Rain in Georgia - in Paris and Lisbon

What are the lyrics that Gene Kelley sings in the 1962 musical movie "Singin' in the Rain?"

I'm singing in the rain

Just singing in the rain

What a glorious feelin'

I'm happy again

I'm laughing at clouds

So dark up above ...

No, I don't have a glorious feelin' about all the rain we have had in Georgia.  This year the spring was sunny and bright as usual but, starting in late May, the rain came.  Saturday May 18, 2013, was the 175th Anniversary of the Trail of Tears - the starting of the removal of Cherokee Indians from their homeland in Georgia and other states in the South.  This event was celebrated in New Echota State Park, in Calhoun, Georgia, about 47 miles from our home.  In 1825 the Cherokee national legislature had established a capital there called New Echota.  There is a museum, several original and reconstructed buildings.  I'll have a post on all this later.  I'd like to return first to take pictures because that day it was pouring rain most of the time.  We sat huddled under a tent listening to the dignitaries, and several Cherokee elders chanted, also under a tent.  (Click on collage twice to enlarge.)

It seems that was the start of the rain.  It rained almost every day in June, in July (the 4th of July fireworks were rained out here) and in August.  It does not rain all day long, but it does rain sometime during the day or night.  I have collected many umbrellas along the years - I bought some, some were gifts and others were obtained as a bonus for buying an item.  For example I obtained my red Burberry large golf umbrella when I purchased some Burberry eau de toilette years ago.  It is the largest umbrella I have and the one my husband likes to use to go down to the mailbox.  I just saw on eBay that one is for sale as a "rare, vintage" for $300, so we better take good care of ours.

I have another red umbrella, a folding one that was a gift from Avon when I purchased some lotion.  Here it is below with other folding umbrellas.  I decided to open it and, of course, my cat Cody had to come and see why.

In Paris a folding umbrella is a necessity as it rains quite often.  I always had one in my purse going to school, or later going to work.  I did not carry a camera then so I don't have pictures of rainy days in Paris but here are some paintings showing Paris under the rain.  On the right is "Rue de Paris" by Gustave Caillebotte, French (1848-1894) and on the left "Femme au Parapluie" by Louis Anquetin, French (1861-1932.)

The French word for "umbrella" is "parapluie" from the Latin "pluvia" (rain) and the combining form "para" meaning against.  The French actress Catherine Deneuve obtained her first major movie role in the 1963 film "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg."  It was the first French musical, entirely sung.  It became famous worldwide and received several prizes.  This year the city of Cherbourg, in lower Normandy where the film was made, is celebrating the film 50th anniversary.

Colorful umbrellas might encourage one to be cheerful as it can be quite gloomy walking in the rain in New York as shown in Childe Hassam's painting "Rain Storm, Union Square" American (1859-1935.)

or in Paris as shown in Edouard Leon Cortes' painting "Place Vendome in the rain" French (1882-1969.)

Black and white photographs show the somber and dark sides of the rain quite well as in the four vintage photographs below, from well-known photographers.  Top left is Paris 1963 by Andre Kertesz, Hungarian-born American (1894-1985) next to Quai du Louvre by Rene-Jacques, French (1908-2003.)  Bottom left is Rue Muller 1934 by Willy Ronis, French (1910-2009) next to Passants dans la Pluie by Brassai, Hungarian (1899-1984.) (Don't forget to click twice on the photos in the collage to see better.)

The sun makes me happy and the rain, after a while, sad.  Some people are used to rainy weather, such as in Washington State where it rains often.  My blogging friend DJan, whose blog "Djan-ity" I have been following since 2009, goes on weekly hikes with a group, very often under a mist or rain.  She shows beautiful rainy pictures of her walks in the mountains.  Here are several that she let me use - please go to her blog to see many more (click on her blog name above.)

I do not take many pictures in the rain.  This week I took one of the skies toward Atlanta from my doctor's office, on the 5th floor.  Below there were several Canada Geese grazing in the parking lot, which earlier had been flooded.  I also have a picture of a music event that I took earlier, under the rain.

