Following our bike ride we took the road less traveled home, along a single track path, and found aqueducts.

While we have seen aqueducts before we have never walked on them. We found a spot and hopped on top. The kids were especially surprised to see real water flowing.

It was so incredibly amazing to be able to walk on this structure. Studying Latin and Roman life for 5 years in high school has helped me appreciate structures like this. My mind is still baffled.

Sunday I was feeling almost 100% from my 10 day virus. The temperature was pleasant, around 60F. We took a family bike ride to a spot labeled by Google maps as “passage à gué” (meaning a ford). We do not typically call the place where one crosses a creek as a ford but rather “a place to cross a creek.” It is 3 miles one way from our house all on back roads. We left Cody at home for this one. Such a fun ride along vineyards and fields of black bulls. We even saw a windmill. The ford did not disappoint us and it actually led us to new mountain bike single track paths.

January 6, 2023 – Epiphany

Here in France January 6 is celebrated by eating la Galette des roisa, “King’s Cake.” The cake is more of a brioche or a puffed pastry and is filled with frangipane – a blend of almond cream and pastry cream. Mz rode her bike, with her new backpack, to the local bakery this morning and brought one home with her. It comes with a golden paper crown. It is eaten on this day to be reminded of the wise men visiting baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

In America I have seen them in grocery stores sprinkled in purple, green and yellow sugar crystals, more Madri Gras in nature. I have never had one but have heard a plastic baby is hidden inside. The person who finds the baby becomes king for the day. Interestingly enough in France a porcelain figurine is baked into the pastry. Upon reading about this French tradition I came to realize the little ceramic figurines I found at the thrift store to make our nativity scene were probably all from king’s cakes. I also bought one for Z-Yoda, Mz-Davy Crockett and a Fox (Jenny L. Cote) and Randy-Manny the wooly mammoth from Ice Age.

A midafternoon snack is when we cut into the cake. The pastry was delicious. No one found a ceramic figure this go round. Maybe we will have a king or queen for the night.

Voilà! We had an evening snack and Mz found the ceramic figure of a Muscovy Duck. I cannot find the symbolism of this duck, France, and the number 1. Oh well! Sometimes Cody acts like a king and such a gentleman with his legs crossed!!

2023 is here and it came in with a bang of fireworks here in France. Our family stayed home, watched a movie and worked on an escape puzzle with wolves.

Suddenly at midnight huge fireworks started going off in our small neighborhood. The village center had a fun paced spectacle of fireworks as well. We watched them all from our home. It was fun to exchange pictures with the date of 2023 to friends in Virginia who were still in 2022.

I welcomed the new year with a terrible virus, head and lower respiratory only, that has been going around. As I type this post several days later I am not 100%, but much better.  My family even quarantined me to an upstairs bedroom where wifi does not work well. The good side, they kept feeding me :). (I downloaded shows to my phone in the early mornings when I had energy to go downstairs.) So far the rest of the family has been spared.

Mz experimented with taking reflection photos around the yard.

Christmas Break Adventures

Being satisfied with our flamingo sightings we traveled to Aigues Mortes, a medieval fortified city serving as a port to the Mediterranean Sea. We only scratched the surface of this place and will be returning for sure.

Here are some facts I found, which give me the desire to return:

•Founded around 102 BC, by Marius Caius

•The first tower would be built in 791AD by Charlemange (this guy has been everywhere)

•13th Century led King Louis IX to acquire it as a launching pad for his crusaders via the Mediterranean Sea.

•1272 the king Saint-Louis began constructing the surrounding walls which stand today.

•The end of the 16th century brought the War of Religion to the area, including Calvinism

•The Constance Tower became a famous and dreaded place for prisoners. (We did not even see his tower.)

•The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 made any Protestant worship illegal. As for the Protestants, they were forbidden to leave the Kingdom. Many were imprisoned in the Constance Tower, which served as a prison for “heretic” women . The best known of them, Marie Durand, sister of a clandestine pastor, was detained there at the age of 19 and would not be released until 38 years later.

