...And a Wedding! Vive les Mariés!

I think one major reason our trip came together this year was that Thierry made a promise to his God-daughter, Eve-Lise, to be there for her wedding on July 5th. "There" being France. There were not 36 solutions, as the French say, we needed to fly over.

Je crois bien qu'une des raison majeurs que notre voyage a enfin eu lieu, c'est que Thierry a promis à sa fieulle d'etre la lors de son mariage le 5 juillet. "La" voulait dire la France. Il n'y avait pas 36 solutions, il fallait qu'on prenne l'avion.

Summer Happenings in France

My little guy turned 7 days before we left. We decided celebrating in the US and in France would be the way to go. (This is mostly because the cakes here are so very delicious that it would be a shame to miss an occasion to have a French birthday cake by mere days.)

Gaël with his chocolate (layers of chocolate mousse and cake) cake:

La Vie Quotidienne/ Everyday Life in France...Sort Of

As I mentioned, there was a busy-ish sort of week here, and then another. Busy being relative. My sister and brother-in-law had waited our arrival to baptize my sweet little nephew, Remy. A baptism is an important event in France (not always religiously, but socially, very); weeks of preparation and planning go into it,

Rigny Castle

The sun came out...and I went on a tour of the grounds. I found the moat! It's still there, with little foot bridges. I also got a back view of the castle. This is really a little corner of heaven I thought I would share with you, a few more photos than the last post, a couple more details.

Life in "La Vieille France" or The France of Yesteryear

I had a week...and then another week, and today I am writing from here; on the other side of France and on our way to Germany in a few hours. I am a make-believe countess for two days and a night, in the Chateau de Rigny, a magical, fairy-tale place to stay and visit. The kiddies are with Thierry's family, and we are on a big ol' road trip, starting with a 9-hour drive and a night here:

Mont-de-Marsan; our French Home, or Where are we?

A sweet little town of 30,000 people in the southwest of France; north of Spain, south of Bordeaux. The Atlantic ocean and beach is a 45-minute drive. We've had one memorable weekend there so far.

The important people here are our family members.

How to be a Good Tourist

Valentine's first comment as we looked around, a little dazed, a little lost, in Venice, was; "I hate looking like I'm a tourist."

Palazzo Ducale

This was the day we did our "official tourism"; first stop: The Doges Palace, or Palazzo Ducale in Place San Marco Square.

The Palazzo was built for the reigning duke, who was an elected official. His private apartments, as well as administrative space and all of the chambers where the various bodies of government met, were within the palace.The very first Doge of Venice was Doge Angelo Partecipazio

Venice; Favorites

Love the houses on the water:

Aaah...Venice

This was the year for the twelve-year-old trip of my third child, Valentine, the one with the most Italian name, and fittingly, she had her heart set on Venice. To Venice we went. There is nowhere quite like the very place you have dreamed of visiting and are now staying, especially if it happens to be a place like Venezia.

Proof of a Slower Life

This sign struck me today. I was waiting in line with the rest of the people who had either rushed from work or procrastinated until the very last minute before stores closed for the night. I needed a few tomatoes and some yogurt for my solo dinner, and it was 6:55. Yes, grocery stores, along with jewelry stores, clothing stores and newspaper stands, all close at 7 here. And, even in a big ol' Leader Price, a large supermarket next door,they close down for a half day to take inventory, which translates the sign about word for word.

Charles: Down for the Count

French Adventures; the Hopital

Since I am lazily catching up from a lovely trip to Paris and prepping for one to Italy, I have yet to recount the ER room visit and subsequent surgery on day two of life in Mont-de-Marsan. 

Second day in les Landes; everyone and their brother, and their cousin, is at our house. They have all popped by this afternoon, with children, grandchildren, it is a beautiful day and there are 30 people in my front yard. Despite the fatigue pulling at my eyelids and each and every muscle from traveling for the past five days,  I can handle this. This same family has stocked my cupboards and refrigerator, so I smile and serve juice, mint syrup with water, muscat wine, port, pretzels, crackers. I break out my American candy stash for the kids. 

The only ones who declined to partake were the police officers..

On Your Marks, Get Set, Chill

...and watch, from my chaise lounge, as my mother-in-law plays cards with the kids, my father-in-law wakes from his nap in his own chaise and takes out the sprinkler for the little ones to run through, and the others read a comic book or leaf through a magazine. This is life in the afternoon in the summertime here.

Toujours Paris

A few more snapshots of our brief time in the capital of romance and overnight forming of political parties and protests: (photographic credits and thanks go to Janice Vaillant and Duncan Chenus). Anywhere you see purple, it is a link that will give you, most likely, all or more than all of the info you ever wanted about the monument, neighborhood or statue from Wikipedia, in English.

Notre Dame through the trees