Since we’ve had a bear visit that is! Yesterday in the heat of the afternoon this is what I saw out the front window laying in the shade. (all photos taken from the safety of an upstairs window)

One BIG bear and one smaller one. The small one looks too small to be this year’s cub, but I can’t be sure about that. The small bear was quite entertained with my tree stump that I sometimes pour bird seed into. He was quite sure there was more to this stump than meets the eye.

Maybe if I turn it over ...

The big bear wonders if the little one might be on to something here.

Yup, definitely something in the bottom here. (Some leftover bird seed fell out.)

This bear is not familiar to me. It’s BIG. Look at the size of its head! Very porcine looking! And what is also strange about this bear duo is that the smaller bear has been tagged twice, the big bear has no tags. The big one looks male to me. He was also favoring one leg and I remember that either Luke or my neighbor Aileen had told me of a bear with an injured leg a while back. So, maybe the same one that they saw.

Time for a sit-out. Just look at the position of those back legs. I’d say he looks pretty comfortable, wouldn’t you? They can be so silly.

Sitting was too tiring.

Time to leave!

In case you are wondering why the big bear is wet, we had a little thunderstorm blow through a couple of hours before their visit. He’s either wet from walking through wet vegetation or he visited Bella’s wading pool in the back yard before visiting the front yard! *(joking here)* There isn’t enough water at this time of year for him to have been wading in our little stream. And yes, the big bear was panting just like a dog. It was hot yesterday!

I hope you enjoyed their visit as much as I did!

It was lovely this morning. High humidity—100%—coupled with a quite a bit of rain in the evening last night created wonderful misty sunbeams throughout my yard as the sun rose through the trees and garden. I tried to capture its beauty.

To me it looks like this tree is doing its “Oh what a beautiful morning” salutation dance amongst the bee balm!

A spider decided it was a fine morning to spin a web on the railing around the pool. He picked a lovely spot by the day lilies.

Grab a cool one and sit down with me for a few minutes. Yes, I’m still here in case you were wondering. A few people have commented to me on my lack of blogging lately, so somebody out there missed me! Nothing wrong, just going through a phase where I have nothing to say. I’ve started several blog posts that never materialized. Poof! They were gone before they really ever began.

Summer has finally kicked in here I think. We’ve had lovely warm weather, some with humidity and some without. A few rain storms—not a lot—but enough to keep everything watered without dragging out the hose.

Every spare moment we had this weekend was spent in or around the pool. It’s back up to 78 degrees now, so pretty comfortable. I had my first skinny-dip of the year on Sunday night. It felt good.

When it’s hot our favorite drink around the pool are Beergaritas. You have to be careful because they can sneak up on you. They taste so good going down it’s scary. And I don’t even like beer all that much. These are the exception.

They might make you do silly things like photograph your out of proportion shadow on the bottom of the pool.

Did you know you could float your drink in the water to keep it cool?

There really is nothing quite so relaxing as floating around in the pool listening to Bossa ‘n Stones.

The day lilies around the pool are in bloom right now. Just beautiful. The ferns make a great backdrop for them.

The bee balm makes a pretty sea of red firework-like blooms.

We’ve had a few visitors to the yard. Some welcome ...

... some not so welcome.

He’s just a harmless baby garter snake but I really didn’t want him in my pool so I graciously fished him (or is that snaked? him) out.

So those are just a few of the things I have to share today. Hopefully this will jump start me back to blogging again!

After a morning of climbing the steps, visiting the Basilique and eating a typical Lyonnaise lunch we did even more walking. This time across the Sôane and the Rhône. Our goal was a famous chocolatier, Bernachon, where we used to buy chocolates when we lived there. We found them easily, and in the same location.

Here is a peek in their front window. Which cake do you prefer?

We did not go after pastries or cakes, mind you, but the delectable palet d’ors, a combination of dark chocolate and sweet cream adorned with real gold leaf—the house specialty.

We wanted to buy some as a gift for our friends Danièle and Greg whose house we were going to for dinner the following night, and who just so happened to introduce us to palet d’ors in the first place. And of course a box for ourselves.

Walking back we took a different route and just happened to see the sign to Les Halles. Les Halles! We had forgotten all about this incredible indoor gourmet market! We knew we had to make the side trip. How fortuitous! The building did not look like we remembered, having undergone an extreme makeover a few years ago. It now bore Paul Bocuse’s name as well.

Are you ready to enter? Do you have anything available close by to wipe the drool from your mouth with? Maybe you won’t need it if you don’t like cheese, foie gras, or other delectable goodies.

Sausages.

And the counter that had me salivating with one of my favorite things: foie gras—and so many different ways.

Anyone for foie gras kabobs? Foie gras paired with duck wing meat. Oh. my. god. It’s a good thing I had no way to cook these or one of these would have come home with me. Seriously.

These were just little appetizers. We were now wishing we hadn’t already eaten lunch.

Bresse chickens, sold with the head and feet on so you know that’s what they are. (They have blue feet.) Very pricey and very delicious! (I know these two photos may be too graphic for some of you, but this is the way these birds are sold in markets.)

Pintade (guinea fowl). Very tasty. I miss being able to buy guinea fowl. Their meat is not white, but not dark.

Bread anyone?

And last, but certainly not least because man (or woman) cannot live by bread alone: cheese! They say that France has 365 different varieties of cheese, one cheese for each day of the year but I am convinced there are a lot more than that. Just take a look at a small sampling ...

I’ve either made you hungry or you were completely grossed out by this post (especially if you’re vegetarian)! I know I made myself hungry! I’m ready to go back!

P.S. I really don’t like normal liver all that much. I can eat chicken liver pâté, but not any other kind of cooked liver. Other than foie gras of course. I know it’s not P.C. but I can’t help myself! That’s what living in France did to me!

We’re not in New Jersey anymore! In case you couldn’t tell from the photo, it’s back to Lyon we go (at least blog-wise if not in reality).  Our goal on this day was to visit the Basilique Notre-Dame on top of Fourvière hill (above). There is a funicular that runs to the top but we decided to walk instead, taking two connecting montées. I addressed montées lightly in a previous post, but to refresh:

Montées, or rises, consist of winding flights of steps or steeply sloping streets that climb the Fourvière hill, providing superb views down over the old town. Each of them has their own particular charm.

Montèe des Carmes-Déchaussés has 238 steps.

Montèe Nicholas-de-Lange has 560 steps, making a grand total of 798 steps. That’s a lot of steps!

Looking back down over the city.

Along the way I noticed that once in a while there were paintings done on rocks that were imbedded in the wall of the stairs. Tiny, miniature paintings.

Our view once we arrived at the top. The sky may look threatening, but it never did rain on us, just a little drizzle.

I tried to stitch together a panoramic view.

The Basilique from the front.

And inside.

A beautiful mosaic in the crypt.

A gorgeous tree on our way down a different montée. I think maybe it’s a chestnut??

And finally, we make our way down the Montée des Chazeaux.

And on to lunch at a typical Lyonnaise bouchon !

I hope you enjoyed your little tour of the Fourvière Hill and the Basilique!