•WOW

After briefly walking around and grabbing some dinner we headed to La Grande-Motte for a Christmas drone show of 400 drones. It was neat to see the drones create 3D shapes in the air and then spin them. It reminded me of my old marching band days except in the sky versus a football field.

Christmas Break Adventures

We took to the road again this time with purpose and our friend Alli. 

Our first stop was the Ornithological Park of Pont de Gau near the town of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Fleeing persecution in Palestine in the year 45, Mary of Jacob, Mary Salome and Mary Magdalene miraculously landed on the shores here with their servant Sara. Their arrival is believed to have heralded the beginning of the Christian faith throughout Gaul.) https://www.villes-sanctuaires.com/en/villes-sanctuaires/saintes-maries-mer

There are several flamingo species around the world, here in France we see the greater flamingo species. We observed these standing on two legs, we never saw any stand on one leg. A gathering of flamingos is called a flamboyance.

They appear to run on water as they take flight. Flying flamingos are a sight to see with their bodies sandwiched between their elongated necks and rodlike legs all streamlined being steered by their vast wingspan. 

Some were observed to be running on an underwater treadmill. Our speculation as to why circled around massaging the muck of the lake to acquire eating delicacies. Flamingos sound like croaking frogs on a summer night. Mz added some of her own creative photo taking abilities below. It is fun watching her enjoy photography.

A big thank you to Alli for our family photo!

Driving and biking

Throughout the week leading up to and after Christmas we continued to have adventures. One day Mz and I went for a drive, turning down roads when we thought it was a good one to try. This led us to a look out point straight north of the village. The view was nice and wide despite the road that took us there, which we vowed to never take again.

Another day Randy and I took off for a drive which took us to the village of Corconne at the feet of massive cliffs of the limestone Coutach massif. Looking to the west and straight up, a church lookout dating back to 1188 rests on top. Corconne was spared during the cholera outbreak of 1854.

We found a makeshift parking spot and set out hiking for the top. From the top we saw Mount Ventoux to the east, Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Pic Saint-Loup to the southwest. Such a clear day to see it all.

Bike riding adventures continue as well. Randy took me on a ride alongside vineyards, down and up country roads, winding nature paths, under tree house cottages, and through a winery. Cody was given a tracking device for Christmas so we can watch him and the kids while they go on their daily biking adventures. 

Apparently back home the wind has been fierce and damaging. We had three trees fall into our neighbors property and onto their garage. Some were dead, one was not, and some are leaning. So Randy spent most of the afternoon communicating with neighbors, the people in our home and tree companies back home. Luckily we have great supportive neighbors and house exchangers, Jill and Fred.

Mazie and I took off on a little adventure ride not really knowing where the road was going to take us. We ended up at an overlook that was pretty from the tip but the road to the top was narrow and steep. We do not plan to return. Cody continues to enjoy resting on cut olive branches under the table. He can be found there even in the rain.

We tried to incorporate some new French traditions on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Friends from church invited us over for a huge feast called Le Réveillon, meaning to wake up or revive. There were 3 families represented, consisting of 7 kids under 16 and 10 adults. Some traditional foods we had were salmon, green beans cooked with garlic and butter, snails (escargot), wine, champagne, and cheese. One dish was a tasty Mauritius pork.

Randy and I tried the snails, not bad especially cooked in a butter, garlic, pesto-like sauce. We were asked to provide sweet American desserts. We had fun cooking multiple desserts all week. Our lists consisted of iced sugar cookies, chocolate chip cheesecake, apple pie, rice krispies treats, and a peanut butter chocolate oreo bar dessert (better than Reece’s PB cups). The tables were decorated elegantly down the center with place cards too.

We played a couple of games throughout the night, a video version of, “Name That Tune”, however in France they call it “Blind Test,” using music from the 70’s – 2000’s. Another game was to pick a name and give three clues about the person and everyone had to guess who you were describing. We sang English Christmas carols while the younger kids played video games. To end the evening the hosts, Flavy and Christian, had gifts for everyone. We were amazed and thankful for their inclusion, hospitality and generosity toward us. As we were driving home we saw Santa walking the sidewalk in our neighborhood. I was so shocked all I could do was wave and not snap a picture. I texted some little friends back in America to let them know Santa was seen without his sleigh. I was wishing them well and hoping Santa found his sleigh so he could cross the Atlantic and make it to their homes in time. We arrived home after midnight. 

