image-in-ing

Wine country - aaaahhh!

For the next few weeks I will be sharing some images from our trip to France. See the post from 11/27/23 for information about the purpose of our trip.

The grape harvest had just begun. The grape vines are tightly packed, and it's hard to imagine being able to drive a tractor through the narrow rows without severely damaging the crops! These fields of grapes extend for mile upon mile.

We had the opportunity to tour the winery at Chateau de Marsannay

The bright red spots on this map are the grape vines belonging to this winery. When someone
inherits grapevines, they are faced with steep inheritance taxes and often must sell sections of the vines
they inherit. This results in scattered holdings that must present a challenge come harvest time!

This was just one of the cellars where the wine is stored until the proper time for bottling.

Here our guide showed how the soil, rock, pH, and drainage impact the quality of the wine.

Of course we had to try the wares - and the wine was quite delicious.

A view from the chateau to the lush fields of grape vines.

A few sights from Brussels

As a Daughter of St. Francis de Sales, I was privileged to have the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage to some of the sites in France which were important to St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal, who was a close spiritual friend. The two of them founded the Visitation Order, which still exists today. Francis de Sales wrote extensively. His most famous book, Introduction to the Devout Life, is still considered to be a spiritual classic. In it, St. Francis proposes that holiness is possible for all people, not just those who are professed priests and nuns. In his day, this was quite a novel idea.

Before embarking on our pilgrimage, we landed in Brussels, where we spent a day prior to heading to France. Over the next few weeks, I'll share some photos of the rest of our trip. It was beautiful!

Charming narrow streets with lots of outdoor dining opportunities.

The Atomium, originally constructed for the 1958 Worlds Fair

Statue of a former mayor of Brussels and his beloved dog.

A peculiar name for a restaurant, IMHO!

Royal Saint-Hubert Galleries, a fantastic shopping arcade opened between 1846-1847

A few from the archives...

These were taken a few years ago in Beaufort, North Carolina. If you haven't gone, it's worth the trip.

My happy places

I must admit that there are few things that soothe my soul like a river or a lake or the beach. The ocean in particular shows me that my perspective is rather narrow and my problems are rather insignificant. Here's hoping you find some peace in these photos.