Party!

We started school again that week. I had a bit to catch up on because I had been away for the previous 3. My French is improving dramatically and I can express myself quite well.

On Saturday afternoon, we had Pascal's birthday party. It was huge, with friends from around the country coming to see him. It went for all Saturday night and again Sunday until very late. The banquette was huge and we bounced on the trampoline a lot with all the other children. I learned how to play a rift on the drums by one of Pascal's friends. I also had my first taste of Escargot. Escargot is cooked snails. I didn't like it. The dessert was great because we had strawberries and whipped cream.
The water in the pool was too cold to swim in because it was soooo windy. The Mistral wind, the wind we get here, lasts for three days, six days or nine days. Strange huh? Pascal's brother has three sons. They were older than me but I enjoyed their company. One of them could do Jackie Chan flips! There was also a very funny man at the party. He had wide rimmed glasses which he made use of by spraying whipped cream in between his eyes and his glasses. He also got champagne glasses and put them over his ears.

That week on Monday we had Christine's brother's birthday party! Yes, there are a lot of parties here at the moment. He had a huge platter of cakes and tarts that could feed an army! Yum yum.... Yesterday we went to the Bedoin markets to buy some fresh produce. From there we went to Gordes which is the biggest hilltop village and has been voted one of the most beautiful villages in France. Gordes was an amazing village because of the view from the other side of the road because of the sheer cliffs all the way down through the village.

Today is Monday and there is no school because of a bank holiday. Mum is going for a cooking class with her friends tonight. On Wednesday afternoon we are going to Pascal's house again for Constance, Raphaelle and Charlotte's birthday party. They are combining it because their birthdays are close.

I'll see you next week :-)
Au Revoir, Sean

Tripping through country France

We travelled for six hours from our chateau in the Loire to the north-east of France, just east of Troyes. Our next hotel was a hunting lodge in a small town called Lesmont. On our first day we had Dads' birthday to celebrate! We went for a huge bike ride through the surrounding towns. By the end of the day we were extremely exhausted after the forty kilometer bike ride. That night was very nice with a big meal in a fancy French restaurant to settle our rumbling tummies.

We drove five hundred kilometres the next day to Belgium to meet my Mum's cousin and her family. Her name is Ria and her husband Peter. They have three children, Stephie, Florien and Tristan. We jumped on the trampoline a lot of the time. That evening was quite exciting with more cousins and children coming over to their house. I got on very well with a boy called Wouter. He was the same age as me and had the same interest as me. He is my second cousin.

We drove up from Belgium to Holland and met my great-aunty and great-uncle. They are very nice and are very energetic. We went on a bike ride with them around a local village which was very nice but my favourite part of the ride was when we stopped at a paddock with many different animals including deer, goats, sheep, chickens and a big, proud turkey. He was doing a funny dance to show off to his girlfriend! At that time there were a lot of tulips blooming. We stopped along the way to pick some of them and to take photos. The day after that was exciting with a trip to a monkey zoo called Apenheul. We saw little monkeys and huge apes, all running freely throughout the zoo.

That weekend was one of the highlights of the trip because I was able to meet my second cousins called Lisa and Thijs and Lise and Tein. Thijs was very good at table-tennis and table soccer. The reason we were at a hotel was because it was my great-grandfather's 90th birthday. We celebrated there with all the family. My favourite part of the weekend was when we went to a nearby zoo. My favourite animal was Fred the shark because he was staring intently at us as we walked past.

We drove three hours, the next day to Germany or more specifically the Nurburg Ring! Dad hired a Renault sport R26R which had been enhanced and took it for a spin around the ring. We also had a look around the shops and Dad bought some clothes and a mug.

We drove a few hours from there to a village called Villeferry, which is back in France. The hotel that we stayed in was a 14th century house which had been renovated. From there we drove to a nearby village called Flavigny which is the village where the film "Chocolat" was filmed. Flavigny is also famous for its aniseed lollies. We were given a tour of the lolly factory and bought some lollies. Just down the road from Flavigny there is the Fontenay Abbey. It was founded in 1118 by Saint Bernard. He was the son of a rich family but then was sick of wealth, built a huge abbey with his money and became a monk.

After a month on the road we finally arrived home safe and well, but extremely tired it was great to be back to the comforts of home.

Au revoir