo...from what ive heard..France is not the friendliest place to be a traveller..is that true? and why? its JUST from what I heard.. i almost can't believe it as all french people ive spoken to are so nice!!

Lydia said...

I would think I'd died and gone to heaven if I could take that stroll in my lifetime. I'm thankful to you for showing it to us through your eyes, Owen.

clo said...

coucou Owen...
je connais ce joli petit village du nord...
de la famille la haut in chtiland...
je vais peut etre aller y faire un rapide petit tour au mois d'aout...
mais la Polynésie me tenterai plus..
juste pour les couleurs...
bises Owen...:)

Roxana said...

such a lovely lovely post! that window reflection of the brasserie is truly beautiful - and how could one ever resist the charm of such a brasserie, and such a stroll? do take us along when you go strolling like this, always! :-)

Anonymous said...

What wonderful old buildings! The first reflection shot is magic.

Margaret Pangert said...

I love the reflection photo! Really beautiful! But I couldn't find you?
You hear no evil, Owen? That's a wonderful way to live. I don't know about the other two, but I do know one thing for sure: Jeff's mouth is never muzzled! :)

jeff said...

Je ne savais pas que tu publierais finalement la photo où nous nous trouvons, toi, Loulou, et moi ! ! !
Mais quoi donc qu'est-ce ? Une rôtissoire ?
Je suis à la bourre Owen, mais je tenais à te laisser un commentaire... tu vois... très intelligent !
Et tes vacances ? Où en sont-elles ?... Pas de causses en vue ? Tu peux faire un détour par l'Est ?

Allez, à bientôt Owen ! Et sorry pour mon manque d'imagination ! Le cerveau est en vacances également ! ! !

Amitiés !...;-)

Owen said...

Cathy, thanks for dropping in here and humoring me; creating a blog and blog posts really is a pretty tall order, because then one comes to think that for whatever reasons, other folks should come and look at it... when there is really very little reason why they should, as everyone is busy, busy, busy... so, I really appreciate it when good people like you stop by... :-D Especially when they come with a smile... or even a pun or two... no, on second thought, no puns !

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Dear Saroj, Glad you like the picture of me... I've never really merged with a monkey before, but was trying to get close to him to better understand his essence... I wasn't just monkeying around... :-)

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@eloh, come back as many times as you like, for return visitors tickets are half price !!!

PS liked your story about all the different kinds of rattlesnakes you've known...

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Steve, yep, that makes sense ! And anything you say can and will be held against you... which for some inexplicable reason reminds me of that old barroom line, "If I told you you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me ?" Don't know why that came to the surface ! I've never tried it on anyone... :-D

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Hi Desi ! Nice to see you... hasn't been so long... but time flies for bloggers and poets...

I've always enjoyed travelling in France ever since I started trying to learn French... if you show the natives that you're making an effort, things go better I think. It's true to some extent, that reputation may exist a little bit, but perhaps with people who use the method "If they can't understand what I'm saying, then I'll say it louder"... that doesn't go across too well. But France is such a beautiful country, it's worth many small efforts...

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Hey Lydia, I like that expression... died and gone to heaven... anyway, thanks, come and tag along any time !

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Owen said...

Ahhh Clo, alors, tu es un petit peu Cht'i enfin ? Bon, il y a pire défautes, personne n'est parfait... Faut quand même faire un petit effort pour atterrir à Le Quesnoy... mais ça vaut le détour, j'étais très agréablement surpris.
Bon, bonnes vacances dans le nord alors... ou est-ce que tu risques vraiment de partir en Polynesie ??? J'aimerais bcp y aller, ma belle soeur habite Tahiti en ce moment... nous sommes verts...

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Roxana, you are completely welcome, virtually, vicariously, or should you ever be in France, would be happy for company on a walking ramble like this... or just for a cup of tea in Paris... would have hundreds of questions for you... la Grenouille and I have recently discovered that meeting other blog people can be a real pleasure...

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Hi Tricia, glad you like the reflection... and just saw your lovely cat poster ! LOL ! Glad you didn't leave that message here ! take care...

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Hi Margaret, that's me merged with the middle monkey... see no evil ! Hmmm, we'll have to see what Jeff has to say... :-D

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Salut Jeff, c'était un restaurant indien qui servait de la cervelle de singe sur le menu, tu te souviens, comme dans un de ces films d'Indiana Jones...