When I went to my doctor I used my large beige Portuguese umbrella.  Several years ago we went to Lisbon, Portugal for a week.  It was raining as we went to visit the famous Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.  I bought an umbrella in the gift shop to use later on our hike to St. George Castle.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is an outstanding museum located on 17 acres of beautifully landscape gardens.  It is one of the largest private collections in the world.  The collection was built during 40 years by Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, an Armenian born in Turkey (like my father.)  As a young man Calouste went first to Marseille, France, then to King's College in England where he obtained a top engineering degree at only age 19.  Later he helped found the Turkish Petroleum Company (later Iraq Petroleum Company) and was the first industrialist to exploit Iraqi oil.  He was the person who negotiated the oil concessions from Saudi Arabia to US firms.  His 5% share made him one of the richest men in the world.  He left $70,000,000 and his 6,000 art collection to Lisbon to start a foundation.  He died in Lisbon in 1955, age 86.  His collection includes many masterpieces such as Greek coins and a vase 2400 years old, Japanese prints and European art by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Houdon sculpture and unique pieces by French glass maker Rene Lalique.

Above is a portrait of Calouste Gulbenkian as a young man.  Above him is a painting entitled Quilleboeuf, Mouth of the Seine by Joseph M. W. Turner, British (1775-1851,) top right is Two Women Asleep by John Singer Sargent, American (1856-1925) center is Still Life with Melons, Claude Monet, French (1840-1926) and bottom is Portrait of Madame Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, French (1841-1919.)  Below is a pendant by Rene Lalique, French (1860-1945.)

It stopped raining in Lisbon after our first day then it was easy walking and sightseeing during the rest of our stay.  It would be easy walking on our road too, but so much water is not appealing to me.

Maybe if I used my Paris umbrella, I could imagine that I am walking in the rain in Paris?  I don't think so.

It's better to stay inside and read or watch Mitsuko, my kitten, taking a peek outside from the window sill.  The shade loving plants have done well under the rain  - even though some pots are water logged, and the weeds have grown so tender and green that we get a daily visit from a bunny.

 Insects like to be indoors too I think as I watched a scorpion in my sink this morning when I went to wash my teeth.  My husband picked the scorpion up and placed it on the front porch among all the plants.  The Caladiums have been growing quite well, but my figs are still small and green - usually by now I am making fig jam.

In the back yard, apart from a couple of foliage plants, the flowers have drowned.  You can see below how pretty were the violet Torenia in the spring, and the pot now is full of water - flowers all gone, and not a pretty sight!

As I am writing this, Tuesday evening August 20th, it is still raining.

Since I started with a song, I'll finish with another one.  It is a rainy night in Georgia tonight ... and it sure feels like it's rainin' all over the world!

A rainy night in Georgia, a rainy night in Georgia

Lord, I believe it's rainin' all over the world

I feel like it's rainin' all over the world ...

- from Brook Benton's song

Time goes by in a park and in restaurants

Most of my life I have lived on hills or mountains and I love being up high.  When I was a wee child I lived in Vaison-la-Romaine with my grandparents until I was about 4 years old.  This town in Provence is at the base of the Mont Ventoux - which is quite a stiff hill for the climbers of the Tour de France.  Here I am below with my granddad at the base of the Mount Ventoux that can be seen in the background. (Click on collage twice to enlarge.)

Then I lived in Paris in the Montmartre area, near the Sacre-Coeur.  I don't know how many times I went up and down the steps shown in the photo below (I never need much encouragement to show a photo or painting of my hometown.)  This photo was taken in 1936 (before I was born!) by the famous Hungarian photographer Brassai (born Gyula Halasz - 1899-1984) and entitled "Les Escaliers de Montmartre" - the Montmartre Stairs.

