E & me {autumn leaves}

Bonjour l'automne !

Hello autumn!

This is my favourite season.

On this week's E & me, there are 

maple leaves here, there & everywhere.

Any idea which fall foliage is on Erin's side of the world 

& which leaves are here in Les Alpes?

Something I've learned in the last four years...

« Aimer, ce n'est pas regarder l'un l'autre,

c'est regarder ensemble dans la même direction. »

- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

September 20, 2008, just a few hours after getting married in Gap, France. 

*****

"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, 

but of looking outward together in the same direction."

E & me {school essentials}

It's still September, 

so Erin & I can continue to geek out 

with another back-to-school themed E & me, right?

This week, it's all about the essentials: 

new notepaper & apples for the teacher.

As you can see, there's a subtle but major difference

between the two notepads.  

Any ideas why?  

Which one would you prefer to write on?

E & me {school supplies}

Last week's E & me featured those horrendous back-to-school ads.

Ick.

This week?  

Same theme, but we're comparing something a lot more charming, 

{I say that while assuming that you just as geeky as Erin & I...}

School supplies, whee!

And no,  I won't give you a pop quiz by asking you to guess 

which scissors are whose...

Instasamedi {14}

Instasamedi for the first week of September?

It's all about slippers, sun, school kids & a swan.

{OK & geeky alliteration too.}

Saturday slippers.
{samedi, Annecy, chez nous}

Autumn-coloured ancient auto.
{dimanche, Annecy, near chez nous}

The day before back-to-school...
This girl who I saw at a local bookstore must have been happy, don't you think?
{lundi, Annecy, Librairie Decitre}

Back-to-school bikes.
{mardi, Annecy, high-school down the street from chez nous}

Afternoon rush hour... one tourist boat coming in & one heading out.
{mercredi, Annecy, le lac}

Cute retro packaging on my brand-new box of baking soda? Yes please!
{jeudi, Annecy, chez nous}

Swan-tastic!
{vendredi, Annecy, on the shores of le lac}

E & me {back to school sales}

So, I'm back to blogging.

Kids in Canada & France have gone back to school.

And what else?  

Well, E & me is back on-board "Rue de France" & "Pughs' News"!

Erin & I often post collages with photos of scenes from home

{Annecy, France or Victoria, British Columbia, Canada}, 

such as this or this.

We also like to compare things we are fans of,

like old-fashioned mail, books & tea.

And we share photos of pretty things in the two places we live,

for example, these lamp-posts or these beaches.

That being said, get ready for today's rather disturbing E & me.

It's not picturesque. 

It's not something which makes us swoon.  

It's not going to make you book a plane ticket to Victoria or Annecy.

It is a comparison of two horrendous ads for back to school sales.

Charming?  Not at all!

But today's E & me probably made you laugh.

Or roll your eyes.

Or both?

Back at it!

Unlike Canada & the U.S.A., 

France doesn't have Labour Day 

at the beginning of September.

A close-ish equivalent? 

They celebrate "La Fête du Travail" {Worker's Day} 

on May 1st, as do most European countries.

So yesterday all my Canadian teacher friends like Erin 

were trying their best to enjoy 

the last official day of summer vacation 

& not think TOO much about the alarm clock going off early 

for the first time in weeks...

But yesterday in France, 

les professeurs were all back at work already, 

although to ease them back into la routine, 

the kids didn't have to show up until today.

Bonne rentrée tout le monde !

Happy back-to-school everybody!

A primary school in my neighbourhood.
The schoolyard was completely quiet on Sunday, when I took this photo,
but I'll bet that's changed as of this morning!

Nerdy close-up of Annecy's city logo & slogan that's on the school sign above.

Instasamedi {Summer 2012}

C'est samedi !  

C'est le mois de septembre !

Back to school is just around the corner...

Back to blogging, however?   

That starts NOW!!!

You know what?

To sum up my summer (!) 

I've decided to share some Instagram photos.

My (fallen into disrepair) Instasamedi feature 

usually tells you about my week via seven photos.

But today?  I've allowed myself to post a dozen!  Pourquoi ?

Well, it's been 12 weeks since my last post {eeeeek!}

So without further ado, on y va ?

juin

We spent the last week of June on Belle-Île-en-Mer, 

which is {as its name suggests} a beautiful island 

off the Atlantic coast of Brittany.

One of the island's many gorgeous beaches

Sandy feet?  Yes please!

On the way to & from Brittany
{which involved train, métro, train again, bus, ferry...}
we stopped for a night or two in Paris to see friends 
& fancy stuff like this: 

Sacré Coeur, je t'adore !

juillet
July was mostly spent in & around Annecy.
Highlights?
The three-day Musilac Festival,
time spent with my mom in Zee Middle-of-Nowhere, France
{where she & a few of her friends had rented a place}
& lots of sunshine.

Yes, we saw LMFAO at Musilac.
{But please note:  this is NOT mon mari & moi !!!}

Rush hour in the village where my mom stayed...

Shadowy self-portrait in front of Annecy's Hôtel de Ville {= City Hall}

août

August was full-on vacation mode.