Ce n'est pas encore les vacances, mais bientôt, probablement un petit détour vers le ouest... à l'Ouest, Rien de Nouveau... autant que j'aimerais faire un déplacement dans le sud vers les causses... un de ces 4...
à+ à- à= à bientôt... pxpte

TheChicGeek said...

Great pics, Owen! I love, love, love the self-portrait reflection photo...and the Brasserie glass...the colors are just stunning. I love that!

desi said...

haha, I'll make sure I learn my French before i come there! :D

Have a great weekend!!

joo said...

Hello, Owen, what a lovely stroll you had - I love those colorful little houses not mention the brasserie:)
Might have lunch in the cute little spot and self portrait....wow!
You asked where I was in Brittany - it was in the midle of nowhere in old mill git in Finistere. Amazing place I'm sure will be back there sooner or later:)
Have a nice weekend!

The Poet Laura-eate said...

Great monkeys! What were they selling?

Owen said...

Hi Laura, I asked what they were selling, but they wouldn't say...

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Hey Joo, if you go back to Finistère give me a shout, we go out that way alot, will be heading out there soon in fact... hmmm, Finistère Nord and Finistère Sud ?
A fine weekend to you !

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Thanks Desi... we can start working on French here if you like... bon weekend à toi ! A bientôt...

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Hi Chic ! Glad you enjoy the colors, between black and white work and colors, I'm kind of like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (but nicer !) :-D

Lynne with an e said...

Thanks for asking, Owen--yes, my ankle is recovered. While it was out of commission, it certainly was challenging, when things got windy, to assume the correct position without toppling over!

Summer reading has digressed to lighter fare. Not to suggest that it's bad enough to be burned! Just slightly on the trashy side.

Lubna said...

An enchanting blog. I am travelling in cyberspace today and chanced by. Travelling is amazing, ahem- even couch surfing!
Cheers

Mahmood Syed Faheem said...

Hi Owen! Your blog is very nice. The images are very beautiful. God is Great. Best wishes.

http://www.thedynamicnature.com

Amy said...

I think with gorgeous photos like that we can all stand to humor you. ;)

I particularly love the reflection photo. Oh and the bricks on the yellow house. I want to be there and take photographs of those textures!

Owen said...

Lynne, glad to hear it... gosh, do you know anything about all this windy weather we've been having over here ??? Storm patterns from Canada that go across the North Atlantic... :-D

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Lubna, thanks for dropping in here, come back anytime, always happy to see new faces here !

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Mahmood, many thanks for your visit, glad you enjoyed the photos here at this humble little blog...
A wonderful weekend to you :-)

Selina Kingston said...

Oh how cute! You look like my husband ....
x

clo said...

hi owen...
oui ma moitié a de la famille dans le nord...c'est vrai nul n'est parfait...j'ai épousé un chti italien....et en plus j'ai fait plein d'enfants avec....:)de beaux enfants bien sur..
non pas de Polynésie pour le moment c'était juste pour rêver un peu...un jour j'aimerai...mais je ne reviendrai plus alors....
pour le moment on se contente du var très ensoleillé....
et de ses beaux canyon verdoyant..:)
bises owen...
amitiés...

Lynne with an e said...

Owen,I think I'll just wait for this post to blow over rather than adding any further long-winded comments!

Owen said...

Thank you Lynne ! Discretion is the better part of valor, right ? Or should that be, excretion is the better part of squalor ??? Or something like that... :-D

I will write on the board two hundred times: I must NOT modify famous expressions !

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Ahh Clo, en tout cas, tu as de la chance je pense... il y a plein de gens, comme nous, par exemple, qui aimeraient passer des semaines et des mois dans le Var... et si tu as
plein de beaux enfants et un italien Cht'i, que pourrait-on vouloir en plus de la vie ??? Et en plus tu fais de photos à en crever les yeux de beauté... oui, je pense tu as dû trouver quelque part là bas une mine de bonheur... que tu exploites discretement...
:-D

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Selena ! oh boy, your husband must be a barrel full of fun then ! :-)

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Hey Amy ! Glad to see you got back in one piece from rock climbing ! Yeah, I rather suspect you would love it over here... guess you're just going to have to come on over one of these days... In the meanwhile, have a great weekend !

Janie said...

Funny self portrait! I love that second photo with the reflection.

Owen said...

Hey Janie, well, a vacation in France is always an option... from Salt Lake it's about 10 or 11 hours I think... :-D

Although horse on the plane might be a little tougher to organize, but not impossible...

Country Girl said...

Love your photographs.

cheryl said...

The reflection is amazing shot !