Thanks for the replies--and for the picture. Mine definitely looks different, although the foliage looks similar. One of the reasons I bought it was because it looked so different from any of the other roses there--almost as pretty in its fall appearance as the rugosas I picked up. I double-checked the pot label #, and it's still supposed to be Julia Child. But I'm having my doubts!

Eventually we might do just that willtv, but our entire lawn needs a lot of work ("fill" and grading and more grass vs. weeds....). No point in digging up a new section of lawn to "build" a garden until all that is addressed. I have pics of one of my KIA end of summer, tomato sauce-making marathons somewhere (prob on our old desktop computer). Your pics remind me of those. The first or second year without a garden, I broke down and purchased a big bag of luscious, ripe, farm-grown tomatoes at our local farmers market so I could make garden tomato sauce to freeze. KA-CHING!!! Made one batch of the most expensive tomato sauce ever! kellienoelle--what a wonderful looking wine and conversation set-up you put together! I'll bet your friends enjoyed themselves in your beautiful new space!

Well, Marlorena, I hope you enjoy your Julia, aka Ab Fab (a terrible name, I agree), and share a few photos with us in the future. I love that rose and don't care if everyone in the world owns one (or two). Rarity doesn't necessarily mean something is excellent. Currently I'm in love with Roberto (Roberto Capucci), which makes it sound like I'm having an affair with a sexy young Italian (at my age, no less). I don't have Roberto yet, but I'm going to acquire him this spring, I hope. Heheh. SoFlo, your many Dames sound like my Princess Alexandra of Kent, a rose of many faces and colors. Just like Dames, she can be salmon pink, or a cooler pink, and even a bright coral when it's hottest. Sometimes blooms are large, but when it's hot they are smaller with fewer leaves, and stamens that often show. Currently she is reverting to her spring beauty because the heat is moderating. But at different times in the growing season, one might think she's an entirely different rose than at another point in the season. Diane

I understood that it's the new owner who will also offer cooking classes. Patty Vinson -- the best way to get to the house is to take the TGV train from Paris to Cannes. It's a 5.5 hour train ride, but lovely to take. Pack a picnic lunch from a market and buy water on the train. Settle back and enjoy the ride. If you book in advance through the French iDTGV instead of SNCF websites, you can snag a deal. The most I've paid for that trip was $50 one-way per person in first class. To use the iDTGV website, you'll need to understand French. If you book on SNCF, they'll bounce you to an English language website that seems to always charge more. In Cannes, you can either take a bus or rent a car to drive to Grasse. Grasse is a lovely little village. My late husband and I stayed in nearby Mougins one year and several years, we stayed in Antibes. You can also fly to the Nice Airport from the US, then rent a car and easily drive to Grasse. I love the Riviera. Have been many times.....too much to add to this little post! If you want to go to Giverny, I've been twice since Paris is an annual trip for me. On my husband's last trip in September 2013, Grumpy Gardener (Steve Bender) from Southern Living and his wife were with us. I took them out to Giverny. You don't need to go on a tour. I wrote a blog story about how to get to Giverny from Paris. In hindsight, I wrote this six days before we got my husband's terminal diagnosis. You don't need to book your regional train ticket in advance, You can buy it the morning of your trip at the Gare Saint Lazare. The train station is huge and somewhat like a shopping mall, so you'll need at least 10-15 minutes just to navigate through the station if you're going in from the Métro. I'll be back in Paris in September and October, with a trip in between for a week in Basque Country with friends who live in Paris.