But I have some photographs of my own.  Walking along the streets of my old neighborhood you can see the Sacre-Coeur on its hill while turning a corner or crossing a road - of course now you can also see hundreds of tourists.

As shown in my post of July 28, 2013 - A Birthday Party, I also lived on a hill in St Leu la Foret, going toward the Montmorency Forest.  Later, when I arrived in the US I first lived on Nob Hill in San Francisco, then on a hill on 17th Street and then on the hill near the SF Mint.  Here in Georgia I have been fortunate to live near Kennesaw Mountain.  Actually Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is about 4 miles from my home and on my road.  Although if I walk the other way I can see a hill in the background of my second neighbor's land, behind his cattle.  It is called "Lost Mountain" because as you approach it, it disappears from view - I guess because the terrain keeps going up.  (I don't live in a suburb really; it is more like the countryside at the bottom of the end of the Appalachian Mountains.)

For decades I had to drive through the park every day going to and fro from work and shopping.  When I had to work on some Saturdays I would drive through the park around 5 am, and it was a bit eerie crossing the park in the early morning fog.  Now that I am retired I don't just drive "through" the park I walk into the park and up the mountain.  People come from far away to visit the preserved 2,923 acre National Battlefield Park where the largest battle of the Civil War in Georgia was fought.  Fighting occurred in the vicinity of the mountain from June 18 through July 2, 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign.  The battle on the mountain itself was on June 27, 1864.  The Confederate Army had 63,000 men and 187 guns.  The Union Army under William Tecumseh Sherman had 100,000 men, 254 guns and 35,000 horses.  There were about 4,000 casualties on the mountain during the battle (Union: 3000, Confederates: 1,000 casualties.)  A soldier's belt buckle was found in our yard by the previous owners.  Some of the canons are still on the mountain.

 The earlier inhabitants of the mountain were the Cherokee, Native Americans from that area.  They were forced from their homes when the land was parceled out to white settlers.  Later, in the Kennesaw Mountain region, there were some free blacks - no large plantations were around here so slaves were very few.  Two free blacks, the Johnson, lived in the nearby city of Marietta - Monemia ran a restaurant and store and James, her husband, was a barber.  After Atlanta was captured in November 1864, Union troops ransacked her restaurant and home and took everything there.  Then the store, restaurant and home were destroyed by fire.  Monemia Johnson filed a claim against the US Government for over $2,500 in damages, but she received a check for only $246, thirteen years after the end of the Civil War.

Just a couple of days ago we went up the mountain again.  It had rained that morning (as it has been raining for over a month almost daily.)  It was cool for an August day - about 65 degrees F (18C.)  It is 64 degrees F and raining as I am writing this today.  Having lived near Kennesaw Mountain now for 37 years I know it so well - the trails, the rocks, the trees, the historical markers and the view.  The view is imposing.  I never get tired of looking toward Atlanta, which is about 20 miles away (32 kms.)  That day it was a bit hazy and one could barely distinguish the tall buildings in Atlanta in the distance.

There is a parking area at the top of the mountain and some benches.  As my husband was walking up another trail I sat on a bench to read my book.  Not many people were around - a couple of hikers, a man with his dog - the dog stopped by me so that I could pet him.  Another man was meditating on the grass in front of the view and butterflies were fluttering around.

Everything was vivid green - every bush, tree and grass along the mountain road - it certainly has not been a dry summer.  We stopped at the bench facing the 1/2 mile trail to Little Kennesaw Mountain.  There were wild flowers and wild animals there too.

As my husband went down the trail I sat again on the bench but could not read my book - it was so peaceful and beautiful there - a good place to think.  I could not stop reflecting about all the brave men, from both armies, who fought so many years ago.  I thought that if I looked closely I might see one of them coming around the bend of the trail... if they came back I am sure they would recognize the mountain.  Time passes slowly on a mountain.  I have taken pictures of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park under many skies, sunny and grey, cold, wet and warm weather.  It is a mountain for all seasons.  Time goes by it but all the memories remain.

