We had a lovely time in France, all quiet and villagey-like. We practiced our french, had nice walks, ate far too much duck and drank heart strengthening red wine from vineyards just nearby.
In the last few days we had some very interesting wee daytrips to ancient (like, prehistoric ancient) sites, including the national museum of pre-history. Remember Lucy the Australopithocus from science at school? Well we saw her bones! A cast of them anyway - looked real... I never knew til last week that Cro Magnon man is so named because the bones were found in a small village of the same name, just near where we were!
We went on an amazing guided tour of the grottes font de gaume (just 6 or 7 big people and our littlies, who were amazingly attentive, given it was all in French!). It was very moving and fascinating to see the extraordinary paintings/sculptures created around 20,000 years ago. Try explaining how long ago that is to 3 and 6 year olds!!! Henry kind of got it - he really enjoyed it (with a little translation from me), sweet boy. Bella managed to keep quiet and sustain as much interest as can be expected from a 3 year old in a fairly dark cave for an hour! For those of you who have been to or read about Lascaux, these dawings are much more realistic - same themes (large herbivores etc) but different style. I understand the Lascaux drawings are more like sketches.
And then we headed to our lovely chambre d'hote in Gramat booked by Conrad: Aux Volets Blancs.
And what a wonderful welcome we had. Fantastic dinner of scallop terrine, confit de canard, chocolate mouss (which C and I declined, to save room for the local cheeses offered - yes we are fatter, if you are wondering!) and lashings of matching wine. We stayed up talking with Marie-Josee, the hostess with the mostest, til nearly midnight. Ye gads - like young people! The children loved it - chocolates on their pillows and Tintins to read...nice. Then the next morning I went to the supermarket with Marie-Josee so she could show me the best cheeses and other local delicacies to take back to our kind hosts in Fuerth.
An unremarkable but perfectly ok and reliable night at the Montellier BB Hotel and we were back on Ryan Air flight 563.7 (well, it feels like that...) to Frankfurt. Last carry-on trip for Jamon Jamon the iberican ham with hoof, who made the trip just fine and is now hanging in the kitchen here, waiting to be thinly sliced for christmas.
OK - bedtime for me. Off to Munich in the morning to hopefuly get our China visas sorted - quite a palaver and 50 euro each! Will be great to see a bit of Shanghai though, and be at Bernard and Su Jin's wedding, a great opportunity. : )
Night!
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Hen lost a tooth! Bella belisima is 3. Conrad said no to chocolate mous! I miss my Adamses and wish you'd all experienced these things at my house, where at least the chocolate mous is bad. Hi honeys. I am fine and New York is bustling with people going into stores and putting huge gifts on cards and then marching with them triumphantly down Madison Avenue. And I'm with them every step of the way. Will got home the night before last -- I was so happy to see him and his lumberjack beard. He and I went to the Christmas cocktail party of parents of his friends last night and I was so proud of his social warmth. He hugs girls upon meeting them the first time. That may be something beyond warmth but let's call it that. He has done well at school and is happy. He and I decided what to do for Christmas: go to a movie and then go out to dinner! This makes me very happy. Tell me where you'll be, honeys, for Christmas. Frankfurt? Love, and beautiful Christmas to you, Peggy
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