AU REVOIR LA FRANCE

On Friday July 23rd we packed our bags to the point of bursting and jumped into a cab (no more metro for us) heading to the airport. As we were walking to the check-in at the airport we ran into our good friend Susan Fuhr and her two sons Kieran and Landon. They had just arrived on the Toronto flight to Paris and were waiting for their Dad, Greg, who was flying in from Johannesburg, South Africa to meet them to begin their holiday.

We boarded our plane without incident but then our departure time was delayed by 45 minutes due to a security breach at the airport. Because of this delay and yet another delay waiting for our bags at the Toronto airport, we missed our connecting flight to Edmonton. Fortunately, we were able to get on another flight to Edmonton leaving 50 minutes later. Once we landed in Edmonton, we were greeted by Harley and Joan (Gramma and Grampa) who drove us back to our house. We spent an hour re-packing and then headed to the lake for the weekend. Logan participated in a Pro Am golf tournament at the Gull Lake Golf Course. He golfed really well (considering that he was off the course for three weeks) and his team placed fifth.

Our France trip surpassed all of our expectations. We met some amazing people, experienced a different culture, sampled great cuisine and enjoyed the amazing French landscape. It was wonderful to see that our children were comfortable in another culture different from their own. All in all, this was a fabulous adventure for our family.

FRENCH PASTERIES

Our first couple of trips to the patisseries we focused on purchasing baguettes and croissants. Occasionally we lucked out and found freshly baked baguettes that were still warm. It wasn’t until the last days in Paris that we paid attention to the “dessert section” of the store. This was the beginning of our pastry tasting adventure. We tried éclairs, Opera squares, chocolate mousse cake, thin pastries with custard, macaroons, etc. We can’t remember what they were all called but we thought they were all delicious. We didn’t pass too many patisseries without having a look inside. Even Logan was able to find a type of French donut that was nut free.
Finding yummy treats was not only limited to the patisseries, we also found a certain type of chocolaty goodness in the grocery stores. This confection was like a dense waffle that had been glazed with granulated sugar then dipped in chocolate.

ALBI, FRANCE

We woke up to another hot and clear day on Wednesday so we spent the morning and early afternoon in the pool. Later that afternoon we decided to follow Christiane’s advice and venture into Albi. So we programmed the GPS for Albi and it took us north along windy country roads. Along the way we were treated to vistas of beautiful fields of sunflowers and lush pastures. We drove through many small villages and noticed that they all had a church as their focal point/hub of the town.
Forty-five minutes later we arrived in Albi and drove to the centre-ville. We parked our car and toured through the narrow streets looking in small shops and patisseries (bakeries). After walking quite a while we came upon Cathedral Ste-Cécile which was the main reason for our visit to Albi. Christiane said that this cathedral was worth the drive and she was right. With the exception of the entrance, the outside of the building wasn’t very elaborate. We were not prepared for the sight that greeted us once we stepped inside. This cathedral was amazing. Rod thought that it was comparable to Paris’ Notre-Dame in its beauty. There were sculptures, walls painted with biblical scenes, carved stone pillars, stained glass windows and elaborately decorated alcoves. The main focal point was the pipe organ located high above the altar. The actual pipes were very large and all around them were cherubs carved from dark wood. The construction and installation of this pipe organ took 30 years. This did not surprise us as we had never seen carving that elaborate. In fact, everywhere you looked, you could see the amazing craftsmanship that went into decorating the cathedral when it was built between 1282 and 1512. The day we were there we heard a small chamber choir performing for the tourists. Their voices blended effortlessly and the sound was carried all through the church.

After touring the cathedral we continued our walking tour through the town. We found a nice restaurant and had another delicious French meal. It was very hot that day and after we ate our dinner Taryn and Rod decided to run through the fountain. Most of the other fountain jumpers were under the age of 5 but this did not seem to bother them.

We drove back to our cottage as the sun was setting.

DINNER AT THE HEN HOUSE

On Tuesday night we were invited to join Laurence and Christiane for dinner at a restaurant owned by family friends. We met at their house at 7:30pm and enjoyed a drink and snacks. Around 8:30pm we headed out with Laurence in the lead. We drove out of town quite a while before turning off the highway onto a much lesser used road. We continued on this twisty dirt road for about 10 more minutes (passing through a marble gorge) until we were sure that we would never be able to find our way back to civilization. Then we drove into a farm yard. This was Le Bonnerie – an exclusive restaurant housed in an old stone building that was once the farm’s henhouse. We were surprised to see peacocks wandering around the yard and horses in the paddock.
The menu offered three selections for the main course. Logan, Taryn, and Rod ordered the lamb. I ordered the mackerel and Laurence and Christiane ordered les coeurs des canards (duck hearts). For appetizers we sampled cantaloupe with prosciutto, roasted tomato tart, duck with lemon juice and parmesan, and roasted eggplant with roast veggies. These dishes are all examples of traditional French country fare. What a gastronomic adventure! All of the dishes were fantastic. Logan even tried the duck hearts and the eggplant dishes (please don’t faint G & G!) and proclaimed them “really great”.
We had such a good time with our hosts. This was truly a highlight of our time in Castres.

