An echo of the past...

(All Photos by Tavarua)

"The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative art."

- Marcus Aurelius Antonius

France

(All Photos by Tavarua)

"A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."

"Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open."

- Alexander Graham Bell

 " I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any."

-Mahatma Ghandi

"Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Give your children roots and wings and teach them how to fly ...but be careful and remember that a broken winged bird cannot fly ...

Reflection(s)...

(Photo by Tavarua)

You may wonder, 'How can I leave it all behind if I am just coming back to it? How can I make a new beginning if I simply return to the old?' The answer lies in the return. You will not come back to the 'same old thing.' What you return to has changed because you have changed. Your perceptions will be altered. You will not incorporate into the same body, status, or world you left behind. The river has been flowing while you were gone. Now it does not look like the same river. - Steven Foster

Destination - Paris...

"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast."

- Ernest Hemingway

Quality of life...Have a Picnic

(Photos below by Tavarua)

Liberia - West African Dwarf Crocodile 

(adult size approx. 5 feet)

Well, Liberia was a good voyage although as one of the most humid regions in the world, mosquitoes enough to make you miserable, in Liberia, malaria is the number one killer. 

It accounts for 18% of all deaths and if

 I am informed right it has the highest rate of malaria in West Africa. 

 

  and now time for Paris, France....

Part II - Welcome back to Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature...Paris, France

(All Photos by Tavarua)

A homage to hunting. 

The Blue Room

The Weapons Room

The Wild Boar Room

The Dogs Room

The Birds Room

The Trophy Room

A taste for life...France... somewhere on the coast and the countryside....

(All Photos by Tavarua)

My arrival...much has been written and much can be said about France...and anybody who stays more than 3 months...will understand that this country - with such an artistic and philosophical soul will perhaps change your perspective on ...

Arrival...at the country house...

Arrival ...an experience in life...even if familiar to your heart...it can be of unexpected...pleasure sometimes...

"Thinking"...

"The surest defense against Evil is extreme individualism, originality of thinking, whimsicality, even — if you will — eccentricity. That is, something that can't be feigned, faked, imitated; something even a seasoned impostor couldn't be happy with.”- Joseph Brodsky

Unpacking....

and unpacking...

Escargots...

Would you care for a recipe???

 Ragoût d’escargots forestière

2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, minced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
125 grams wild mushrooms, needs to be diced
1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, cored, diced
30 to 35 small snails
5 deciliter of heavy cream
Herbs the Provence, fine salt - freshly ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a small frying pan over medium-low heat.
Add the shallot - cook until soft.
Add the garlic and the mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until soft. 
Add and mix the tomato and snails.
Add the cream and cook until the cream sauce is thick. Season with herb the Provence, salt and fresh pepper.
Ready ...
 

It is time for some crackling logs...and a glass of wine...do remember there is always a reason for drinking...today - for the excellence of the wine...and to good friends...

Night - Back at the house - Somewhere in France...after a nice evening at a simple Brasserie by the coast... dinner -  Moules et frites...