Impatience.

{Fig trees tips waking up.}

I've learned a lot of things from practicing Bikram yoga, and probably the biggest thing that I've learned is that life, like yoga, is constantly evolving. You're a different person in your practice (be it yoga practice or the practice of living) everyday - physically, mentally, emotionally. I've not only come to accept that, but to look forward to and trust the process. However something that has been consuming me of late is impatience.

 

Impatience with what persay? As much as I'm enjoying the barrage of snow we've been getting off and on here in the eastern part of France, I'm impatient for spring. I'm beyond excited for this new growing season in the Duggan Terrace Orchard, small as it may be.

{A closeup of our Brown Turkey fig tree. This is most likely a fig that will mature as part of a breba crop, if last year's breba crop is any indication.}

Maybe it's because I was in the US for the end of the growing season, or maybe because we actually got figs last year (about 20 - 10 breba and 10 main crop), but I can't stop planning and daydreaming about what this year's orchard will bring.

Assuming that everything comes back after being dormant this winter, we will have 9 fig trees in large pots, and 7 fig trees in small pots, ranging in age from almost a year old to almost 3 years old, and ranging in origin from down the street to Italy and Switzerland.

Also of note is that although one of my two lemon trees (both grown from seed) has passed on, the other is thriving and has even grown over the winter, about a foot to be somewhat precise.

It appears that most of my mirabelle saplings have survived as well, and are even beginning to wake up from their dormancy in the garage, proven by the green tips that are beginning to show.

I didn't plant any new fruit tree seeds this winter, because just about every seed I planted last winter grew, rooted and survived, and we just don't have any room for any more at the moment.

{Apple blossom buds beginning to get fuzzy.}

So my goal for this growing season for the orchard? Work to make each tree that we have as happy and healthy as possible. This means re-potting some trees into larger pots, such as the lemon tree and one of my five avocado trees.

 

Here's hoping for some patience in the meantime...

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey

PS: Wanting to try to propagate your own fig trees this year? Well in case you missed it, here's a tutorial! Happy fig tree growing! 

Lyon Part Trois.

A little more from our day trip to Lyon...

 

Cafe 203, where they blow smoke in the face of the smoking ban...



 

We ended the day with dinner in a killer cool little bouchon where the mounted animal heads on the wall were dressed in their Sunday best...



{Cornichons, salad, herring, potatoes...}

 

 

Lyon, you are as delicious as you are intriguing. There is definitely a return trip in our future...

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey



Lyon Part Deux.

 

After burritos, we headed off towards Vieux Lyon, but for reals this time.



 

We crossed over La Saône...



 

...and started the long "up" to Old Lyon.



And by long "up" I mean 808 steps (between two different sets of stairs). I think there is some sort of shuttle you can take, but that's not really our style. (That being said, I'm quite sore today from the impromptu stairmaster-esque marathon.)

The long walk was worth it to see this view over Lyon...

 

...as well as to see the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere and Tour Métallique.

{These Frye boots were meant for walkin...}



After walking up 808 stairs and then down 808 stairs, we were tired, cold and in need of a beverage. Luckily we found an incredible cafe called l'apostrophe, where we sipped on some vin chaud with the mid-afternoon Lyonnaise crowd.



 

Next, Lyon Part 3...

 

A la prochaine friends...

 

Honey 

Lyon.

Yesterday we drove the two hours from Thoiry to Lyon to traipse around the culinary capital of France. Neither of us had explored the city before, so in typical fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants-fashion we took to the city by foot without too much of an itinerary. Our goals for this day trip were basically to see what new things we could discover (Vieux Lyon, Tour Metallique, etc.), and eating in a bouchon.

This fountain in Place de Terreaux was designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, who also designed the Statue of Liberty. 

 

After grabbing a cafe au lait by the hotel d'ville, we decided to wander and see what we could find. We thought we were heading towards Vieux Lyon (the old town), but were actually heading in the complete wrong direction. We did however find something that blew our minds:

No, not that! (Though it was an amusing find...)

 



BURRITOS.

IN FRANCE.

IN EUROPE.

BURRITOS! BURRITOS! BURRITOS!
 

 

In just shy of three years of living abroad, we haven't seen a single burrito place. Anyone who is well acquainted with us knows that Doc and I love burritos, and that it is one of the things that we miss most from the United States. (Even more than cupcakes.)
 

 

We stood outside the burrito joint for a good five minutes trying to decide if it was wrong for our first meal in the food capital of France to be burritos. In the end, since we were planning on finding a little bouchon for dinner, we figured it equaled out. We have no regrets. What was weird though was to see everyone around us drinking wine with their burritos...apparently they didn't get the full "How to Eat Burritos" handbook when they opened this place.

Lyon Part Deux coming up next...

A la prochaine friends...

Honey