I hope this amuses you as it did me. Medieval stonemasons clearly had a great sense of humour.
Stone mason work at the Abbey of Sainte Foy, Conques, France c 1050
Be the goodness…..
One of our nephews is a glass artist. We saw some of his remarkable work on one of our visits to Jerome, Arizona.
Mark’s Blue Lady
We have been on trains for over seven hours today and with occasional glances at the countryside, I have been buried in the best book I have read in a long time which I started in Paris and finished as we went through Truro, just ten minutes from home. It is ‘A Year of Marvellous Ways’ by Sarah Winman, a beautifully written and most evocative story that had me completely engrossed. It is set in Cornwall and is poignant, moving and utterly enchanting. Thank you to G for the recommendation.
The French countryside is scattered with churches, rather hard to catch on camera when travelling so fast but this gives a flavour.
The wonderful sculpture, Meeting Place by Paul Day, greets all those arriving at St Pancras from Paris. I love how the fabrics flow and the expressions on the faces of the two.
The sun came out for our last day in Paris and we returned to the Eiffel Tower with warmth on our backs and a beautiful blue sky, wandered through the park under the tower and through the nearby streets, found some yarn bombed bollards and ended the day shopping! Sadly, the gloves you see below were 220 euros so they stayed in Galleries Lafayette but I have their photo! I did buy some little wooden owls for our Christmas tree. I was looking for Angels, of course, but there were none but owls do have wings, are little feathered Angels of the natural world and are the Wiseman family emblem so I am very happy with my small purchase.
Within walking distance of our hotel are some Angels dating from 1407 on the auberge of Nicolas Flamel, a philanthropist who provided lodging for the peasants who came from the countryside to plough the fields nearby. 
Thence to La Musee de Moyen Ages where the six most beautiful tapestries in the world are to be found telling the story of The Lady and the Unicorn. I can spend hours here! I am so moved by the work, the colours, the detail – if you ever get the chance to see them, please grab it! These date from about 1450 and although said to be faded are still glorious. The lighting does not lend itself to good photos. I love the expression on the face of this lion!
We made a delicious new discovery while in the Cluny, a tiny Chapel which wasn’t open when we first visited about 15 years ago. The stone work was incredible, the paintings delightful, the doorway to a spiral staircase quite enchanting and the Angels full of mischief!
After this most pleasing visit we went hunting Angels again. We found the Macaron Angels on a patisserie, mosaic Angels on a Church and a ceramic and stoneware Angel left over from the Exposition Universelle of 1889.
And perhaps the best saved until last – a wonderful gargoyle on the top of the Cluny Museum. Don’t you just love this monster? I do!
1 This morning I woke up feeling well! It has been a horrid few days feeling the effects of all the vaccines we’ve had for our trip to Senegal, so M.Eish – no energy, cotton-wool brain, muscle pains and general malaise -so quite scary. I’ve had my share of that so it was wonderful to wake up feeling good!
2 I’ve baked some Jewel Cookies. I found the recipe on a delightful blog by Go Bake Yourself which sent me back to http://www.ilovemilkandcookies.blogspot.co.uk/ for the original recipe called Lemon and Polenta Cookies. They’ve gone down very well with Mr S and Lucy.
3 I’ve planted some Lily-of-the-valley for my beautiful friend Kath who died last year. It is a tradition in France to offer a sprig of lily-of-the-valley (“muguet” in French) to loved ones on the 1st of May which is a Public Holiday in France, officially known as La Fête du Travail (National Labour Day) but also called La Fête du Muguet (Lily of the Valley Day).
Kath and Charlie loved France, had a home in Meyssac in the South and not a year went by when she either gave me a card depicting the flowers or a homegrown bunch, on one occasion bringing them all the way on the train from Yorkshire when we met up in London for a few precious hours. Now Kath has her own special place in my garden as well as, always, in my heart.
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