Where in the World

If you're wondering where we are and I answer "St-Clémentin", you probably still won't know where we are.  I only found out this place existed very recently.

We are of course in France, about 400 km south-west of Paris, or 4.5 hours by car going at 130 kph on the toll highway.  We are not on the Atlantic coast but are within driving distance.




Saint-Clémentin is an old French commune, located in the Department of Deux-Sèvres in the region of Poitou-Charentes.  On January 1, 2013, Saint-Clémentin joined Voultegon to form a new town called Voulmentin.  It seems to have doubled the population overnight since Saint-Clémentin had a population of 516 in 2010 and jumped to 1,096 people in 2013 as the new Voulmentin.  The closest city is Bressuire, about 12 km. away.

Poitou-Charentes comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, and Vienne.  We are in Deux-Sèvres.  The department #79 of Deux-Sèvres is named because of its two river sources: Sèvre Nantaise (Nantes) and Sèvre Niortaise (Niort).  The Capital is Niort.  Residents are known as Picto-Charentais. 

Poitou is a historic region in west central France. Poitiers, the capital of the region, is its chief city, although the port of La Rochelle rivals it in economic importance. Farming is important to the economy; wheat, corn and cattle are farmed. Industries produce machinery, chemicals and dairy products.

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Many of you have no doubt read the classic "Le Petit Prince", by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  It is one of my favourite books!  When roaming the back roads of our area, we came across an eccentric artist who has painted his small van with the illustrations from that famous book. 

Like in the book, he told us of his travels and what is important to him.  He had mesmerizing eyes.

 

 

From "Le Petit Prince":  "What place would you advise me to visit now?" he asked.  "The planet Earth," replied the geographer.  "It has a good reputation."  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

The artist pointed to his "rose", which is a big part of the book. 

His colourful clothes and attitude were original and uplifting.

"And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.  The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched, they are felt with the heart."  ~  Antoine de St-Exupéry, "Le Petit Prince"