The 150 years anniversary of the big Civil War battle here is approaching.  The park attendant told me that they are starting to plan their "Sesquicentennial Commemoration."  It will take place toward the end of June 2014 with re-enactments, stories, living history displays and more.  More flowers have been planted and the cedar rails have been refurbished.

So Kennesaw Mountain and park near my home have not changed much in those 37 years - and it is good.

However, other "things' do change, sometimes forever.  I am talking about old restaurants now.  (This is another eclectic post.)  One of the first restaurants we visited when moving to Atlanta was "Dante's Down the Hatch."  It was an Atlanta institution where you could eat several fondue dishes while listening to jazz.  The interior resembled an 18th century sailing ship tied to the wharf of a mythic village in the Mediterranean Sea.  There were several levels where you could see the sailing vessel with its sails, mast and crocodiles surrounding the hull.  Clocks from the original Lloyd's of London, paneling from an old English bank and an 1892 barbershop from Sheffield, England, were some of the antiques there among other fascinating memorabilia.  (Picture below courtesy Dante's.)

But the restaurant was located in a high rent district - on Peachtree Road in the Buckhead area of Atlanta.  The city increased the taxes of Dante's restaurant as if it were a 40-story high rise.  Dante Stephenson, the owner, announced that after 43 years of business in Atlanta, he had to close the door on July 30, 2013.  He tried to work something out, but could not fight the city or promoters.  Atlantic Realty Partners will build a 10-story luxury apartment tower on the property.

In another state an historic restaurant closed at about the same time.  In the last few years we usually visit New York City once a year and stay in a hotel in the Upper Westside.  We have seen most of the tourist sites and try to discover new places but we always walk by the Hudson River which we can see from our hotel window.

Another stop in our routine is "Big Nick's Burger & Pizza Joint" just a couple of blocks away on Broadway at West 77th Street.  We have been in that neighborhood so often, we know the shops, grocery stores, the second-hand book store, the restaurants and underground station - it is familiar and like home.

But I just read that Big Nick's closed on July 28, 2013 after 51 years in business.  Impossible but true.  The first time we went there, years ago, it took me forever to read the menu - it was so large.  The booths were small and not that comfortable, but the staff very friendly and the food like homemade and very reasonable - a rarity in New York City.  There were 60 varieties of hamburgers and such an assortment of other dishes - similar to a roadside diner.  There were autographed photos on the walls between announcements and food ads - it was quite unique.  I did not even get a chance to try the fried pickle!

The owner, Demetrios Niko Imirziades, came from Athens, Greece in 1961 (same as me in San Francisco) but he stayed in New York where he started by washing dishes and then went all the way to be owner of his restaurant.  As in Atlanta, the city, the developers and landlords are hungry for more money.  Big Nick's rent increased from $42,000 a month to $60,000 and he could not pay that.  To me this was like a landmark in New York.  (Photo below - unknown author.)

Cities in America are losing their soul, destroying historic places, whether they are old restaurants with a loyal clientele or grand ole mansions - I guess it's called capitalism and free market - so as times goes by, things change (but is it better?...)  I am sad because we, the patrons of these unique restaurants, have lost them forever.  We just have to sing, as Frank Sinatra did "Thanks for the memories..."   I just hope Paris can stay the same and that I can return to my old stairs in Montmartre for real, and not just in my memory.

La Rue Muller in Montmartre painted by Maurice Utrillo, French (1883-1955)

"When nothing else subsists from the past, after the people are dead, after the things are broken and scattered ... the smell and taste of things remain poised a long time, like souls ... bearing resiliently, on tiny and almost impalpable drops of their essence, the immense edifice of memory." 

- Marcel Proust, French novelist (1871-1922.)