Christmas Day our kids slept in until 9am. We were thankful for the gifts, photos and cards given by family and friends. It was a wonderful normal feeling Christmas for us in our PJ’s, cinnamon rolls, background music and wrapping paper. Stockings were filled, presents were wrapped in huge boxes and stacked like the Sagrada Familia.

I had found little ceramic figures at the thrift store for us to have a nativity scene. We did  have a few small presents in the kids’ Crocs under a chair because we do not have a fireplace in France. The kids did not know about this tradition so when they saw their Crocs they were even more surprised.

Here they say Père Noël gives the gifts and Père Fouettard is Father Spanker who helps Saint Nicholas to decide who has been good or bad.  We had yummy chocolates wrapped in golden sparking paper with fringed ends called Papillotes all month. The kids enjoyed the day and we are thankful for Jesus.

We also find joy in Jill, Fred and their kids enjoying American style holidays with their family. It has been a long time coming for them. It is fun for us to see our house being loved and enjoyed.

After watching sheep dog herding demonstrations we enjoyed a delicious French lunch of sausage, scalloped potatoes, wine and flan. Mz made her version of Sagrada Familia.  I think we were the only ones eating outside, everyone else took their scarves off and headed indoors for lunch.

The dogs demonstrated herding again. The young pups struggled focusing this time around, while the older dogs proudly showed off their incredible skills of listening and herding. We ended our time with a ride in an open sleigh pulled by two horses through the vineyards. Jingle bells were included on the horses!

As we wrap up pre-Christmas around here I want to share other photos taken to remind us of Christmas while in France. 

Bike riding is not a typical image I think about in winter. A shiny bike by a Christmas tree however can be a solid image and hope for many. Randy and his road bike take to the road a couple times a week. A few months ago a ride led him to Château La Roque, cru Pic Saint-Loup. (I blogged about this under November VII.) Upon researching events for our family to attend nearby he found an invitation for December, at the chateau. A French field trip for our entire family accompanied with wine, good food, horses, dogs and sheep!! A win win for all of us.

We were reminded this month during church that when Jesus was born it was a typical normal day for everyone else. Shepherds were watching their sheep, bakers were baking, farmers were preparing or harvesting the land, children were playing, and some people were traveling. In the morning at the chateau we learned how horses plow the vineyards. The farmer spoke in French and Randy translated important details for us. I was interested in seeing how the farmer was connected to both the plow and horse by a lengthy leather belt. Not sure why the donkey was present but she was everywhere, maybe someone’s pet, maybe for show, maybe just because. We talked about how some breeds have a cross on their back.

After the plowing session we spied sheep and goats in the vineyard. A watchful dog kept the animals in place, occasionally running to one side or another when part of the herd started veering off. A shepherd communicated to the watchdog using different whistle sounds. We watched in fascination with joy on our faces. The goats with their crazy horns reminded me of miniature reindeer.

Next we walked to an enclosed pasture housing a small flock of sheep and a gaggle of geese or flock of ducks, not really an expert of geese and duck differences. The same horse farmer led the sheep dog exhibition. Different shepherds, male and female, took turns with their dogs guiding and herding the sheep throughout the field. Some had their dog split the sheep. One shepherd had his dog roundup geese/ducks and walk them into a pen. Yes, I was thinking about the movie Babe while observing these animals and their trainers. All the dogs waiting for their private turn were locked in on the herd from outside the fence. The farmer-shepherd explained the commands being told to the dogs. Some shepherds commanded in unique whistle sounds, others used words to direct their dog to come, stay, turn right (à droite) or left (à gauche). The youngest pup to herd was 9 months old. Even the 20 month old Belgian Malinois, Skeep, had his turn.