Merci pour le dîner, Laurence et Christiane. Trés fantastique!

CRAWFISH HUNTERS

It all started when Laurence (owner of le Moulin) told us about the little creek by le Moulin and how there are crawfish and trout in the water. On the second day we went down to the creek just to see if we could see anything…nothing. A few days after that Dad and I baited the traps Laurence showed us with some Italian sausage and put it in the water where it was most deep, and within 5 minutes we had our very first crawfish. I named him Phill. With two”L’s”. We put him in a pot that had some water in it, and then put the traps back in the water and we did that a few times. The second one we caught was a bit smaller so I named him Jimbo. After that came Sparky and then the biggest one we caught was Big Daddy – he was the last. Dad named him. At first we thought we would serve them with a delicious rosé sauce but then I decided that they should stay with their families so we put each one back where they came from. We also gave them extra pancetta for their troubles.

LE MOULIN DE LA ROUQUETTE

Sorry for the lack of blogs lately, but we have been lazy while at Le Moulin de la Rouquette. We arrived on Saturday night and instantly fell in love with this place. When we first started planning our trip we looked into booking hotels. Unfortunately, with two teenagers, it was difficult to find hotels with queen beds or accommodations to fit all four of us. The norm for French hotels is one large bed and one single bed. After speaking with family friends that have travelled to France with 3 children, they suggested we look at the website, http://www.homeaway.com/. This is a website where people rent out their vacation homes. At first we were reluctant to go this route, but after looking on the web site and finding some great places to stay, we made our reservations. All three of our accommodations outside of Paris were found through this website. Each of the accommodations has exceeded our expectations.

When we arrived in Castres, we meet the owner, Laurence Maraval Haddon at her mother’s house. Again our GPS unit was instrumental in directing us to the exact location. We were greeted at the gate of the house by Laurence’s mother, Christiane. Then they drove us to Le Moulin de la Rouquette as it was about 8 km outside of Castres. Le Moulin is located in a forested area on 2 acres of land - very isolated. It is a beautiful country cottage with an open concept and four large French doors which open up the whole south side of the house onto a wide veranda overlooking the pool. Beyond the pool runs a small river which cascades over very large granite boulders. It is spectacular. The kids each have their own bed and share a bathroom. The main bedroom has a king-size bed with full ensuite. It also has a full kitchen and large dining and living room.

This home was built by the Maraval family in 1961. It is obvious to us that this is a much loved family retreat featuring items gathered from their many travels and adventures. We feel privileged that they are willing to share this wonderful place with us. Since arriving, Mae and I have already discussed returning. We love the very tranquil and relaxing environment which has been a perfect fit for our third week of vacation. http://moulindelarouquette.blogspot.com/

Since arriving, our days have been leisure. Our morning routine has been eating breakfast on the deck and spending the rest of the morning and early afternoon by the pool. Once we had enough sun, we head out on adventures touring the Tarn region.

New video links have been added to the blog (Top right). Click on links.

ANOTHER GREAT DAY AT THE TOUR (STAGE 14)

The start for stage 14 of the Tour de France was again in the small town of Revel, France. Our accommodations were only 20 minutes away. Logan and I got up and had breakfast and decided to go see the cyclists start the 14th stage. The last part of this stage had two very large and steep hills. It was going to be a long day at the office for these professional cyclists. Logan and I arrived in time to see each cyclist sign in for the race. Each day the cyclists go up onto the stage and sign/ autograph the start sheet. It is a great way for the spectators to see each cyclist. Lance got a huge ovation. After they sign in, they mount their light-weight steeds and head out on the 185 km stage. We were able to see all the cyclists leave the starting gate followed by all the team cars. After the cyclists left, we shopped at the cycling and Tour de France boutiques. Not sure how we are going to get all the swag back home in our checked luggage. Unfortunately, this was the last day of the tour for me as it moves farther into the Pyrenees Mountains and is about a 2 hour drive one way. I am thankful my family allowed me the time to see this amount of Tour during our vacation. I would definitely like to come back and follow the Tour with a bike. I saw a lot of cycling groups today at the start.