Things in France we don't see so much in RVA

My "readers" asked for more pictures.  Ok, it was only one reader, Louisa W, and she's a friend.  Hi Louisa!  Everyone else I know seems to be following Bobby :)

Scott and I have been talking about the amount of public art we encounter everywhere we go.  The park behind our house currently has some Cristo-like installations. This weekend we went for a walk there  and suddenly noticed this interesting spider web like thing stretched across the water:

It was entitled "crise" 

And a little further on, we find "The Titanic"

Below, in the town of Arras, still in the category of what we don't see much in at home:

                                    Giants are really big here in Northern France.  ;)

Animals are much more accessible around here as well.  There are petting zoos everywhere, often in garden stores.  We see lots of donkeys and horses too. Not to mention the roosters and geese that roam our street.

Cute chevre!

One of my favorite parts of our Saturday excursions is our leisurely lunches.  Below, Bobby and Scott having a discussion in a square in Arras.  The building in the background has the tourist office, the belfry, the entrance to the underground quarries, and the giants.   This is one of my favorite squares in Northern France because there are no cars.



OK, more of what we see here a lot in France-broken stuff.  We will leave a recycle bin's worth of glasses we have broken.  I would guess 20.    Is the glass more delicate here?  Je ne sais pas.  Also DARNED CLOTHESPINS! They spontaneously burst apart when I come near.





Speaking of broken things ...  I tripped on a sidewalk while jogging last Sunday.  The bang when my head hit the pavement was so loud I grabbed for my phone to call Scott because I was sure I'd fall unconscious or at least have the french knocked out of me




Oddly,  my head doesn't even hurt, but of course I get a lot of sympathy.  And let me tell you,  I   need this because I also cracked some ribs, and they REALLY hurt.   Coughing, sneezing, getting out of bed, putting on a seatbelt, yelling at Bobby, all are excruciating.

So the other day I googled "how to prevent sneezing with broken ribs" and discovered an entire community of people with injured ribs who, like me,  are trying to figure out how to stop a sneeze. One guy commented "I'd rather have my [private parts] stomped on, than sneeze again."  


OK I am going to post some more pictures in another post.  This one seems long.

 Au revoir