voyage du jour -december 8, 2011

preface: below are the color photos from our day trip- i have not posted the more arty 'sepia' ones here- i might do a 2nd "photo only" entry of them.

DD & JT- @ BIELER SEE

HOTEL JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU

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ah bon... yesterday was sunny & bright, so Jackie and i decided to day trip around the Bieler See [Lac Biel/Lake Biel] and enjoy the sunlight, blue skies, water and fresh air.

We 1st drove through Biel [no fotos in this entry] drove to La Neuveville & stopped at the Hotel Jean-Jacques Rousseau- and sat on a bench watching the sun set. JJR lived on St Peter's Insel/Isle St. Pierre [island]
which is in the 'see'. J&I went there years ago with musicians i was working with @ the time- very interesting place.  

i really wanted to get to Le Landeron before sunset - it's such a beautiful sweet small walled ancient village- with allee of chestnut trees in the center. it was totally deserted, except for a very few people. they were decorating for Christmas, which for some reason felt more like Christmas to me- [unlike all the US commercial Christmas crap]- very French- more traditional- simple folk type, natural [green] ornaments etc.

LE LANDERON:

 

 

 

 

i think Le Landeron would be a wonderful place to have a small atelier/studio/apartment. a place to draw, paint, do collage, write, do photography. have the absolute bare necessities- just a bed, chair and table- coffee machine- very basic cooking junk- my Hermes manual typewriter & Moleskine journals. no tv, internet or phone [other than my cell, for emergencies] - just room enough to work, create, make a big artistic mess; be the hermit monk in absolute solitude & silence- eat, drink in small local cafes, et souvien Francais, apron encore; mais, un beau reve... mais possible? pas maintenant

after, stopping and making a few fotos, as i have done there before, we headed back, stopping along the way in Erlach [below] at a cafe for coffee and 'sweeties' 

i had apfel strudel w/vanilla sauce- jackie had some maroni stuff w/schlag rahm-  also saw more Christmas decorating 'ideas' 

  

and landscapes -showing snow on the Jura- on the way back around the lake en route to Biel and onward to home.

it did me a world of good to get out- and go around- and remember where i am- considering i have not gone out at ALL except for my concerts, and the occasional accompanying of jacqueline to do errands or shopping. 

it's amazing that only 15 minutes from here -[which is primarily German speaking, and w/more modern architecture & buildings mixed with the old]= are tres vieux villages like La Neuveville & Le Landeron [both tres Francais] and like going back in time: OLD historical, funky & beautiful. getting out [especially on such a beautiful day, like yesterday] is something i absolutely need to do more of. 

i  have been obsessively/incessantly working on [writing/recording] music from the time i was here in august, all the while i was home, and ever since i came back on November 14th to the point that i have reached burn out. So i am stopping for a while; reading a lot; writing in my journal; and plan to begin art work [since writing/art/photography is just as necessary to my 'uber alles' well being/my life as music is] - even so, i have got to stop, take breaks, get out [especially with winter here] and see and do- instead of "staying on that damned computer" as my mama always said.

[c]2011 DOUG DUFFEY