A few more anecdotes and musings…
In Cartavalonu, one day, Fabi and Francis decided to make Orange Confiture. They mixed together fresh oranges from the orange tree in Cipponu, along with a lemon, sugar, pectin…
It turned out absolutely delicious with an intense orange flavor. However, something went wrong and it had the consistency of chewing gum. I ate it anyway.
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Sometimes Fabi and Francis and I talked about thought-provoking questions about the meaning of life, like “If humans evolved from monkeys, why are there still monkeys?” These were sometimes difficult conversations because they were mostly in French. Francis doesn’t speak any English while Fabi gets by with ordinary conversations in English. Even with her, French was/is the go-to language. My French is considered low-intermediate which is just a “get-by” level. Verbs and pronouns! Aargh!!
On the day we visited the cemetery near Cartavalonu, we got to talking about cemeteries and funerals and death customs. I discovered that, although families have their little mausoleums that house the remains of the ancestors in Corsica, it’s very different in Strasbourg. When one dies, they are assigned a plot or some kind of space for the remains. A gravestone is placed to note the usual information about the deceased. However, the family rents this space for only 10 years. After 10 years, they have the option to rent the space for another 10 years, but if they feel OK about giving it up, then the remains are dug up and disposed of and the stone is given to the family. There are so many dying and dead people and such little space after 2000+ years that this is the solution. Interesting.
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In Corsica, sometimes Fabi and I would just take off for a short while and walk around the area. As we gazed out over toward the sea, she told me that one day last year, she and Francis watched the sun rise over the Mediterranean as they watched from the mountain. It was 4:30 in the morning and one of those perfect days with the sun creating stunning color that splashed onto everything. It was memorable for them.
Here’s the view but without the sunrise. Imagine……
Fabi also told me that in early mornings she often goes to her special place to exercise and we went there. It’s a flat area which is unusual. I think there must have been some kind of structure there at one time. Here it is….
Just for fun, here’s a lovely picture of a hawk (I think it’s a hawk) which lived in the area.
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I loved the little houses in the mountain villages. We walked by some of them on our walks. They remind me of Grimm Brothers tales. My imagination put some gingerbread on a couple of the houses and I could just see Hansel and Gretel walking up for a tasty bite.
Here’s a fun fact. Gas is about $7.50/gallon. People are being encouraged to buy electric cars. In fact, residents of Strasbourg have been warned that in about 3 years, non-electric cars will be banned in the city.
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In the evenings in Cipponu, Fabi and I often played games. One evening, we tried pick-up sticks. After that, we played a kind of rummy game. Fabi is wickedly masterful at this game. I am woefully bad. Every night, we added on to the score from the previous night. Here’s the score after the first few nights. The highest score loses.
Then the next few rounds….
And finally….
What can I say? Fabi is wickedly good.
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Fabi said that I should not post this picture because it will look like we did nothing but drink. This is two weeks worth of aperitifs so it’s not too bad. You decide. (CHJUKA is sooooo good.)
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The finale…. I’m so glad I got to spend this quality time with my cousins. I have been to France off and on many times over the last 44 years but I’ve spent only 2-3 weeks at a time trying to get to know them. It never seemed enough time. My mother’s generation of cousins has passed on so I’ve become aware that now is the time to really get serious about connecting with my French cousins in a more meaningful way. Corsica was such an intense time and Fabi and Francis went way overboard with sharing and showing me their lives when I know that their usual lifestyle there is more laid back. In addition to the Corsica adventures, Fabi and I will take off for Britannia in western France on Friday. We’ll be gone about 4 days. Then Fabi will fly back to Corsica for the month of June. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to her…just like I had a tearful goodbye to Francis. After Fabi leaves, I still have a couple of weeks for adventuring so I’m not done yet. Alsace continues to fascinate me and activates my fanciful side and I’ll ride off to explore a bit more.
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