Bienvenue à Belfort !

This is Belfort, city of 70 000 and our new dwellin'place. 

 
  Flowers cover the town, in planters along the sidewalks and in every park, of which there are many.

       

A typical street view includes people strolling down the sidewalk with baguettes at their sides, old men walking their dogs and sipping coffee at small tables, the postwoman riding a yellow bicycle with leather saddlebags on either side, ladies in black hose and high heels, workmen eating lunch on a garden park bench, cats sleeping in windowsills, and children playing in the schoolyard.

Everybody smokes. At least a lot of folks do. It's part of the culture. When high school lets out for lunch, the street is packed with teenagers smoking cigarettes and kissing each other. Those who aren't are staring at their iphones. 

The happiest people, naturally, are the children, the old folks, and the unemployed. 

[Note: The leather-clad lady on the right can be seen downtown with her dog at all hours of the day. Rumor has it that she picks on young female violinists leaving music school, shouting at them "You c***! Why don't you play the guitar?!" I've yet to witness this strange ritual.]

We're grooving well into this new place. During our first week here, we ate only bread, pastries, cheeses and coffee. We wondered why we were so sleepy all the time. We've since thrown some more complex foods into the mix.

Most of all we've been enjoying the luxury of having time to cook, read, draw, play music, and take in all the sights, smells, and sounds. Like all places, France has a certain aroma and music of its own, a blend of modern life and the old country.

The journey has just begun. More to come!