Michelle Lee

Pondering Paris

May 19, 2023May 19, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

This last minute bucket list of items comes at the request of Mazie and Randy. “If you live in France you MUST go to Paris.” I have been to Paris and was not super excited about spending 3 days here again. We acquired all our tickets needed for the 2 days, 3 nights, including the train, Eiffel, Louvre and Versailles Garden. We even found a hotel and a place for Cody. Our dog sitter, Emily, moved to Toulouse and can no longer stay with Cody. At the last minute our pastor and his family took Cody. Thank you!

I took upon myself to take Pondering Paris Photos. These are not your typical Paris sights, yet they do exist. Our walk to the Eiffel, lunch, and Seine Cruise gave us the backdrops for these photos and for me to ponder their stories.

Left for anyone to vacuum while waiting for the bus

Happy 50th Michelle

May 18, 2023Michelle Lee1 Comment

Yes indeed I am now 50. I had several celebrations to mark the occasion. Some friends in Montpellier took me out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate the milestone. Other friends had me over for pizza and ice cream. Family and friends from the US and Africa sent cards, emails, texts, packages, and flowers.

Here in France Cody joined me on a hike around a turquoise lake.

The family went wildflower picking for flower arrangements. Randy planned a stop at a local poppy field. We also had an incredibly tasty Italian meal in a neighboring village.

A girl can try to reproduce a Mary Cassatt

I was humbled by all the thought and care people showed by their shared memories, kind words and gestures. It takes a village to raise children, and accomplish things, and yet this same village of friends knows how to love a friend indeed.

Aix-en-Provence

May 17, 2023May 27, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

We opted to eat breakfast at this outdoor cafe before heading home. It was delightful and tasty.

On our way home we toured through the countryside toward Aix-en-Provence, looking for poppy fields, cute villages and green fields with stones.

We settled in for lunch and a nice village stroll in Mènerbes.

The outside dining experience and the view of Mont Ventoux were peaceful and relaxing.

The village was simple, quaint and perfect for our exploration.

A drive through downtown Avignon showed us more fortified castle walls and the “bridge of Avignon.”

We never found a field of poppies. Randy eventually stopped by a few poppies so I could snag a few photos along a wooden fence.

Ironically the poppy fields surrounding our village bloomed while we were gone. This one was taken a few days later. The Pic saint Loup is emerging from the background. This has become a landmark for us, giving us timing as to how far away we are from home.

Calanques

May 16, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Looking at our calendar we realized there were some areas we wanted to see before leaving. Our timetable was getting tight with school still in progress, visitors coming, and not many weekends free. We headed to the Calanques for a few nights for my birthday trip.

We settled in the town of LaCiotat, a small fishing port east of the Calanques, known for repairing yachts.

At first glance I thought this was a helicopter of some sort

We headed to Cassis, the next town west of us, after breakfast.

Here we took a morning boat ride to see three of the Calanques.

The wind at times was fierce causing waves to crash against the boat. Once in the inlet the wind subsided and the water was clear and turquoise. We actually all enjoyed tossing and turning on the boat ride.

We ventured on a couple of hikes after the boat ride.

We explored the towns and their markets too.

Anyone want ice cream?

May 15, 2023May 21, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

I popped over to Marie’s Wednesday night around French dinner time to see if she wanted to go get ice cream. I told her I found a place open in Sommières. She leaped from the table so excited to come. The kids all wanted to come too but we didn’t let them. We were off to a girls’ night indeed. This year in Europe, Randy and I have discovered Google maps does not list business hours very well, this ended up being the case once we arrived, even though I had tripled checked. The little cobblestone old village was sleeping for sure.

We made the most of it and meandered through the picturesque twists and turns of the old town streets. I especially like house Number 4.

I like to wonder what it rests behind the door of an old French home. The second picture shows an updated version of the market places from the 12th and 13th centuries, during which there was peace and prosperity in France. Tonight we happened upon an elderly gentleman helping his wife out of their vehicle. As he was doing this his front door was opened to his home. Marie encouraged me to go back and take a look inside the opened door and take a photo. I am glad I did.

Marie took us to the hilltop castle for a beautiful sunset. We joked this was the best type of ice cream because it gave us exercise without calories. I still would have preferred to walk it with a cone of ice cream, however I enjoyed my time with just Marie in a quiet French village.

Day 11- April 8

May 13, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

The final Goodbyes of Spring Break

We said goodbye to my sister and family this morning. What an amazing blessed 11 days with friends and family. We are exhausted. Our life here is relatively quiet and slow paced. I miss the activity, talks, feeling like I am known without saying a word. Life must go on and it does, even for us and Cody.

Mid morning our friends, Lez and Marie, asked if we wanted to join them and their girls at a wine tasting event just outside of the village. Zach stayed home and the rest of us ventured to the beautiful grounds of MAS D’ARCAY. It was a nice spring outing, pretty with color yet cool enough for a down jacket. My pictures are taken and used without permission from Marie’s IG account.

I never in a million years did I think I would type “Here is a picture of a guy carving a pig’s leg with his co-worker sporting Converse high tops and pouring wine in the background.” Well I just did!

