Some of the appeal of his work, for me, is a nostalgia for an imaginary past, before everything got ruined.

Of course in reality life was rough and difficult then in ways that I will never know, thankfully.

This one's from 1880, depicting Vétheuil, a small village along the Seine. I've only been to Paris proper, never to outskirts like this. Methinks it would be inspiring to visit, even today.

Of course in reality life was rough and difficult then in ways that I will never know, thankfully.

Bit of a tangent, but that reminds me-- in one of A.C. Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, Holmes & Watson are taking a train, passing through a rustic area, and Watson talks about how pleasant (and perhaps nostalgic) the countryside looks. How welcoming it seems compared to life in London. Holmes famously replies that some of the most sinister of crimes take place in such locales, precisely because they tend to be away from watching eyes. One of the many (and typical) ways in which Holmes casually shakes Watson's beliefs down to the core, so to speak.

It does look like a dream, yeah - https://www.google.com/maps/place/V%C3%A9theuil,+France/@49.061864,1.709642,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sCIHM0ogKEICAgICuoumcbQ!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2Fgps-cs-s%2FAHRPTWnXFtIDQCil5148qMtOYTIPimzP0OsgZGVl6f6rZeru7RuLRJcqqlP0wRYuixyb95JDirOV_xq-8VNJQTg1nBDc9r4gJdapFmjrfq8ee_RifrJPfJk5XRAGRmgGQmhf0VxKRtE%3Dw114-h86-k-no!7i3953!8i2976!4m7!3m6!1s0x47e6c057ce2036bd:0x40b82c3688b2c40!8m2!3d49.061864!4d1.709642!10e5!16s%2Fm%2F02q7504!5m1!1e1?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgxOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

Gorgeous. If there's one thing I regret in life, it's not spending more time trekking about Europe, particular the more off-the-beaten paths.

Kind of funny I guess, considering my sub-PieFed. (don't call it a "community!")

"sub-pie" is easy to say :D

Now mister, I reckon you just solved a passel a' problems for me, right there.

Bartender! A round of carrot juice for everyone. (uh, with a small whiskey chaser, of course)

Right away, Mister Wayne!!