Whilst on vacation, some people dream of sitting at a lovely table and eating fine meals outdoors with great scenery ; while others dream of lying in a hammock with beer and admiring the simply stunning view from the back porch looking out on somewhere like la Réunion Island's valley of the Saint Denis River. And once in blue moon, one can dream and live both dreams at the same time in a place like this . . .
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Other people from a very early age dream of driving fast orange sports cars . . .
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While other people daydream while driving a little too fast and their car ends up like this one . . .
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Or like this one . . .
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Some people take care and drive carefully to the beerhall (Bourbon and Phoenix are the two most popular local beers on la Réunion) where they park their sports car while sipping a few beers in the cool shade of the bar, and then get a friend to drive them home . . .
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And if you had a car, would you park it anywhere near a tree which looked like this one ? I'm not sure that I would, and I didn't . . . I didn't want to have to explain to the rental car people how I'd left my car on the street near a ravenous looking tree, and it was gone when I came back . . .
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38 comments:
Owen! It is an attack tree! Slide! Slide for your life! That car does not know the danger it is in! I hope the car does not pass go but drives directly to the hammock bar and has an nice afternoon nippy after a scare like that!
Breathing a sigh of relief,
Mrs. Slug.
PS, I am sliding on over to the suggested mollusk spot you sent me to, I will return further comment on said research items as soon as possible. I have since prepared a new entry for your immediate attention, it is of a theatrical nature, perfect with whatever you may be sipping on, be it a fine beer or exotic whine.
Loving the look of that hammock bar! Those car wrecks are great, I drove too fast past a wreckers yard last week and am still kicking myself as the photos would have been fun to post!
Right, I'm off to the cider bar...
The people there should know - drink and drive and you'll be as dead as a dodo!
The patio area with a hammock for after lunch naps is ideal. I could be there and often. Darling little car, like this idea and then the wrecked cars after. I think this tree looks like it should be the main character in a children's horror book.
That's a tree and a half!. love it!... and the photos of the photo exhibition were very interesting. There's just something fantastic about photography, I think it appeals to me more than paintings etc because it captures such obvious atmosphere, I like the rawness and the proof that the moment was actually real (well, before the days of photoshop anyway!)... beeootifull!
Owen,
Quel arbre incroyable, méduse ou pieuvre végétale on ne sait trop, chevelu comme un musicien de rock metal :)
Il me fait penser à la plante prénommée "Audrey" dans la comédie musicale "Little Shop of Horrors" !
Brrrr....!
Hahaha...but hey, I didn't know Big Banyan trees grew in France!!!
And here's me thinking that the Triffids weren't real!
The view off that patio is amazing. Are you sure those trees aren't pulling off a Wizard of Oz and causing all those car wrecks?
How could one relax - beer, good food and scenery aside - knowing that a car-eating tree is on the loose nearby? That thing is awesome, but it scares me!!!
Always a trip to careen around the corners of your mind, Owen, as evidenced in how you steer your photos with drunk driver abandon along hallucinatory story lines.
How many fingers am I holding up? (no, I'm not being rude!)
Wow, Owen! I would definately love to be on holiday there! Tiddles would love the orange car - it would match his fur! Is that a Triumph Spitfire? We are bidding on a Triumph Dolomite to tow the teenie tiny caravan with, we need a classic British car from the early 70's, ooh it's so exciting! Thanks for the lovely, as always, photo's and commentary xxx
The place in the first photo is enchanting - it would be my choice for sure, and I wouldn't need a car to worry about:)
Ouahhh la vache ! La vue imprenable ! ! ! Je m'y vois bien entrain de siroter de la menthe et d'admirer le paysage avec une fleur bleue entre les dents...:)
Superbes les photos de la Réunion ! Quand on s'emmerde par ici de voir sans arrêts toujours les mêmes paysages, il suffit de venir te voir pour s'évader un tout petit peu par la fenêtre magique de ton blog !
Je vois aussi que tu as renoncé à ta porsche en plastique et que tu as encore fracassé deux ou trois voitures en rentrant du bistrot ! ! ! C'est du propre ! ! !
Amitiés amigo !
Bonne Réunion et bel arbre que j'aperçois tout en bas !...:)
je m'y verrais bien aussi comme Tarzan pour y crier mon cri de guerre...AAAAAAAAAAAAA OUA OUAAAAA OUA OUA OUAAAAAAA...(8]... Pu'ain ! ça fait mal à la gorge ! ! !
Ciao mec !
A bientôt...:)
Dear Mrs Slug,
You can be sure I slid and hopped just as fast as my little toad legs could jump to stay well clear of that devious tree's roots and tentacles and writhing vines... the stuff of nightmares and bad horror movies !
