Taking a look around

I think we may be starting to take that whole surrounded-by-stunning-vineyards-on-all-sides landscape for granted a bit. But as the woody grape vines come to life with new green shoots each day, as fields start changing texture and color, as the work the vineyard workers are doing has shifted from getting rid of the remnants of last year's harvest to encouraging the growth of this year's (even though those two are very much connected)... well, we decided we were long overdue for stopping to actually LOOK at (and photograph) the vineyards. So, even though it's been raining pretty much non-stop since my mom left (nice timing, Mom!), when Katie wanted to go on a walk after dinner, John grabbed the camera. And this is some of what they saw:
 

Then they stopped at Katie's favorite tree up in Les Chaumes, one she has christened "Coconut Tree" (not to be confused with Coconut Mountain, a.k.a. Mont-St-Victor, on the other side of the village). She loves it for the acorns (a.k.a. coconuts) she collects below it. We know she loves it, and isn't merely pleased by it, because every time she sees it she runs to it, shouting "I LOVE YOU COCONUT TREE!" And then she gives it a hug.

Oui, le vin est bon!

The room was packed, and people of all ages crowded on benches and leaned on tables. The smell of couscous and lamb mingled with the aroma of wine and sweat and rain. The band played over the laughter and conversations, and suddenly I heard the beginning of Chevaliers de la Table Ronde, a song I actually knew (courtesy of Madamoiselle Sullivan and my high school French classes in Colorado).

From the first verse:

Chevaliers de la table ronde/ Knights of the round table
Goutons voir si le vin est bon/ Let's taste and see if the wine is good
Goutons voir, oui oui oui/ Goutons voir, non non non/ Goutons voir si le vin est bon

through the tenth and last:

La morale de cette histoire/ The moral of this story:
C'est à boire avant de mourir/ Drink before you die!
C'est à boire, oui oui oui/ C'est à boire, non non non C'est à boire avant de mourir!

the crowd of people at the open house of a neighborhood winery sang, and drank, and laughed, and danced, and at one point (in between singing the "oui, oui, ouis" and "non, non, nons"), I looked around and just marveled at what I saw, the people, the music, the laughter, the wine. It all seemed so...French... and so very, very fun. I wished I could somehow bottle up that one moment and take it home with me, because it captured so much of what I have loved about our time in France -- friends, food, joy, wine -- and although we tried to get some pictures, I think we will have to rely mostly on our memories most for this one.

It was a great weekend from start to finish. After my quick market morning, we spent Saturday afternoon celebrating Penelope's 2nd birthday at our house. Kate and Liv absolutely adore Penelope (and Jack loves playing with her big sisters, Lauren and Claudia) and they had decorated the house with balloons of every color. After a few years of being the youngest, I think they are VERY happy to have someone else take on that role; they proudly showed off their mature, nearly-five-year-old-girl skills (like helping Penny put on her shoes, and picking up whatever she dropped).

And all five of the kids spent part of the visit trading Pokemon cards (Jack, Lauren and Claudia most seriously, although Kate and Liv got into the game). This is a mixed bag for a parent... the next morning, Katie proudly showed me a card and said "I traded my strongest card for this one because it's just so cute!" Hmmmm... she was happy, so that should have been fine, but we are wondering exactly how you teach a child to barter, bargain, and bluff, too (Jack had no trouble learning these skills). Not an easy task!

At any rate -- after the gouter (snack) and delicious birthday tarte, we all headed to Claire Naudin's, of Domaine Naudin Ferrand in Magny-les-Villers. The local winemaker, a friend of Franck and Laura's (and mother of a classmate of Jack's), was holding the annual winemaker's "open house" in the next village just one kilometer away.

As usual, John and I had no idea what to expect. And as usual, we had greatly underestimated just how great it would be. I think I had pictured it being a time to sample a few kinds of wine, and then we'd eat mediocre food prepared for the masses.

Instead, we arrived to a room filled with wine, yes (from seven different winemakers) but also crafts, locally grown food and specialty items (homemade jams, spice breads, salt), hot crepes, music (the band played off and on the whole evening and into the  night), and a craft corner and facepainting for children. The couscous dinner was delicious, and the wine was, of course, divine. We saw many people we knew -- one of the perks of living in a small village! -- and had dinner with Geraldine and Thomas as well as the parents of Laurie, a "big girl" who Katie has labelled as her best friend.