The 100th Tour de France, blankets and jam

As you can see from the title above, this is another eclectic post - the Tour de France, blankets and jam don't have that much in common.  But first - this post is late because I have been away for a while.  We went to visit our younger daughter and family in July to celebrate our second grandson's 5th birthday and we just came back.  Prior to that visit I had been watching the Tour de France and, as usual during the last few years, was knitting a baby blanket, or two.  I finished a rainbow blanket for our new baby granddaughter, then finished another bluish striped car blanket for the third grandson's second birthday in mid-July - they are below.  The orange and green-yellow blankets are from last year.  These are small car-seat or security blankets.  (Please click on collages twice to embiggen.)

The Tour de France this year celebrated its 100th Anniversary.  It ran from June 29 through July 21st, 2013.  When they finished in Paris, the cyclists had covered a distance of 2,087.81 miles or 3,360 kms.  This year there were 19 teams in the competition from France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, the USA, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg and Russia.  The riders represented many countries, such as France, Germany, Denmark, The USA, Italy, Estonia, Slovakia, Spain, Canada, Lithuania, Russia, Colombia, New Zealand, Australia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Japan, Ireland, England, South Africa, Uzbekistan, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Kazakhstan and more.  Where can you watch a sport event representing so many countries integrated in just a few teams?

The race started in Corsica this year (see my post of July 20, 2013) and included 21 stages (a one long day segment.)  There were 7 flat stages, 5 hilly stages, 6 mountain stages with 4 summit finishes, 2 individual time-trial stages, 1 team time trial stage and two rest days.  Below is the route and a photo of Robert Marchand, a cyclist record holder still biking at age 102, next to Australian Cadel Evans.

This race was organized in 1903 and has been held annually since, except when it stopped during the two World Wars.  I gave explanations on the Tour de France and its history in my post of July 22, 2009, entitled What is the Tour de France? Please go and read this post here.  Below are some early photos from the Tour.

I did add a PS to my post of 2009 as I had been giving glorious reports on Lance Armstrong then.  Unfortunately in 2012 the US Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong of his 7 Tour titles as well as other honors and he was banned from cycling for life - he did admit in January 2013 to having used drugs for athletic and performance enhancement throughout his career.  Some people decided then not to watch the Tour anymore because of drugs being used in the sport.  But other athletes have been using drugs in football, baseball, tennis, boxing and even in the Winter and Summer Olympic Games - should no one watch those sports anymore?  What about film stars and singers who used drugs - will people stop going to the movies or listen to music?  If we want to live in a world free of people using drugs then we may as well be a hermit and live on top of a mountain, or go to a nunnery such as in Ireland (although I have heard some bad reports of happenings in some of those nunneries...)  Too many good people and fans are involved in those sports and they should not be penalized for a few bad apples.

The Tour de France has many international fans.  In 2011 fans from 38 countries came to France to follow the Tour.  Below are some of the fans from 2013 - they are a varied group, from the proper to the brash. Top row on left are French Nuns encouraging Kevin Reza of France, next are Norwegian fans.  In the center are two Japanese fans, then an Australian youngster; next is a French fan, and then a group of shameless fans from Switzerland calling themselves "The Swiss Borats."  On the bottom left are fans from Colombia, then a cheering group of Nursing Sisters from Marseille and then Christopher Froome cycling under a variety of flags, held mostly by British fans.

The Tour de France is truly the biggest and most famous cycling race in the world.  I read statistics showing it - it is watched by 15 million people along the roads, free of charge.  The French Government has to be involved because many highway and safety personnel are necessary for the safety of all and roads need to be closed.  Each day 1400 beds have to be available for the cycling organization alone.  There are 10 Emergency Doctors, nurses, seven ambulances, 2 cars with other medical teams and 47 highway policemen on motorcycles following the racers.  More than 14,000 policemen and women, 9,000 motorway police plus assorted city and village police are retained.  In 2011 there were 2,300 reporters and photographers, 700 Media from 35 countries, 100 TV chains, 80 photo agencies and 70 radio channels involved in the Tour.  The Tour was televised to 190 countries, 60 of which received live transmissions.  There were 700,000 fans in Facebook following the Tour that year.

