As for the baby, we have found a local babysitter, a mother of five and grandmother of three, to take care of him on the days we go on long trips to the beach or on long walks, and for the month where Guillermo will be staying alone with the boys after I return to DC. Andoni still needs two naps a day, which makes anything more than a ½ day trip impossible. He loves her house because there is a long hallway with plenty of toys, and a very friendly black cat roaming the house. She charges 100F ($16) for a full day of care, including meals. I never did figure out just how many hours a full day consisted of, because a ½ day for her was from nine until two or three!
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Yesterday we headed south for the beach areas of le Cap-d'Agde and Sete. We roamed through several beaches, comparing beaches and planning where to return for a full day at the beach. We found a very pleasant beach on Grau-d'Agde. It was our first experience with topless bathing, and Guillermo was unnerved... briefly! But after a few experiences, it became almost routine. The water was very cool and refreshing, and the waves were nonexistent. It was a very pleasant scene, with families sitting quietly sunbathing or playing in the water. Our only bad experience was overstaying our time out of the house, and having to deal with a hungry five year old who doesn't understand the concept that all restaurants are closed until 7:00 P.M.! We finally found a boulangerie open and picked up a baguette. What would we have done without them...they are a basic staple in our household now.
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An excursion into Montpellier
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One day last week we headed into Montpellier, the capital city of the Languedoc region. It is only ½ drive from our village, and it seemed to take more time to find parking than to actually get to the city. We parked in a dark, extremely smelly, badly ventilated parking garage under a large plaza in the downtown area. When we emerged into the sunlight and the wonderful fresh air, we were delighted to find the downtown area mostly closed to cars. We were able to walk around for quite awhile without having to deal with traffic. It's a very international city, perhaps because of the many students there. We heard so many different languages, and at one point got into a multilingual conversation with two women, one who spoke Greek, a smattering of English, and a heavily-accented French that I could not understand, and the other who spoke Spanish and very good French. Between Guillermo's Spanish and my French, the four of us had a great conversation.
We also found, finally, a playground that was not cause serious damage to our kids' knees. It's the oddest thing, but we never see grass here in France. The playgrounds are made of pebbles, or an extremely nasty rough concrete that makes mincemeat of flesh, or a mixture of gravel and concrete. The Montpellier playground was a soft spongy surface, so we let the kids run for two hours. The ethnic mix at the playground was quite interesting, with North African women, Arabic women, some Oriental women, a couple of Indian families, etc. But the children tended to play with their own brothers and sisters, so the playground consisted of circles of kids that never quite overlapped. Our children loved the experience, especially chasing all the pigeons. They slept until 10:00 a.m. the next day!
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Drive in the hills above Montpeyroux
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One day we followed the Herault River up past St. Guilhem-le-Desert into some spectacular scenery. The gorge goes on for quite a distance and can get quite dizzying in places. There were many families kyacking down the river. Perhaps we will try that another day, without the baby of course. On the way back, we drove over two high locations where I was very nervous! The first was near St. Maurice-Navacelles, and the other a little further south near Arboras. Some of the drops were so spectacular and so unprotected, with those French drivers just zipping around the corners in the middle of the road, that I kept having these images of the car going over the edge. Needless to say, I was very relieved when we got back to Montpeyroux that day.
Guillermo drove down to Barcelona recently for the day and rather enjoyed that experience. There was too much to see in the city for one day, so we are planning to go back for an overnight. [Note: we never did get to Barcelona. In the end, we chose to stay away from cities and instead enjoy village existence].
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Each day there is a market in a different village or town. We have visited all the local markets, and enjoyed the Gignac market the most, perhaps because it is the largest and has the most variety. It is very hard to eat unhealthily here, with all the fresh fruits and vegetables available. One day I made a chicken soup with onions, garlic, yellow squash, potatoes, carrots, leeks, a purple and white bean freshly popped out of the pod, turnips, wine, pasta and a couple of ingredients more that I can't remember. It was a delicious soup, and the kids loved it. We are spending all our money on fruits, vegetables, cheese, and fresh bread, and just loving each meal. I have no idea how we are going to deal with going back to U.S. supermarket fruits and vegetables!
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The World Cup Finals Part I
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Tonight is the last game of the World Cup, between France and Brazil. The village has rented a large screen TV and has invited the entire village to the local municipal building to watch the game. We all plan to attend. When France won the last game, although we don't have a TV or radio in the house, I knew very soon after the fact that France had won. A cavalcade of cars came blaring through the village, waking all by honking their horns energetically. I can't imagine what it will be like tonight if France actually wins. It seems a long shot that France might actually beat Brazil, but who knows...
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Writing and drinking wine
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As I sit here writing, the village sounds are sweeping over me. The birds are chirping, the cicadas are singing everywhere, an occasional dog is barking, and everyone (except for me) is taking the mid-afternoon siesta. There is no air conditioning anywhere, as far as I can tell, and the system for dealing with the heat is closing all windows and shutters until after 5 P.M.. The houses stay relatively cool, and then really cool down overnight with the wonderful breeze. In the sun, the heat can get unbearable, but the shade is oh, so cool. Now two women are chatting with each other across the narrow street, chatting perhaps about family matters. I can hear the church bells sounding 3 P.M.. A car whizzes by on this street that was constructed long before cars were even dreamed of. We have, in fact, been on village streets where cars do not fit, and they weren't much smaller than our street. A fly buzzes outside on the screen, and some cat meows briefly. The boys are upstairs sleeping quietly. Renato has his next-door best friend staying over, and they have their arms wrapped around each other as they sleep. Andoni is in the back room in his crib, and Guillermo is passed out on our bed. I never learned to take naps, and regret not being able to sleep now. These lazy afternoons are made for naps...but instead I write.
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We are now into the second stage of our vacation. I categorize it not so much for the fact that two weeks have passed and now I have only two weeks to go. It's more for the fact that I feel at home here now, whereas before we were more like outsiders. We now know the neighbors, the men working on redoing a house a few meters down the road, the local merchants, even the pets. Each day starts slowly, with a regular routine of getting the children ready for their day. Guillermo dresses them and I get breakfast ready for all. It's been a battle to get Andoni used to the children's food here. A French breakfast consists of bread, juice and jams, but we've raised the children with substantial breakfasts, smaller lunches, and tiny dinners. Trying to locate oatmeal, or cream of wheat, or other cereals that he is used to is difficult. So we are trying the different French baby cereals...but he is not pleased! Somehow chocolate Bledine just doesn't seem healthy, but it seems to have all the vitamins and iron that a baby needs. It takes some convincing, but with a bit of bribery of a fresh baguette, we are getting him to eat his cereal.
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One of the pleasing aspects that I find here in France is the love and attention that adults give to children, theirs and others. People will stop in the street just to talk to Andoni or Renato. So I, in turn, feel comfortable doing what I have always loved to do, engage children in conversation and play. The rule seems to be that, though, the conversation between the adults is very limited, and so I only ask their ages, and comment on how beautiful or handsome they are.
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| Adults here also love their dogs, and go everywhere, and I mean everywhere, with them. |
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