I will be by shortly to see what sort of slime trails you've been leaving, and yes indeedy, nothing like a fine whine from time to time ! It is good to vent and then quench one's thirst appropriately afterwards...
;-)
Happy May 1st to all at Slug's Rest, here in Europe anyway it's a holiday...
Dear Sister Saj, well don't kick yourself too hard, you can always go back later to get the photos you missed, but just don't wait too long, as many things have a bad habit of disappearing... Have fun at the cider bar... You're going to have to come visit Brittany, there's lots of good cider to taste out that way...
Hey Adam, well you'd think they would know, but reading the local newspaper for two weeks while we were there, I gathered that for a small island it has a rather large drinking and drug problem, which often translates as car accidents or altercations... for the latter the problem being that many people are equipped with sugar cane cutting machetes (sabre à canne) and don't hesitate to use them on an offending party...
Hi TechoB, hear you loud and clear about the hammock, definitely the place to be after lunch, amazing how easy it is to fall asleep in such a setting...
As for the tree, it could star in not only childrens horror books but in adult horror stories... probably better for adults at that, am not sure children really need horror stories ? You can see how it was sort of oozing over the curb and starting to feel its way across the street...
:-)
Excellent, de belles photos agrémentant un texte sympatique... L'humour et le sérieux mélangés avec une grande dextérité ! Bravo, encore !
Hey ! So good to see a yowl from a watercat ! I'd even go for a tree and three quarters... indeed, and awesome creature. I was imagining myself hanging upside down strung up by my ankles in it if I got too close. And am super happy if you enjoyed the photos from the exhibition, it was for sure wonderful... the only thing missing was a little bit of live music somewhere in the area... we're going to have to get you a gig in Paris... there are some Irish bars around here... and Ryan Air...
Salut Arnaud ! Merci bcp... je pensais bien sûr à toi, bien qu'aucune de ces voitures présentent des difficultés d'identification. Ah, ce n'est pas facile de trouver de dexterité tard la nuit quand je me mets devant l'écran, mais c'est en pensant à de lecteurs comme toi et quelques autres que ces idées farfelues trouvent leur naissance... bon weekend ! Et bonne anniversaire à ta fille !
Bonjour K'line !
Et oui, tu as vu comme il a pu se faire teindre ces cheveux cet arbre ? Il voulait devenir un peu roux orange, en anglais on dit "strawberry blond", c'est très à la mode tu sais ! Et le plus on arbore des couleurs exotiques, le moins on se fait remarquer, n'est-ce pas ? Et ooh là, ça fait belle lurette que je n'ai pas pensé à cette fabuleuse histoire d'un Little Shop of Horrors... il va falloir que je le revoir... car ça fait vraiment un long bail ! Et oui, c'est dangereux la nature, surtout quand cela vient dans la ville et commence à dîner sur un regime de voitures... Il va falloir prévenir Jeff, c'est peut-être un peu risqué de passer autant de temps couché dans l'herbe... certains de ces arbres arrivent par derrière sur des pas feutrés, on ne les entend pas venir ! Et puis... et oui, tu as déviné, et puis... SSCCRROOUUNNCCHH !!!
:-)
Hi Prya, well, la Réunion Island may be closer to India than to mainland France métropolitaine as they say, but it is still in France, though it has a lovely tropical climate and many incredibly beautiful forms of flora, as well as many people with ancestors from India. Some of the earliest settlers back in the late 1600's came from India, and many more over the years... So you have Banyan trees where you are too ? I would be careful, and don't turn your back on them !
But Steve, who ever told you that Triffids weren't real ??? Of course they're real. And they are all around us already. They are just waiting for the order to awaken... which will probably be given by the Master Triffid in 2012...
:-)
Hi Stickup, it could very well be a similar phenomenon to the poppy field where Dorothy fell asleep... causing all the wrecks... bears further investigation, guess I'll just have to go back to look into the problem further... maybe I could get a research grant ???
:-)
Hi Clytie, indeed indeed ! The best way to be able to relax in such a situation where monstruous man and woman eating trees are loose is to keep a large, heavy, very sharp ax at hand... it fact, that may be part of the origin of the word "rel-ax". Although these trees look dangerous they can be scared off by brandishing either an ax or a flamethrower. Heck, even a butane lighter will do... this could indeed be a case of their bark is worse than their blight...
:-)
Ah Lynne, there you are ! You know you are always welcome to come careening around the forest with the bears and the toads and the banyans. Actually it may be that this frightening looking tree was in fact very timid and bashful, and was just waiting for someone to walk up and smile and compliment it on its tinted hairdo and slithery root system... what do you think. Do you want to go first and ask if it would like to dance ???
