"When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky." Buddha

Well, folks, this is it.  My last day of this French adventure.

My time here has been kind of like this picture.  I can see it, everything that I've done and learned and seen, but it's still a little blurry.

"My Lord! Open up for me my heart. And ease for me my task. And untie the knot of my tongue. That they may understand my speech." Qur'an

Great apartment building on my walk to the Paris Mosque.

Made it to the Paris Mosque and what a gorgeous place it is.  Looked like a path to the Secret Garden.  One of the most tranquil places I've ever been.

 

Just around the corner was a delicious Moroccan restaurant where I had some eggplant tagine and dessert and tea.  I wish I could give you a sample as you read this.

"If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello." Paulo Coehlo

My last day in Amberac with my lovely English family, and I'm so sad to be leaving!  Especially because I've been having breakfast every morning with Lily.

Lily is Sandy's 91 year old mother.  Ninety-one years old, you're probably thinking, that's ancient.  Let me tell you a little bit about Lily.  She worked through World War II, married her childhood sweetheart until he passed away after 75 years of marriage, and is undeniably the most radiantly beautiful woman I have ever known.

If you want a little perspective, make friends with a 90 year old human.  If you want to learn a little about life, understand simplicity and know love, make friends with a 90 year old woman named Lily.

"I want to think again of dangerous and noble things. I want to be light and frolicsome. I want to be improbable, beautiful and afraid of nothing as though I had wings." Mary Oliver

 This one's for you, Riiich.

 Sandy and Roger picked up some new black chickens at the market.

"Live the full life of the mind, exhilarated by new ideas, intoxicated by the romance of the unusual." Ernest Hemingway

Went exploring in our little town of Amberac today and I came across some beautiful things.  What do you think?

Oysters

Who would have thought that these slimey little things would actually be good?!

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been." Albert Einstein

Albert must really have been some sort of genius to have so much wisdom on so many topics.  Not to anyone's surprise, he is quite right.

The French countryside is peaceful and welcoming, the sun warms the earth and as cliche as this is going to sound, everything glows.  The grasses, the cows, the million different plants that I couldn't even begin to name.  Everything, beaming with contentment.

Bonjour cows.