Elise Detterbeck
Bienvenue! We are delighted to welcome you (or welcome you back!) to our blog about summers in the south in France!
This is our 9th summer in southern France, & our fifth summer in Villevieille, a lovely old Roman village perched on top of a steep hill, above a larger town called Sommieres. We are addicted to our view--that's why our blog is called "View from the Terrace".
Our real iife is in Charleston, SC, where we both have hectic schedules. Both of us are determined to be "productive seniors", & love contributing what we can to our community. I work with children in an art museum & in Charleston schools, & Les works in wealth management, which, thankfully, he can do from here remotely in the summers.
Here we are 3 month visitors, & are determined to live life in a more relaxed way. We try to blend into the French way of life, & seek out interesting things to do that are not on the regular tourist agenda.
So our blog is part diary, part travelogue, part musings about all kinds of silly things, & lots of pictures. Our 2019 summer theme is "Creativity Demands Purging", which we will explore & explain throughout the summer. The one thing we will NOT be purging is our genealogical studies--we will be visiting Finland & northern Italy to search out Les' grandparents' beginnings.
We hope you have a super summer, wherever you are & whatever your plans.
Elise & Les
Jane Pawelkiewicz Saw this time & time again in Hungry & Poland
re: This is how a country, & a people, get swallowed by a fascist power.Jane Pawelkiewicz We found this very helpful in Spain at the Olympics too!
re: Very clever! The menu has each picture labeled, & an English explanation of what it is.Jane Pawelkiewicz Tons of it in Poland!
re: Amber is something new to me. We went to an amber museum in Vilnius.Ruth I have never seen that before. But looks tasty.
re: My fave: hot sauerkraut soup served in a bread bowl.Hans looks great
re: Very clever! The menu has each picture labeled, & an English explanation of what it is.Ruth Is the gelato as good as the one in Sicily?
re: Les loves gelato type ice creams. They seem to like the "mountain" type display.Ruth good looking people, very symphatic
re: Les's grandparents, Lorraine & Lester George, Sr., were an intriguing couple.Ruth Elise as always, your blog is so interesting to read and what a story behind. Good decision, to go to Vilnius.
re: Finding Ike!Ruth and Hans We missed this place. Maybe the next time. But good to see your pictures. Thank you.
re: Our final stop: Villa Romana in Piazza Armerina. Les is pretending to be Emperor Maximilias!Ruth and it must be very hot
re: The final scene shows the puppeteers, who look HUGE!Ruth The gelato in Sicily are the best one. Very tasty.
re: All that looking, listening, & reading made us ready for some nice gelato!Hans It is also our favourite one. Good choice
re: And fabulous food! Here's our favorite restaurant, in a square near our hotel.Hans Very impressive
re: Thousands of pages & documents from "Maxi-Trial". People who "talked" often lost their lives.Ruth Really sweet
re: This is "casata", a Sicilian dessert--very sweet, almost a marzipane cake.Ruth and Switzerland
re: Nobody could be grumpy in this place! They come from Korea, Belgium, Israel, everywhere!