Boulangerie, farmer’s market, village tour, bike park, Mediterranean Sea, the medieval enclosed city of Aigues Mortes and a walk through the vineyard

The typical morning with visitors is a walk to the Boulangerie. Today included a local farmer’s market and an empty bike park, because local kids were in school.

We packed lunches and headed to our favorite beach. It is one of our favorites because the beach is very wide. The parking lot was closed when we arrived. Randy jumped out of the car and found someone who could point us the right direction for a different access point. The water was not too cold for Nathan, Joey, or Josiah. Sand dunes were excellent launching pads.

On the way home we drove by Aigues-Mortes. Pamela was taking pictures as we drove by it.  We all, even in 2 cars, could feel the desire to peek inside. Best Crepes ever!

Once home we rested a tad, then headed back out for a vineyard walk. Pamela commented that the walk seemed like she walking in the TV series The Chosen. Lastly, we fed the kids and the adults headed out for dinner. Perfect day!

Spring break came like Christmas for us. While the 11 pipers represent the faithful 11 disciples, these friends and family members are faithful people who spent time with us over 11 days (March 29-April 8). The anticipation, cleaning, prepping food, planning activities, arranging sleeping, not to mention laughter, long in-to-the-night conversations and pure exhaustion at the end were priceless. Family and friends gathered, food shared, gifts given, new sights enjoyed, school halted, and a different routine were all experienced in brown paper packages all tied up with string, THESE are a few of my favorite things!

Day 1- March 29

Pamela, Joey, Josiah, Nathan and Hazel arrive in Barcelona. They hit the ground running and sightseeing to fight jet lag. Meanwhile Z and M finished up school work and prepped beds. Finally, around dinner time the Rogers arrived by bus in Montpellier. Let the games begin!

The following weekend, in late March, we joined the village in their Carnaval celebration. This year the theme was MUSIC.

Kids dressed up like an American Halloween, without scary costumes. The gathering was at the elementary school. A marching band played. Kids had bags of confetti that they enjoyed throwing at each other.

It was overwhelming for our kids, especially since they were not young. Yes I may have dragged them to the event, but only for 30 minutes. They quickly found a wall to lean on and observe.

We left the event when the parade around town started. On our way home, and with no one watching, Z and M picked up confetti and had a little fun.

The next day Dana was down for the count and James was better. James, Krista and I took the kids out for more French adventures. An easy hike led us to the first ruined castle we explored back in August. We enjoyed exploring passageways, rooms, and views.

Having happy kids led us to another adventure with an easy hike to a ruined mill. I must add one child was not at all happy and she let us know it. She happened to be the one who thoroughly enjoyed herself once we reached our destination. The water was flowing and slightly chilly. This did not stop the exploring.

The last adventure was something new for me and Mazie. We stopped off at a new playground in Teyran. Laughter and smiles were shared for almost an hour.  

Stinky feet and a squishy lizard at home made way for more laughter and smiles.

Saying goodbye at the train station came too soon. The European cousins were off to Paris and beyond for a few days. While the French strikes took a toll on their transportation options, they eventually made it back home to California and Kansas City. Our house seemed too quiet after they left.

Having visitors means showing them around our area, which I really enjoy. Occasionally we get to try something new to us to spice it up a little.  Dana, James, Emerson, Avery, Bennett, and Krista landed in Barcelona and enjoyed a few sightseeing days before heading our direction. Their train was late due to famous French strikes. French hotdogs and ice cream in the city proved to help the atmosphere. Mazie was great at showing Emerson how to take pictures in the small city lanes. Looking for bikes stuck in walls, painted buildings and stairs was fun for all ages. Our favorite book store is always a must if there is time.

Back at home we had extra trampoline bouncers, train conductors, many chefs, and game players.

Travel sickness hit 5 out 10 of us at different strengths and intervals.  Zach was hit the worst with strep at the end of the visit, unrelated to the other illnesses. So one day Dana explored the boulangerie, village park, ford, and local aqueducts with us. Krista enjoyed every day and never was sick.

Later that afternoon Randy had set up a wine tasting on the hill next to our house.

Currently as I type this out we have just finished hosting 4 different sets of friends and family here in Southern France. What a complete delight it was having different faces and stories to share, not to mention new adventures creating lasting memories for all of us. 

