FRIDAY's FAVE FIVE

For Saturday's photo hunting click above on photo blog

1.


On Monday our holidays in Normandy were over, we had a last glance on the beautiful view, locked the door to our apartment, paid the holiday taxes and the fee for Charlie the dog and off we went. We drove through beautiful landscapes, fields and woods, and stopped at a rest area where I was locked in the toilet (see post below). We stopped another time for a cup of coffee, but this time in a civilized highway restaurant, where at least the toilets were normal and not a hole in the floor.  We had a nice drive avoiding showers and traffic and arrived at Nicole's around 4 pm. We unloaded her luggage and Charlie was happy to discover his familiar smells.
Then I drove home. Mr. G. greeted me asking what we would eat for supper ! I was so tired that honestly I didn't care at all. I dropped my suitcase in my room and was out for the rest of the day. We finally ate what I had bought in Houlgate, duck slices with green beans and roasted potatoes.

2.


For Mother day Mr. G. had bought me this cute flower basket, it's strange in our family, the husbands offer flowers to their wives but not to their mothers. In Mr. G's case it's normal as his mother died long time ago. My father never offered flowers to my mother, he said that she is not his mother. Conclusion, I am the mother of my husband and my DIL became the mother of my son.

3. The weather was awful it rained and it was cold, I didn't go outside at all, I sorted out my holiday pictures, which took me quite some time.

4.


I had discovered a new photo tool online and made a birthday card for my friend and a little card for my grandson. Ilona came for a little visit and I updated her on my rainy holidays ! Never ever I will go again to a Northern country so early in the year, I also could have stayed home. But we had been so spoiled in March and April with sunshine and warm weather that it never came into my mind that in May we had to put the heating on and that it was so cold and wet everywhere, except in the South.

5.


During the week I was away our rhododendron had started blooming and now looks very beautiful at our entrance.



In my painting class I had a lot to tell about my holidays, and one of my classmates a French from Normandy wasn't very happy about my descriptions. She still thinks it is a beautiful place, which is probably true when you don't have a comparison to other countries. Our mascot Dunja was happy to see me !



My friend Chantal had been in Dubai with her sons and had brought me this little souvenir. Now I am back to routine life and get slowly used to it.

more participants at Susanne at Living to tell the Story.

KEEP ZEN

On our way home from France to Belgium, we stopped at a rest area for our picnic and natural emergencies. The place looked quite nice except the restrooms which were in a kind of bunker looking like concrete block, full of ugly graffiti.


My prison

We had no choice and went inside. The toilettes were a catastrophe for a new building. I didn't even know that these toilettes still exist, last time I had seen them was in the deep south of a village in Turkey !



You had to put your foot on each side and target the hole trying not to wet your shoes. I felt like a little girl behind a bush. I wonder how elderly people or a disabled  person can use this kind of toilet ! I thought I was in a civilized country ! Finally I managed and wanted to get out. I pushed the lock to open the door, but it remained closed. I shot in the door as hard as I could,  tried again and again, nothing happened. I shouted "Nicole", but she was already outside and didn't hear me. I kept zen and racked my brain how to get out of here. I tried and tried, but the heavy metal door which looked like a door to safes in a bank remained closed. Nicole arrived, don't panic she said, I will pull from outside and you push from inside. I didn't panic, I was zen and tried again and again. Finally as only solution we thought I had to climb over the door because there was a space. I couldn't even stand on the toilet as it was a hole in the floor. Impossible to lift myself up to the door space. I had no support for my feet. I tried to tear out the metal trash bin, turn it over and stand on it,  but it was fixed forever into the wall.

Poor Nicole wasn't zen at all, she panicked and finally got out to call for help she couldn't drive my car as she had never driven an automatic one. I thought I could phone the emergency with my mobile phone, but I didn't know where we were. Somewhere on a road to Calais. If force doesn't help I thought, maybe patience would help. I moved the lock a little, threw myself against the door with all my forces, then again and again, suddenly the door opened wide and I flew out and hit against the tiled wall. I gathered my spirits, slammed the door shut and went out. Nicole meanwhile had asked a sleeping truck driver for help and while he emerged from his sleep I was standing there. He certainly thought that we were two crazy old women.

I was happy to be free and laughed and laughed. Nicole was still in shock. We had our picnic in the car as it was too cold outside and when I looked at my GPS I thought I could have called the emergency, it would have told me where we were.

We continued our way and arrived home safe and sound. From now on I will check the locks of all restrooms in the world if they work properly ! 

more participants at Jenny Matlock's Alphabet Thursday

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

more participants here



Holidays in Normandy ... rain !

NORMANDY - Our World

I came back from a one week holidays in Normandy yesterday evening, therefore for "Our world" I just can give an overview on what I have seen. I was near Deauville, which is located just opposite of the English coast only separated by the channel. It is a very historical area for wars, each time the French attacked England and also a strategy place for the Normandy landings in WW II.





Very special architecture all along the coast



and the seafront of Deauville.

MY WEEKEND OF MAY 10

Saturday despite the showers and the cold wind we went to the market of Dives sur mer, which is the next little town. All streets around the old market hall were full with stands, selling clothes, shoes, and different other stuff.



In the old market hall were the food stalls. You could find all specialties of the Normandy, cheese, ham, sausages, bread etc. I bought a goat cheese which doesn't smell but stinks and each time we open the fridge, we can smell it in the whole living room. Must be very good, I'll take it home.I hope we won't faint in the car because of the smell.

I didn't buy anything else because I can  find the same things at home.




Then we had lunch in this cute restaurant. I had a salmon pancake with vegetables which  was excellent.

The afternoon we spent home, it was too cold and wet to go outside.

Although we are supposed to be in Houlgate, we always went to the city center of Dives, we thought that it was Houlgate, until somebody told us that these are two different towns. Now we also understood why there were two city centers, which had been a mystery to us  ! On Sunday I asked Madame GPS to take us to Houlgate center.



There we discovered beautiful houses, a nice shopping street, but all shops closed because it was Sunday, a very nice beach and as usual also a casino !



As it was our last day I had again a pancake, they are so good here, it is also a specialty of the region. Usually it is served with a cup of cider. The restaurant was very cute inside, all in red and yellow and the cider cups also red. After lunch we returned home to pack our suitcases because tomorrow morning we return home.

And while you are reading this, we are on our way to Brussels.