 

And the music and singing really capped the whole fun evening off. Aside from a Christmas carol or Auld Lang Syne on New Year's Eve, I can't recall a dinner where people starting singing (with great enthusiasm) drinking songs! Clearly something else we might need to bring back to Canada...

We all slept in on Sunday (which means til about 8 a.m.!) and although it wasn't officially Mother's Day here (in fact, it seems I will miss Mother's Day this year... it is at the end of May in France, was in March in England, and was yesterday in North America), John and the kids doted on me all morning, bringing coffee and food to bed, and leaving me alone to indulge in the weirdly addictive Twilight Series (why oh why did I start these vampire tales?).

We took a walk after lunch and came back to prepare a tarte aux fraises (strawberry tarte) for the gouter with my host parents, Denys and Christine. They LOVED the village and our France home, and marvelled at the beauty that surrounds us. Liv seemed to instantly bond with Denys, and spent much of the visit on his lap. I had asked Christine if she would bring her recipe for my favorite gateau au chocolat, and she took me through the process, step by step.

This is what we ended up with. Pas mal, n'est pas?

Denys also brought with him a painting he had done of me, from a picture I had sent them 17 years ago. It is black and white watercolor, and just amazing to see in real life. I am amazed at anyone who can create things with their hands (art, music, food) and will treasure this gift always.

And we returned back to regular French life this morning, with school for the kids and a work trip for John. The kids and I stopped for croissants on the way back from the train station since we were a bit too early for school, and I had to brush the crumbs off all three before sending them into their classrooms. They certainly have taken to French bread (big surprise there, eh?)

This afternoon, the girls (for who knows what reason) asked to hear the lyrics of O Canada on the computer. That led to a good half hour of listening to national anthems from around the world. If you find yourself with a bit of time, it's pretty interesting to read all of the lyrics as well as listen to the songs. The U.S.'s anthem, besides being r-e-a-l-l-y difficult to sing (Livie was NOT impressed with my "lan-and of the freeeeee!"), is SO focused on battle. I rarely thought about that when singing it growing up -- it just always did and still does give me chills when I hear it -- and often makes me cry. But I had never spent much time actually listening to the words (and who knew there were four verses?). Anyway... my other problem is that I always want to end it with an enthusiastic "Play ball!". I wonder if that instinct will ever go away!

France's anthem, La Marseillaise, always brings to mind that wonderful scene in Casablanca, but I had never read the English words until today. It is also a very bloody, bloody song. As the national anthem website explains:

The lyrics, speaking of bloody battles and a call for citizens to take up arms, have been debated endlessly whether to alter the words to suit the more peaceful times that France currently enjoys, but the original words, capturing the spirit of the French revolution, remain. This is probably due to the fact that "La Marseillaise" is now inexorably linked to France in the mind of the world.

The first verse of England's anthem is all about the Queen (later verses touch on everything from confounding the politics of its enemies and frustrating their knavish tricks). Croatia's is all about the land. Poland's anthem speaks to its tumultuous history of partition and preservation (Poland has not yet Perished). And Canada's anthem, which is so wonderfully easy to sing, has such different words depending on if you're singing it in French or in English.

Such interesting stuff.

Tomorrow should be a good day for Kate and Liv -- their class is going to ride ponies. And it will be a stressful (but hopefully satisfying) morning for me -- another haircut. Fingers crossed that it goes as well as the first one!

Back to Burgundry, having loved the Loire

Health update: Jack did, in fact, have his sisters' bug, but weathered it fairly well and was back to his usual silly sweet self by Sunday afternoon (and in pretty good spirits the whole time). I do sometimes wonder about the competitive spirits of our children, though. There was a lot of comparing of who threw up how many times in France (Katie had the edge on the other two thanks to her earlier stomach bug the day of our French fiesta). Such pleasant, pleasant conversation. The good news is that all three kids appear fully healthy and are back in school this morning. It also appears that Jack grew two inches or so during his illness... seriously, his pants on Sunday morning were two inches too short!

