Posters

[Janice writes:]

 

The daylight lasts long with sundown at close to 10 pm here, so I can take walks after even a late dinner, good for lowering my blood sugar. Here are some posters that I've encountered in St. Maurice and neighbouring Charenton. The first two relate to the recent European election:

This one is about an annual contest to beautify your balcony with flowers:

The baccalauréat, known as the "bac" is the important set of exams that need to be passed in order to graduate from secondary school. From 10 am to 8 pm, the public library (médiathèque) has reserved its space for students to come to the library to study for the exams.

Over the years, we've noticed cleaner streets. This fine of 68 € (CAN$ 96.00) may be a factor!

 

Everyone has shiny new garbage bins. Like those in Vancouver, some of these also get overfilled. This region is now called "Paris Est". There are three types of bins. One is dedicated to the many wine bottles and glass. One is for any kind of plastic, including plastic bags, and paper. The instructions are to not rinse out the containers, in order to save water. Being Mennonites and obsessed with cleanliness, we rinse. The third bin is for everything else, including food scraps. There are very frequent collections. Each Monday there is a collection of big items, like mattresses, furniture, and electronic devices. Prior to the pickup, there are scavengers who go around in vans and pick up anything they think might have resale value.

On Saturday, Bonnie and I went to Jardins Jardin (a garden of gardens), an annual event held at the Tuileries (garden near the Louvre). Plants are for sale, and there are creative sample gardens and  displays of garden furniture and accessories.

Foxgloves were featured many places; I consider them a weed in my garden although I let some of them grow. Bonnie, originally from Iowa and now rural Ohio, was not impressed by all the bales of straw that were abundant in the displays. The theme was "garden in the city". Here bales are exotic!

There was also a bonsai exhibit, and we particularly liked this tree trunk and its plants.

Meanwhile, back at the Centre, good progress is being made with the painting, including much work on repairing the surfaces of these old walls.