To France and Back

Hello and Bonjour to all of my dear readers who have been so horribly neglected over the past couple of weeks.  I apologize for my prolonged absence but, you know, duty calls.  And by duty, I mean another obligatory trip to la France.  And by obligatory I mean I had several days off whilst living in Europe and could not possible stay away from France while I was so close.  So on Saturday morning, I left for Paris.  I stayed with a friend from Furman (Brita) who is currently working as an au pair for a family just outside of Paris.  It was great to see her and catch up a bit and we had a lot of fun.  We spent Saturday, which was super sunny and blistering hot (FINALLY!) on a picnic in Parc Monceau with baguette sandwiches, fresh cherries, our books, ipods and sunglasses.  It was a wonderful afternoon.  Then we met up with a couple of her au pair friends for gelato, drinks, and pizza around the Centre Pompidou.  It was a great day with lots of fun surprises, like the giant chalk mural of the Mona Lisa!

Sunday was super fun as well.  While Brita was off at a writing class at Shakespeare & Co., I met up with Kyliemac from the Katia and Kyliemac Paris podcast which I have listened to faithfully for the past two or so years.  It was so much fun to get to chat in person.  We had coffee and then walked all over the place, even stopping to pay a visit to the Statue of Liberty (PS, in National Treasure 2, they so cheat on the camera angles.)  Anyway, I was really pleased to have had the opportunity to meet a part of my favorite duo.  

Sunday afternoon at 4:33, I found myself running (literally) to the train station and fighting my way to the front of the ticket line for my train that was set to leave at 4:40.  I grabbed my tickets and dashed on to the train just in time to hear the announcement that we would be delayed until 6:00.  At 6:00 they kindly informed us that we would leave around 7:15.  So much for the mad dash and getting to Brive-la-Gaillarde in daylight.  Ah well, at least I had three pleasant seat mates and a complimentary boxed meal from SNCF (this never happens on trains in France).  After the 4+ hour journey, I arrived to find the Verdiers waiting for me at the station.  It was a wonderful reunion.  It is amazing how much and yet how little things change over three years.  I got all caught up with Marie and Christian, who, for those of you who don't know, were my original host parents from the first time I stayed in France in 2003 when I was only 15.  They are a wonderful French family and I like to refer to them as "ma famille francaise."  I was in Brive for less than 24 hours, but in that time I managed to sleep in "my" old room, pick the cherries off of the cherry tree with Christian before the birds could get them, eat nearly an entire quiche, and speak more French than I have this entire year living in a partially francophone country.  It was great.  

Monday morning we headed off on a lovely drive through the Dordogne region to the Atlantic coast near Royan.  The Verdiers were sweet enough to take me on a mini holiday to their "maison mobile" in the Parc de la Côte Sauvage.  Their house looks out over a tidal marsh with beautiful views of the dunes.  We enjoyed drinking our Cognac flavored aperitifs, hitting up the local marché for fresh fish, produce, and escargots, and leaving our baguettes and fromage behind when the sun finally decided to show itself on Wednesday.  In Royan we took advantage of the rain to browse the shops and even caught a French air force exposition.  This is me in a Mirage.  Pretty cool, but no thanks.  

The sun came out on Wednesday and we took full advantage of it, even getting clobbered by a giant rogue wave that nearly claimed my camera and ipod as victims.  We caught a heartwarming Gerard Depardieu film called "La tête en friche" in the evening and headed home for my last night at the seaside.  Sadly, I had to leave on Thursday morning.  It was so wonderful to see Marie and Christian again and to spend several blissfully relaxing days in a country that I love with good friends with whom to pass the time.  I miss it already.  But I will be back, and next time, I have promised to try and bring my  Mom and Dad.  The Verdiers are eager to meet the rest of my family and I am eager for my family to fall in love with France just as I have.  We'll see.  In the meantime, here are some more of my favorite pictures from the week.  Again, a special "merci" to Brita and Marie and Christian for hosting me!

Peace, Love, and Waffles.