A good friend of ours from Spain needed a place to work for a few weeks outside of his country. So we invited him to stay with us and added an extra seat at the dinner table. He fit right in with our style. He experienced the vineyards, sunsets, village walks, bike rides and Cody. Later he and his family stayed for spring break while we ventured off to Normandy and the Pyrenees. Cody enjoyed them loving on him. We were super thankful they could come and take care of the house and Cody. We were sad to miss being with them though.

The next few posts will be with my cousins Dana and Krista. Dana and her family of 5 came from Los Angeles, while Krista flew in from Kansas City. There is nothing like family, even if we haven’t spent much time together, we have a bond based on Papa Dew. His funeral this past June of 2022 brought all the cousins together (as adults). It was the perfect time to reconnect.

Many visitors and adventures await their turn to be highlighted on this blog from the past 2-3 weeks. Meanwhile Randy found this about another Michelle Lee.

We were only gone a few days, yet we returned the trees budding and blooming. Flowers are starting to wake up and display their colors. Luckily tulips can be found at the store because we needed one for a flower dissection. I enjoy playing with the app Artisto with my Peter Rabbit gate.

Our friends near and far continue to lose teeth. Zach finally lost his last baby tooth. Another friend delivers her second daughter, baby Jill. We are even finding baby snails around the village.

Asparagus and strawberries are in season. While we miss going down to our local Quail Hill and picking our own strawberries, we are happy to have sweet tasting red ones now. My friends Rachel and Flavy brought me some of the best. Random pictures of the week.

The other night we went to The Music of Hans Zimmer: The Orchestra Lords of Sounds concert. Orchestra music is truly a universal language. This experience was refreshing to us. We listened to masterpieces played in a foreign land by Ukrainian musicians for several hours. During intermission we had Nutella crepes. Despite everything being foreign to us we had a sense of familiarity and commonality with everyone in the venue. Unique video depicting each song was shown during the performances. The conductor was my favorite because he was so mesmerizing to watch. After the concert we dropped our friend off back home in the city and saw aqueducts lit up in blue.

France finally switched to daylight savings this Sunday, March 26.

After the race Randy took us to a church ruin in the area, Notre Dame la Brune.  I do not think I will ever tire from exploring ruins. The stones hold so many memories. The structure’s dilapidation has a story of its own. This one contained a plaque which was helpful, especially after I used Google translate to read it in English.

The next day, after breakfast and leaving our airbnb, we found a disc golf course on the way home. Happiness and joy could be seen in our steps. We also found a restaurant that served the best burgers and pasta. Thank you Chez Fred.

We took a slightly longer route home and came across Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. We had no idea what to expect. The overlook at the top was incredible. I felt like an eagle soaring through the sky while looking below at the earth. The vintage VW was fun to admire.

Once we descended the mountain we found a spot to park. We took a mini hike complete with a swim for Cody and a skipping rock competition for us.

Around the bend the focus of our journey came into view, the arc.

Upon leaving the natural area we found an opened nougat store, which is famous in this part of France. While Randy ventured in the store, the kids and I watched a video on how to make nougat from the car. 

This is the moment we have all been waiting for, the race is coming. We put Cody in the car for safe keeping. Mazie heads across the street. I am just in front of our car. Zach is just past the car and Randy runs up the road a way.

The famous motorcycle carrying people in yellow zooms past. The helicopter approaches and hovers in the field beside Mazie. Support cars carrying bikes approach.

The field of bikers is now starting to climb toward us.

In an instant they zoom past us. In this situation do we look with our eyes or take pictures?!?

In one photo Mazie managed to capture the green, polka dot and yellow jerseys.

The peloton is now climbing away from us. A few bikers off the peloton are spinning their legs past us. Chase cars in back with bikes on top are bringing up the rear. And just like, that they are all gone.

I look across the road and Mazie has an enormous smile on her face! Zach bolts over to her. A chase car has thrown a water bottle out for her! This is unbelievable! 

The race is over for our viewing area. Spectators clean their areas and leave. A friend from home was watching the race. He snagged a picture from the broadcast. Here I am in blue, a tad fuzzier than the last time people in America saw me. What a wonderful and perfect day to celebrate Randy turning 50!