Also in 2011 3.5 billion people watched the Tour on TV around the world - yes, billions.  When 50,000 people and vehicles stop in a small town for a halt on the Tour thousands of volunteers are needed.  Just the city of Cambridge, England, is asking for 1,000 volunteers for 2014 when the Tour comes to their area!  I am sure we will see some wonderful background landscape from England.  Just watching the surrounding countryside is always thrilling.

The last two Tour de France have been won by British racers - Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Christopher Froome in 2013.  Christopher Froome was born in Kenya and moved to South Africa when he was 14 - he started riding bikes when he was a child in Nairobi and became a professional racing cyclist in 2007, aged 22, with a South African team, then he started to bike professionally under a British passport.

One of my favorite racing cyclists is Peter Sagan from Slovakia.  He is a sprinter and a bit of a clown.  He is the only cyclist I saw to make tricks with his bike.  He won the Green Jersey, as faster sprinter overall, in the 2013 Tour de France.  He had dyed his goatee green to match his racing jersey.

Cities and small towns bid to have the Tour come through heir communities at least one year or more ahead of the Tour - town overseas bid as well.  In 2014 Leeds, Yorkshire, England, will host the start of the Tour.  Yorkshire beat off challenges from Edinburgh, Scotland and Florence, Italy.  All the cities and towns on the Tour get an enormous amount of publicity but they also have work to do such as resurfacing the roads where the cyclist will ride.  The cities have to be cleaned, buildings painted, no rubbish should be found along the race and enough parking for the 1500 vehicles following the Tour, not counting all the vehicles from the fans, are necessary.  Barricades need to be set up toward the end of each stage as the crowd is so enthusiastic that fans come too close to the riders. The scenery along the Tour route is always superb.  I love watching the camera work from the helicopters and motorbikes.  Hundred thousand people, many in camper homes follow the Tour and waive flags from a variety of countries.  It has an atmosphere of happiness, of real "joie de vivre."

This year, for the first time, the Tour de France finished on the Champs-Elysees in Paris in the evening, and also for the first time the riders rode around the Arc de Triomphe - before they always turned around on the avenue.  TV channel NBCSC kept the coverage till the end and I was able to watch the glorious laser show on the Arc.  I took some pictures from my TV but many were fuzzy as you can see below.

Grandson number 2 had asked me several months ago to knit him a "Georgia Tech" blanket for his birthday while I watched the Tour.  His father attended several universities including Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Emory and the Medical College of Georgia but grandson is fixated on Georgia Tech and is a great fan.  I had to think about how I could knit or crochet such a Georgia Tech blanket.  I started during the Tour but had to finish it after the end of the Tour, since I had already worked and finished the other two baby blankets shown above.  I used the Georgia Tech colors of golden yellow and navy blue and added the yellow jacket mascot - here it is below.

The blanket was still not finished when we arrived at our daughter's house in Tennessee and I finished it while she was baking the birthday cake.  Grandson no. 3 was happy waiting for his brother's birthday cake while having a taste of another earlier cake, a chocolate cake.  Baby granddaughter wondered what all the fuss was about.

The birthday cake was covered with marine life since grandson number two is a dolphin fan.  Then it was time to make a wish and blow all the 5 candles while older brother was taking a picture and younger brother was patiently waiting for a piece of the cake.

The birthday boy likes to eat my homemade jams and asked me if I would show him how I made jam.  So I brought my pans and jam paraphernalia to Tennessee and we made three different jams: cherry, blueberry and strawberry jams.  He helped quite a lot.

When we returned home to Georgia we thought that our potted plants would have dried up after two weeks of our non-watering.  But it seems that it must have rained often as the leaves were quite large and the flowers healthy.

Just before I took the above photo, it rained again.

Now, I just have to wait till July 2014 to watch the Tour de France on TV.  It will start in England and go through the Yorkshire Dales - it should offer stunning scenery once again.