Doubs: Outing By Car III

The Lison source was only a short distance from the tool museum. As we were invited by the Merley for dinner, we decided that it would be a good idea to burn some calories that we had accumulated from our lunch.

When we were travelling in the car, the sun was shining. When we were visiting the museum, the rain was pouring. Now when we were walking towards the source in the forest, it was only drizzling.

If I am not mistaken, I had been there with a French guy that I had met during a solitary stroll in the Buis forest in 2002. He was interested in learning about Asian cultures and keen to bring his Asian friends for outings. I was one of the lucky persons.

As my memory of my previous trip to this waterfall was quite short, everything seemed new to me--the greenery,

the river,

the rocks covered by moss,

the mountain,

The view of the bridges

in the forest was magnificent.

I could not help taking a lot of pictures from different angles

every time we crossed one.

It took us about half an hour to reach the water fall.

The water was gushing down from a cave.

When we climbed higher

to approach the cave,

we noticed that the water was actually flowing out quite slowly,

a big contrast to the spurt.

This water was purposely led to run the hydraulic machinery.

The rain had totally stopped. We still had some time to exercise to walk back to our car and prepare our stomachs before our next round of heavy meal at Merley's house...

Doubs: Outing By Car II

Not many people like to enter museums when they travel. The French are quite exceptional. But Ernest and Nicole, who made visiting a tool museum the main purpose of their outing, were true rare species.

The former farm-workshop was created by Arsène Lagrange in 1828 to manufacture scythes and other cutting tools.

It was taken over by the Philibert family who operated it until its closing in 1969. Classified as a historical monument in 1985, the museum conserved its impressive hydraulic machinery which drove waterwheels,

drop hammers,

forge bellows and turbine for more than a hundred years.

When we got out from the car, a bus of golden-aged French tourists had also just arrived. Thanks to the group, we had a guided visit. The guided gave a demonstration and an explanation of different machineries

and tools,

and how the ironsmiths used to work.

Without the stream of Gyps of the Jura mountain which supplied the water energy, the workshop would not have existed. Another proof that the natural force is more powerful than human intelligence.

Doubs: Outing By Car I

Ernest and Nicole had been planning a lot of places to visit with me. They thought of the Alsace in North-Eastern France, the Pas-De-Calais in the North, Nicole's brother's house in the South, etc. Actually I was content to just stay in Neuves-Granges and go to Besançon sometimes. But since they insisted an outing by car, I expressed my wish that we would rather explore unfamiliar spots in the Franche-Comté.

We left the house in the late morning. Due to the construction of the high speed train railways in progress, we encountered a lot of diversions, which disturbed our initial itinerary. The map I was holding and the sign boards on the roads were indispensable.

In this Eastern region of France which which once under the Spanish, medieval monuments were not rare. We drove past a castle.

As we arrived in Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne later than expected, we just stopped at the first hotel-restaurant recommended in a guide that Nicole was reading.

The dining hall was very spacious.

And after the clients of the two tables near the window had left, the outside view was even clearer.

The peak lunch time was almost over. Not given much choice in the menu, all of us ordered the same set lunch. Each of us was served a plate of at least four big juicy tomatoes in slices and another plate of two thick pork chops with some vegetables. The soft round loaf was supplied by a baker's shop nearby. We had never eaten so many tomatoes! And we were not carnivorous enough to finish all the meat. It was a typical Haute-Doubs meal for highlanders that we were not used to.

After the main dish, we took cheese, a cup of coffee and two desserts to share among ourselves.

Ernest was in ecstasy while he was savouring the ice-cream accompanied by sliced pears and raspberry filing.

Once the stomachs were filled, we continued our programme for the afternoon.

Besançon: On The Bicycle III

I told Edith's brother Damien about our cycling activity when we were invited to his house

by his parents

that night after our the second trip. As he worked in a bakery in Pontarlier which was quite far from Dannemarie-sur-Crète, he had to leave the house at two or three o'clock in the morning. That evening, he was the first person to leave the table to go to bed.

Since he finished his work also quite early, he was interested to join us on the bicycle in the following Monday afternoon. But he could not confirm for he had another appointment just before our meeting time.

Unfortunatelly, he could not make it. So I finally gave up the hope to have a young companion during the pedalling. Nevertheless, I fully enjoyed the presence of my three other cycle mates who were all double my age.

This time, we took the opposite direction to Baumes-Les-Dames.

The riverside view was still very attractive with typical Franc-comtois churches,

houses,

and flowers.

Sometimes a regional train or a high speed train (TGV) passed by. It was pleasant to see the wagons from far if we ignored the fact that the engine caused sound polution to the residents who lived next to the railway.

There was a nice place where we made a pause

and had some snacks.

On our way back,

we stopped at a Roman aqueduct which was built in 170ac. Ernest filmed it while Daniel photographed it with full concentration. I imagined that Malaysian visitors would be busy posing in front of the camera...

We were always blessed with the good weather for my three cycle trips with Ernest and Nicole. When we went back to the house, it came to my mind to take a few pictures with the plant which Nicole took a good care of.

I was right, for a heavy rain fell the next day which destroyed the vulnerable flowers. I would not have been able to smell their perfume one day later...

Carefree Afternoons

Nicole's younger sister Danielle was living in Dannemarie-sur-Crète. That afternoon after our lunch in the convent, we dropped by at her house for a short while, but long enough for Ernest to take a nap.

Danielle lost a lot of weight especially after Pépère had passed away. Me too when I lost Dad, except that I gained back a few kilos. Now she looked more like her elder sister Nicole who was thin of nature.

Ernest told me that both charming sisters had been introduced to him at the same time at a dancing party. Finally he chose to date Nicole who later became his wife.

After their marriages, the two sisters' families remained close. They often gathered for meals or activities. The next morning of my outing with Eiat and I-Chen, I followed the cyclemate Daniel back to Neuves-Granges with his car. Danielle, her husband André and the Toitot's eldest son Emmanuel were also invited for lunch.

Ernest specially bought Danielle's favorite delicacy to celebrate her belated sixty-year-old birthday.

My stomach was already filled with food I had eaten earlier but it was too hard to resist that piece of creamy black-forest cake. Hello, calories!

After the meal, each of us had our own activity. The guys were inclined to intellectual work while the ladies were labourers:

Ernest checked his email.

Emmanuel helped his father to fill in the online income tax form.

André comfortably took his nap on the sofa in front of the television.

Daniel preferred to meditate on a plastic garden chair in open air.

Danielle plucked dry leaves from pot plants.

Nicole turned up the soil.

I swept away the moss that I had removed from the floor.

Shopping in the malls like Malaysians, anyone?