Not Italy....

Not Italy, not even Europe, but close. This is El Castillo, a winery in Saint Helena, California, where our merry group tasted and bought wine.

Wine tasting, of course!

Napa is wine country, so our happy group of ten 'Aix' friends set off in pursuit of a good glass of wine...of course we found several.

Don't you just love the shirts we had made? "Aix" friends=forever friends.
Well-aged, too.

You're in good hands.

A little sun, a little champagne, and lots of friends. Arrived in Napa for a 43-year reunion with friends I studied with in Aix-en-Provence in '68-69. And our director and his wife made it, too! A votre sante!

SKYWATCH--Oh, those clouds!

Oh, I'd forgotten how beautiful California is....and those puffy white clouds....

I took this while whizzing down I-5...quickly...

Check out other skies on SKYWATCH.

Kicking my heels

California, here I come. I hope I have as much fun as these sheep.

ABC WEDNESDAY--Q is for Quest

Somewhere in the foothills above San Francisco a knight is on a quest, perhaps for this dragon I 'shot' while driving....oh.

See other Q's and perhaps dragons on ABC WEDNESDAY.

Avec Louis Chez Fanny

Today I had the pleasure of finally meeting "Louis La Vache" of Bay Photo! Louis has been a faithful commenter almost since I began my blog three and some years ago, and it was nice for both of us to put a face (other than a cow and a dog) to our blogs.

We had lunch at Chez Fanny in Berkeley. Both of us had a croque-monsieur, cafe au lait, and shared a slice of rhubarb-strawberry pie with creme fraiche.

Merci, Louis, and a la prochaine! (Sorry--don't know how to add accents on some of the French words I've used!)

Unisex

I guess this sign on a California rest area restroom shouldn't surprise me; it is in California after all, where the unusual rules. I think it means that a person of the opposite sex may assist someone in a wheelchair in this particular restroom.

I'm so glad to be in warm and sunny California....

CALIFORNIA, here I come!

As reads the plate, Far-out it will indeed be. I've been in the US since early March, since my mother has been having some difficulties which required moving her out of her house, selling things, cleaning up the house, making repairs, doing yard work....little time for me, and I thank all of you faithful readers for your comments. It's all I can do to post a photo, and I am so sorry I have little time to visit your blogs, but will return!

Before all these 'mother' occurred, I had planned to come in the summer and take a three-week road trip to visit various friends in California. Given the circumstances, I moved it up to May, and today I am off! Bibi's coming along, of course; my own trip in the Travels with Charley style.

I took this photo in a pizza restaurant...very good pizza, too.

Not sure how frequently I'll be able to post over the next month, but stay tuned.

Groovy...far-out...

REFLECTIONS WEEKEND-une voiture pour Louis!

Louis La Vache of Bay Photo loves vintage cars, and so I just had to snap this 1950 Packard, which was parked across the street. An Alaskan plate... it's gone now...

See other reflections at NEWTOWN DAILY PHOTO.

SKYWATCH FRIDAY-classic Seattle

Not much imagination involved on this shot; it's classic Seattle. A view of the Space Needle from near my daughter's house. Hand-held...I was so still....and pushed the ISO.

Check out other skies at SKYWATCH.

In the US for a while longer.