Lovely and Local

It's a wonderful things to be a tourist and see famous things, but it's usually the places and sights that are part normal life that stay with us and remind us how lucky we are.

Here are are a few pictures taken about town in Orsay.  

The first are from our local church in Orsay Ville, the Church of St. Martin and St. Lawrence.  The Church is a mixture of many different architectural style, but its bones are very old---its construction began in the 1100s. 

We've enjoyed the two services we've attended at the church.  They were very full and had a good number of children in attendance.  I don't even begin to understand the homilies, the priest speaks earnestly and at length.  The cantor has a sweet energy about him and does a lovely job of conducting in solfege so the congregation stays together during the hymns.

 

I wish I had a better picture of this window!  It shows St. Martha defeating a dragon.  It's a beautiful and strong image, and ought to be on the cover about a book on the role of women in the Church.

Below is a house on our street.  See the espaliered pear trees growing against the wall?  There was an  evening last year when Donnie was telling me that trees could be trained and pruned in this way, so that they have a small footprint and get plenty of sun.  It seemed terribly exotic at the time, and now it's just down the street!

 Here's another lovely, local sight.  Baguettes are the new Cheerios.  Maria asks for bread all the time, and usually follows up the request by asking for butter and jam.  If we stop by a bakery, Maria expects a piece immediately--it's the ticket to a peaceful journey home.