Here’s a picture of a building that we pass by at least twice a day but only recently discovered its real purpose. We figured that it was a mill since it sits just downstream from what used to be the King’s mills and it has an opening at the bottom that lets the water flow through the building. Since a tree is now growing out of that opening, it’s obviously not in operation, but its original sign is still in place and readable: Moteurs des Fontaines de la Cité, 1893. It’s a giant water pump! Continue reading “Water for water”

Having grown up on the East coast of the US, I was not unaccustomed to seeing giant sailing boats whenever there would be a summertime festival. It seems that every major harbor from Maine to Florida has a sail-in of some kind every year to showcase these magnificent ships. To keep the tradition alive there are sailing schools in many of those same harbors, including one run by the US Navy, where young women and men train for weeks to rig the sails and navigate these giant vessels through treacherous waters. We live near the Canal du Midi where they do exactly the same thing, minus the sails, of course. Continue reading “Sailing, sailing”