Later another friend came over to check the stove top that stopped working while our friends from Spain stayed with Cody. Exciting life we all live at times. At first glance the pictures looks like either an old multi player turntable or flat cinnamon rolls.

Day 10- April 7

May 10, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Boulangerie, Beach, Palavas Les Flots, Aqueducts, Wine Tasting,

The 11 pipers piping time is about to come to a close. The feeling of delight having family with us is starting to subside knowing tomorrow is the goodbye day. What can we cram in today? Biking riding multiple places to the boulangerie, bike pump park, through the fields and the vineyards. While this was not the order of the day it still happened. Kids wanted to show Keeler the bike park. Aunt Jan wanted to ride with Mazie and Cody on their daily adventures.

A walk to the boulangerie is always on the list for visitors, followed by a stroll through the village and park.

The beach was high on Josie and Keelers list, especially since it was the Mediterranean Sea. Despite cool temperatures in April the kids still went in and played.

Ice cream and lunch were next on the to do list. I found a new area south of our beach outing and headed there. Wow, what a find! Palavas provided us with restaurants and shops aligning the canal. Our choice of eating establishment was on a dock. It even included the best port-a-potty ever.

The sun warmed up the air and it became the perfect day for exploring on the Med coastline. We even rode a slow skyride getting great views of the harbor, beach and town. Also a fantastic place to be a teen and practice dropping shoes from the skyride..teenagers.

We dropped back in time on the way home exploring the aqueducts.

Randy’s favorite must do for visitors is wine tasting.

The end has come and we must pack and say goodbye. Thank you for hanging out with us!

Day 9 – April 6

May 9, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Carcassonne

I added a few extra pictures I had forgotten to add in previous posts.

Another big day of travel was before us. We left after breakfast and headed to Toulouse. The city of pink and blue, so they say. We actually ended up skipping the city because no one was hungry and parking a big 9 passenger van is no easy feat in a tiny underground parking garage.

We continued to Carcassonne. Harry Potter and the game Carcassonne rank high in the Blanton household so Carcassonne was the perfect place to see and enjoy. Even though this was our second time, we still enjoyed visiting. I would add that the first time was still the best and most magical.

Inside the abbey huge stained glass circles and bells were on display for all. Outside the abbey we settled in for some drinks before exploring the ramparts.

The ramparts are magical in their own way, full of adventure and architectural designs around every corner. The views were clear with a backdrop of the Pyrenees mountains or olive groves and vineyards.

Jan and Ike make the famous Cassoulet dish back home. They wanted to try the real deal. The cassoulet was perfect, so the cassoulet eaters agreed. I do not enjoy this dish and opted for another. Crème brûlée sealed the meal for most as well.

Finally we said goodbye to Carcassonne and drove home to Saint Drézéry.

Day 8 Spain?- April 5

May 7, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Hiking to Spain…

After our hike to Gavarnie we were excited for our next adventure which was to hike into Spain.

We loaded up in the 9 passenger van and headed toward the parking lot near Spain. Ike was an incredible driver. The 1.5 lane road up the mountainside contained 11 switchbacks, some were truly hairpins. The rest of us found the views to be superb and majestic.

We were hoping no one was coming from the other side.

At the top we were met with a road closure sign. Checking to see that it was indeed too far for us to walk on the slick road to Spain we made the best of the situation. We decided to explore the area on foot. The views were breathtaking and quiet.

What goes up must come down! Again Ike did an amazing job on the road, even with mini cars zooming past us on the 1.5 laned road. The day ended with hot tub relaxation, a trip into town for dinner groceries and a big feast of meat…haha.

Day 8 Hiking- April 5

May 6, 2023May 8, 2023Michelle LeeLeave a comment

Pyrenees Hike with Blantons

Rise and shine with eggs, sausage, fruit, pastries and cousins!

Today’s adventure started in the small village of Gavarnie….We walked along a babbling brook for quite a while.

Each stone bridge we crossed was a passageway to further natural beauty.

We stopped for lunch upon this amazing rock with perfect areas for sitting.

Cirque-de-Gavarnie was absolutely breathtaking. Snow was still present. As we sat and admired God’s creation we heard snow falling as it was being melted by the sun’s warmth. Hearing mini avalanches caused a little panic with our younger crowd. It was fascinating to hear and see the mounds of snow fall. With each landing snow powder sprayed into the sunlight.

Glacier sledding anyone? Ok, so not a glacier but still fun and different.

A higher view gave us dry ground to rest upon without other spectators.

I am famous for taking us on different routes to see different views. Sometimes this works in my favor, other times I may have ended up in a French hospital on a Saturday night. This notion must run in the family because Jan mentioned taking a different route to the car.

Game on! We hiked and hiked until we could not hike anymore safely. Ike and Randy scouted it out and concluded we should not continue on the shady, icy, narrow, cliff path covered in snow. We concurred and retreated safely without injuries. Aunt Jan and Mazie even rolled down a green hill together.

On our way out Keeler looked back and noticed a new waterfall. We sat and watched the seasonal birth of a waterfall from ice to falling water. We were all mesmerized.