February-Ticket to Ride

We will soon be hitching up the horse and cart, going back to the continent, new language, new rules, different strike schedules. March 31, 2023 will be our last day in the United Kingdom.

There are places to visit and places to live in France. On our 2 weeks location scouting trip, in mid January, we found more in the former and less in the later. Lots of gorgeous French places to visit causing us to reflect: where do we want to live for some number of years with a lengthy criteria list in mind.

Guizerix

The Charming, Carefree Coreys: Adam, Kaly, Dean, (Wendy) and Austin welcome us on our journey of discovery.

The beauty of the cranes wintering on Lake Puydarrieux remind us of our own mobility. The common crane, beautiful in flight, is an odd name for a bird so uncommonly graceful.

Villages to visit: Cordes sur Ciel

One of the oldest fortified villages in Occitania. Many of the small, beautiful villages are losing population while trying to create revenue by enticing visitors with festivals, artists, sites intertwined with myth.

Cities to visit: Toulouse, Montauban

Toulouse has the feel of a small city dotted with neighborhoods resplendent in a pink glow. There were no natural stone quarries available to build Toulouse back in the day, so red brick was used giving it the name La Ville Rose-Pink City.

The pastel plant, WOAD, created tremendous wealth for Toulouse.

The blue-gold color, derived from the leaves, was an expensive luxury only afforded by the wealthy and privileged. Woad also offers medicinal properties. Toulouse became the center for cloth dyeing elevating simple land owners to wealthy bourgeois creating mansions and handsome architecture. City Hall reflects the Bell Epoch Era: Giant expressive interpretations of Toulouse painted by Toulousains artists.

The Light show by artist Sarkis at Church of the Jacobin, is a beautiful use of a sacred space.

In Montauban some favorite artists: Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (painter) and Antoine Bourdelle (sculptor) were exhibited in remarkable settings.

Cities to Visit: Albi

Toulouse Lautrec, an aristocrat from Albi and avid horse rider, fractured both his legs as a youth, possibly the cause for his shortened height (theories abound). People with disabilities were not accepted in society and he preferred the company of those surviving in the margins giving him a unique artistic perspective.

The Albi Cathedral was another gem added to our jewelry case. Our lodgings at the Albi Ibis Hotel hosted a Meet and Greet for the 22 contestants of Miss Elegance France 2023 along side a real estate agency promotion for properties in Albi. Miss La Franche-Comté won and Albi isn't on our "to live" list because it's too flipping hot in the summer months.

Journey of discoveries with many more to come before we settle into the ideal home.

Meanwhile Back in Bath

I would call this the White Rabbit Wayfaring Pilgrimage. Strange groups of people pop up in Bath on their journeys of discovery.

Volunteering

My last day volunteering at the American Museum in Bath felt a little like the veil of Brigadoon lifting from a magical stage thrusting me into the real world. Every aspect of my time spent here has been pure joy. My volunteer feast always started with a forest-bathing walk appetizer ending with the verdant-view dessert. Main course is the opportunity for me to be the front-line "real" American contact for guests experiencing the Museum.

The commanding view of the American Museum is unparalleled, encompassing working farms, mist laden valleys and old oak tree vistas.

The garden area is a transactional exchange between nature and the seasoned gardeners who know the soil, seasons and the gifts it will produce if lovingly tended. Surprises abound with its ever changing palette of flowers, grasses and blooms in progress.

As a volunteer I struggle to untangle my inadequate American History knowledge, due to my disinterest in said subject in High School, putting me at a disadvantage and in turn, giving me an advantage as I assume I don't know anything, remaining open to learn from all sources.

Opening up to reading, online research and the very knowledgable British volunteers/guests I met. Guests entering the museum are mostly bemused by me and my accent often inquiring "where are you from?" while eager to share their American connections or travels.

If a guest asked me, "what is the point of an American Museum in England"?, I would respond with "what have you learned in school about American History?" In many cases the response was a shrug and nod to the native population and the cowboys they had seen as a youth on TV and in movies. One guest even went so far as to tell me: we had no history!

I always endeavored to make connections that people can relate to and emphasize our similarities rather than differences. I enjoy letting them know that we had learned quite a bit about England in our early studies.

I also enjoy relating the relevance of the Manor house the Museum is in by sharing its historical significance in ways most of our visitors can identify with such as:

• Winston Churchill's made his first speech with the Primrose League,

• Alan Horne's radio broadcast "Around the Horn" loosely based on his Barrage Balloon leadership during WWII when the Museum was an RAF outpost,

• Dame Mary Berry's (she of the cookbook empire) student time in the Bath College of Domestic Science was located in the Museum manor house.

I have learned and appreciated the "American story" starting with the original Americans-indigenous peoples, the diverse classes and cultures arriving from all parts of the world searching for a better life. My teachers have been many and friendships very satisfying.

Aside from volunteering, the available avenues for my growth were numerous and varied from developing accessibility tours for guests who would otherwise miss out on talks and visual presentations, being a member of the diversity task force to add my small voice to the museums exhibits, and crafting Christmas decorations.

It was a real treat to see my first authentic Grandma Moses painting at the museum. Grandma Moses was an anomaly for me as a child who couldn't imagine anyone living to 101 let alone learning to paint at 78. Starting her working life at 12, she showed an early appreciation of art. 10 children (5 survived), farm life and arthritis took its toll when at the age of 76 she traded her embroidery canvas for a paint canvas.

Anna Mary Robertson (Grandma Moses) represents the American spirit of hard work, determination and independence; a self taught artist whose life was filled with hardship but her art emanated the joy and wonder of a full and simple life.

Icing on an already multi-layered cake, I gave my first guided tour before Christmas and perhaps my last. A fulfilling experience that garnered a 5 star on Google by one of the attendees.