Adventures in France

We said Au Revoir to Paris on the 6th of September. We successfully rented a small car and got out of the city without incident. Todd's GPS with the Europe maps chip navigated us easily to our first stop in Provins. Not to be confused with Provence, Provins is a small commune close to Paris that became a UNESCO world heritage site in 2001. The town is known for its well-preserved medieval architecture and city walls, which date back to the early Middle Ages. The town's economy is now largely supported by cultivation of roses and products made from roses such as rose honey, rose petal jam and other candies. Josh is very interested in birds of prey, so we went specifically to see the equestrian falconry show called The Eagles of the Ramparts. Although the entire show was in French, we thoroughly enjoyed it! They had an impressive collection of birds, including falcons, hawks, owls, vultures, caracaras, raptors and eagles, all of which performed in a show describing falconry as practiced by people throughout the ages. The birds flew right past our heads, did tricks and some of them even landed on our arms! We were able to walk through the aviary and see them all after the show. It was a beautiful town and a fantastic performance! After leaving Provins, we drove another couple of hours through Northern France to our accommodation in the small town of Laubressel. Aux Colombages Champenois is a bed and breakfast (chambres d'hote) in the Champagne region of France. Our hosts were the lovely Joëlle and Didier. Joëlle cooked us a wonderful breakfast each morning (all homemade - crepes, baguette, assorted jams from her garden, brioche) and they also had beautiful gardens and (an unexpected surprise) a swimming pool! The weather was beautiful and we all enjoyed taking a dip. Madame Joëlle recommended a restaurant on the nearby lake where we caught the sunset, and had a delicious dinner and some local wine from the Côte des Provence.

We spent the next day in Troyes, a medieval town, much larger than Provins, with more Gothic style churches than we could count. I like to marvel at the stained glass and Josh likes to find a seat in the middle of the church. I thought maybe he was reflecting, but he says " No, Mom, I just wanted to sit down." At the cathedral, Todd and Josh lit a candle and said a prayer for DeeDee. Some pics around Laubressel: We spent yesterday morning among the grape vines and got a tour through one of the larger champagne operations in the area. After the tour, there were champagne tastings for the grown ups (Yum!) and biscuits and local grape juice for Josh. We spent the afternoon on the road and arrived in Annecy around 6 pm. Annecy is a really pretty city on a lake not far from Switzerland. It's in the mountains, but somehow the weather is still warm and the lake water is clear and mild enough for swimming. We are staying 3 nights here in an old house on the edge of the city. Patricia is our host and she is just the best! Her laugh is like a song! She says that she swims every day in the lake and I am now convinced it is the fountain of youth, as she is lively and beautiful. She wasn't here when we woke up this morning, but left us coffee, ripe peaches and baguette to enjoy in her garden for breakfast. We all needed time to recharge, so we are staying put for the day. Josh is doing some schoolwork and Todd and I will probably each get out for a run or a bike around Lake Annecy later this afternoon. Eating out is expensive in France (especially tourist towns like this!), so we will get groceries to eat here for the next couple days. We are all enjoying ourselves, but each a little homesick... This morning while we were still in bed, Josh went to the bathroom and ran into one of the other occupants of the house. I heard 2 adult voices each say "Bonjour!" And then little Josh voice "Bonjour" back to them. Music to my ears! Hugs and kisses from France. xoxo