ALL IN A DAY - a traveling art blog by North Carolina Painter, Sue Scoggins

Around the Corner
14x14 original oil on canvas

This morning was spent trimming up paintings and organizing the next few days for the "grand" departure. Yes, soon this little bit of "shangrila" must end. It began like in a movie, but I never did find my little farmhouse to remodel as in Under The Tuscan Sun.  Maybe it's because I was in France and not Italy.  Hmmmm....  No.  I shouldn't! Should I?  It has been wonderful  but maybe I should go back home.  I dunno.

The afternoon was kind of exciting. I found myself in the middle of a political demonstration. Here I was, taking a break from painting, wandering my normal path of shops to see if there were any that I had missed. I could hear shouting in the streets and before I knew it, I was surrounded by flags waving, carrying the letters PCF, Parti Communiste Français. It was a peaceful demonstration. My favorite Romanian accordion player, Minelle, and I sat on the curb to wait it out. He was ready for it to be over so he could get back to playing La Vie en Rose. I eventually got up and ordered a glass of Rose. When the demonstration was over....the protesters ordered Rose too. (kind of funny)

I'm trying to be as "normal" as possible.  (Whatever that is.)  Work on my art, eat, exercise, eat, go to art class, eat, walk, walk, walk.....it's not much different than home, accept I'm in France.  There's a lot of alone time in the studio, which is the second bedroom of my apartment but I've met very friendly people. Almost every shop owner is smiling, helpful, and welcoming. In fact, one shop owner invited me out to a picnic tomorrow night to meet her friends and watch an outdoor film of the opera.  Today, I spent a few hours in the eyeglass shop picking out new glasses. I've found out that I'm more blind than I thought....no wonder I kept stumbling across those cobblestones....I couldn't see them! He prescribed the latest and greatest HD lenses (with cheap frames) and told me I was to never drive without glasses again. (My bad!)  I'm sorry, but I'll be sporting the most "French" glasses when I get home.  My kids will be so embarrassed!  I might be too. (Maybe I was blind when  picked them out.) Whatever, I won't be stumbling over cobblestones anymore.  That's a good thing.

My favorite people, above all, ( besides my art friends) have been the waiters and the Romanian accordion player. I will miss them.  I see them all everyday...or maybe I should say, "I am their regular tourist"  (accept other tourists go home and I'm still here.)  There's Nelson, who brings cafe noisette in the afternoon (noisette - which means, the coffee is the color of almonds), along with a "Sue!" and a kiss on both cheeks. The waiter at Le Gaulois, where I experienced authentic, truly French, blood sausage (must be an acquired taste), says I need to practice my French. Then, there are Ornella and Abdu, my wonderful friends at the Italian restaurant around the corner. They bring me a lemoncello, that wickedly wonderful Italian liquor, to finish off my salmone fiorentino and wonder why I am alone.  Should I tell them?  Maybe not.

I'll be waving goodbye to them next week.  Makes me kind of sad.