We spent a week in the Cantal region of France,

which is full of pretty villages, {long-dormant} volcanoes & cheese.

See that open window?  That's where FQ's grandpa lived as a child.

Cheese please! 

And then?

A week in Ireland!

I.  Loved.  It.

Pub perfection in Dublin.

Rainy yet festive?  That works for me!

It seems that the Irish love bad puns.  Moi aussi !

Me hanging out with the Irish Sea.

So there you go.

Feel back in the loop?  Moi aussi... ooof !

More soon, I promise...

Alors à bientôt & bon week-end tout le monde !

E & me {gumboots}

Is it mid-June?

Has it been pouring rain practically non-stop 

both here in zee Alpes

& on the West Coast of Canada chez Erin?

Yep.

So are we comparing our gumboots in this week's E & me?

Double yep.

Cute rainy-day footwear both here & there, non?

Splish splash!

Instasamedi {13}

Cherries, donkeys & the red carpet?  

Not a bad week!

Good thing I got to the market just before they ran out of cherries...
{samedi, Annecy, marché}

I think my flowers didn't mind Sunday rainy Sunday...
{dimanche, Annecy, sur notre balcon}

Cute café just around the corner.
{lundi, Annecy, close to chez nous}

We drove around the Lac d'Annecy & stopped to visit with these new friends.
{mardi, Menthon Saint-Bernard, near the lake}

OK, so it's not Cannes, but Annecy's Animation Festival features a red carpet all the same!
{mercredi, Annecy, Centre Bonlieu}

Fancy Animation Film Fest Lanterns
{jeudi, Annecy, Centre Bonlieu}

Last day of the Animation Film Fest {& last freebie ticket!}
{vendredi, Annecy, Cinéma Décavision}


Voilà for Instasamedi this time around.
More on the Annecy Animation Festival next week, d'accord ?

E & me {toothpaste}

Like I told you last week, not only is the garden nice & green 

but Rue de France is back in business!

Does that make you smile?

I hope so, because E & me this week is all about toothpaste!

Everybody say "cheese"... or "fromage" if you prefer!

Instasamedi {12}

So as you saw from my post the other day, E & me is back! 

And guess what? So is Instasamedi! 

Without further ado, here is a-photo-a-day from last week:

Saturday night sunset
{samedi, Annecy, view from our balcony}

Home-made smoothie & zillion-calorie pain aux raisins for Sunday breakfast? Yum.
While flipping through a swimsuit catalogue? Pfffft.
{dimanche, Annecy, on our balcony}

Merci downstairs neighbour who went hiking up in the mountains
& brought me back this petit wildflower bouquet!
{lundi, Annecy, chez nous}

Dear French Immigration Folks,
Please give me the 10-year Carte de Séjour (Resident's Permit) like you are supposed to.
That way I can stop suffering through horrendous self-portrait ID photo sessions!
(mardi, Annecy, after a trip to the local "Photomaton" machine}

Nerdy gardening weekend events.
{mercredi, Annecy, les Jardins de l'Europe}

Monsieur Stripey dropping off his tax return at the last moment...
{jeudi, Annecy, close to chez nous}

Happy June 1st! Let's roll into summer...
{vendredi, Annecy, down the street from chez nous}

E & me {garden}

Hello?  Bonjour ?

Anybody still remember Rue de France ?

Not really?  I don't blame you.  It's been ages since I've blogged...

Speaking of remembering things, 

how about my photo collage series,

E & me

that I started almost exactly a year ago with my lovely friend Erin?

Well, as I mentioned above, it's been a lot like 

the middle of the desert here on mon petit blog.

There's been absolutely nothing sprouting up.

But lately? I've been planting & watering & weeding...

& voilà !

As you can see, things are good & green 

both in Erin's pretty backyard in Victoria

& here in our balcony garden with the nice view of zee French Alps.

Would you like to leave a comment 

to guess where the lettuce lives & where the strawberries are growing?

{Please & merci ?}  

{So I know someone is still wandering over here? Sometimes?!}

***

P.S.  This is a great post for today, 

because my dear mom loves gardening...

& it's her birthday aujourd'hui !

Happy Anniversaire 

& Joyeux Birthday to you, Mom!!!

Bisous !

Instasamedi {11}

This past week?

It started off with my parents' last few days in France this visit.

They're back in Canada now. {Sniff sniff.}

My sister Liz, however, is still in full-on-French mode.

She's even learning how to make yummy quiches!

Scroll on down for Instagram proof...

My mom & her lettuce friends at the market.
{samedi, Annecy, marché à côté de chez nous}

Warm enough for brunch on the balcony!!!
{dimanche, Annecy, chez nous}

"It's gonna heat up!" = good slogan for this local plumber/heater dude.
Add that to the sun & the blue sky = hope that spring is not far off!
{lundi, Annecy, close to our apartment}

Stir-fry for dinner s'il te plaît! {mardi, Annecy, chez nous}

Liz & her delicious mushroom quiche!
{mercredi, Annecy, chez nous} 

View from the Visitation Basilica above Annecy... swoon!
{jeudi, Annecy, Basilique de la Visitation} 

Vélo !
{vendredi, Annecy, vielle ville}