:-)
And what's this about holding up fingers ??? My view is obscured by volcanic ash still...
Hey Liz,
You're right, that is the perfect car for Tiddles... gosh, I should have made its owner an offer and brought it home for you. Maybe it's not too late, I remember exactly where it was, and am betting it will probably still be right there for years to come... And that would be fabulous if you find just the right car to pull the caravan, I can see Tiddles waving out the window ! Oh, and please do remember to send me an e-mail with Tiddles post office box address and the price of the book plus postage so I can mail you the legal tender... and also if it's ok please do email me a scan of the book cover, I'd really love to do a little advertising for free for Tiddles !
Very best wishes to all of you, I still can't believe the book is actually a reality now, you must be on a cloud...
Hi Joo, probably best to walk in such places, one can stop and smell the flowers that way...
:-)
As très Sacré Jeff, tu me fais rire tu sais...
Et oui, moi aussi je te vois bien en train de siroter une menthe glacée avec une fleur bleue entre les dents et derrière les oreilles et dans les cheveux et à la boutonnière, même en collier, et oui, tes fleurs bleues d'hier était somptueuses...
Bon, donc, si je comprends bien tu veux pas monter dans ma bagnole pour voir si l'on peut battre le record pour faire le tour de l'île ? Bah zut alors, qui va vouloir m'accompagner ??? Avec la ceinture bouclée on craignt pas grand chose quand la voiture fait des tonneaux le long des falaises, et l'atérissage dans la mer est des plus spectaculaires ! Bon, je te laisserais faire le Tarzan dans l'arbre, et je reviendrais te chercher plus tard, avec une caisse de la bonne bière dodo bourbon dans le coffre... ok ??? Oh, et avec quelques pastilles pour la gorge...
:-)
Quel monstre... un enfant terrible je pense que tu étais ou que tu es encore... Alors, est tu monté enfir vers la mont de piété, la coeur dans la main ???
:-)
bonjour owen adoré
en arrivant ici ce matin je suis partie en voyage avec mon petit baluchon et trois bouquins !
je me suis assise à la terrasse et j'ai contemplé ce merveilleux paysage puis me suis allongée, légèrement lascive sur le hamac pour rêver (mon passe-temps favori)
je ne suis pas montée en voiture, je laisse cela aux garçons comme jeff. non, je suis plutôt allée rencontrer ce bel arbre pour lui parler parce que j'en suis certaine, il est la réincarnation de quelqu'un de noble et grand. il m'a dit de belles choses et je te les chuchote à toi owen adoré mais seulement à toi ...
That first picture has to be one of the best ever places to sit and have a drink.
I love the way you tied in all of your photos, Owen. It was like a little picture story. But I don't know why I always imagine your voice as sad while you narrate these stories for us. Happy photos, some, and bright and cheery, cut by photos of devastated cars, and Owen's voice... unheard... telling us how, and why, and when. A lovely post, this one! Have a lovely weekend, Owen.
Nevine
Bonjour Karine... ah, tu crées des visions qui font rever... avec ton baluchon. Mais tu n'as pas dit quels bouquins, les trois bouquins, et peut-être un bouquet de fleurs avec les bouquins, et pourquoi pas un biquette pour porter le baluchon et donner du lait pour en faire du fromage sur une île désert... voilà ce que j'ai revé couché dans le hamac... et oui, qu'est-ce que c'est agréable de s'endormir là, legèrement balancé par le brise... à regarder les oiseaux blancs qui passent, l'oiseau symbole de la Réunion, le paille-en-queue, gracieux maitre du ciel là bas...
Bonne journée chère Karine...
Hi FF, it doesn't get much better than that, for a private home's backyard... though just beyond the bushes at the back edge, it dropped off over a sheer cliff, down about 300 feet to the river below. One must be careful there not to wander off in the dark under the influence !
Ah Nevine, if you could see me giggling away while putting these little creations together, I assure you there is a good pinch of hilarity behind the curtains where the guy pulling the strings at the magic lantern sits... sort of like in the Wizard of Oz, at the end, if you recall... sheepish me, having too much fun. Am only sad maybe one tenth of the time... when I read the news, for example, and see what a mess the human race is making of this once lovely and still could be planet of ours. Hoping you'll still have some beaches in Texas by the time this oil well incident is over... for example...
But still smiling here...
:-)
Dali would have been proud of knowing you and your photography.
Please have a nice Sunday.
Un des bouquins que Karine, mon homonyme aura emporté, est sûrement " le dictateur et le hamac" de Daniel Pennac. Tout à fait de circonstance, je trouve.
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