Loire update: Oh my goodness. The Loire blew us all away. I don't know why, but I hadn't imagined it would be quite so.... big, magnificent, huge, beautiful, incredible, and (at times) excessive (makes you kind of understand how that whole French Revolution could have happened). I had (naively) planned for us to see two chateaux a day. Yeah, right! Even without slightly sick kids, the most we could have taken in was one a day... and even then, we left without examining every corner, every room, every masterpiece of art or architecture. There was just so much to see, and our brains could not process all of the beauty and awe. Nice problem to have, isn't it?

On Saturday, we visited Chambord, a "hunting lodge" constructed by King Francois I in the 1500s (to be near his mistress) which many consider to be the greatest of the chateaux of the Loire (what with its 440 rooms, 365 fireplaces, and 84 staircases, including a famous double-helix rumored to be designed by Leonardo Da Vinci). A bit of history courtesy of Wikipedia:

Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire Valley, but was built to serve only as a hunting lodge for François I, who maintained his royal residences at Château de Blois and at Château d'Amboise.

...The château was never intended to provide any form of defense from enemies; consequently the walls, towers and partial moat are purely decorative, and even at the time were an anachronism. some elements of the architecture - open windows, loggia, and a vast outdoor area at the top — borrowed from the Italian Renaissance architecture — are less practical in cold and damp northern France.

The roofscape of Chambord contrasts with the masses of its masonry and has often been compared with the skyline of a town: it shows eleven kinds of towers and three types of chimneys, without symmetry, framed at the corners by the massive towers. ...When François I commissioned the construction of Chambord, he wanted it to look like the skyline of Constantinople.

...One of the architectural highlights is the spectacular double-helix open staircase that is the centerpiece of the castle. The two helixes ascend the three floors without ever meeting, illuminated from above by a sort of light house at the highest point of the castle. There are suggestions that Leonardo da Vinci may have designed the staircase, but this has not been confirmed.

We all loved the staircase, and chased each other up, up, up and down, down, down, marveling at the beauty of the symmetry and design (well, we marveled... the kids simply thought it was "so cool!"). I loved wandering the rooftop and looking over the landscape, walking amid the towers and turrets and dream-like design of the place. I don't know that the pictures will do it justice... maybe it's one of those things you have to see yourself. If that's the case... well, I can solidly argue that this is worth seeing. It's incredible to believe that humans could have constructed such a thing.

Exhausted and overwhelmed, we happily drove about 75 minutes to our next destination... a chateau that has been converted into a hotel! This was mom's wish... to spend a night in a chateau. We sent lists back and forth, and settled on one she had found online, the Chateau de la Bourdaisiere. It dates from the 1400s, although its current look is much smaller (a more manageable size for a chateau, bien sur).

Although *not* a part of the chateau's general information, I just read that the beautiful building and its grounds were the site of the first Joe Millionarie television show! Oh my!


One better known (and better publicized) aspect of the hotel-chateau's more recent history is that it is owed by the same Prince who bought Deyrolle -- the amazing last taxidermy shop in Paris -- and helped ensure its survival both at the time of its purchase in 2001 and after the fire in 2008. The prince (apparently "just" a courtesy title these days) is also doing much to preserve and cultivate heirloom vegetables and plants. According to the hotel-chateau's website, the prince and his wife want to "transform the estate into a prime example of eco-renovation of an historical monument and lead the way to a sustainable management example for both the hotel and garden and the park. The Princess is in charge of the decoration, which will obviously be the transcended mix of Le Prince Jardinier, Deyrolle and their common curiosity."

Did I mention it was really, really cool? 

We lingered at our castle, watching the kids run around the beautiful grounds, until checkout time, then headed to our second "big" castle of the weekend, the Chateau de Chenonceau. If Chambord is considered the "greatest" of the chateaux of the Loire, Chenonceau is often considered the most beautiful. It was designed by women for women. According to its website, Chenonceau is known as "Château des Dames as recorded in the French history books, [and] owes a large part of its charm to women: it was built in 1513 by Katherine Briçonnet, then made even more attractive by Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de Médicis, and saved from the rigours of the French Revolution by Mrs. Dupin."

The scale of this chateau was much smaller (and maybe more pleasing) than Chambord, and many of the rooms had the bedding and decoration of the different women who lived there. From the fabulous kitchens to the graceful views on both sides of the river to the incredible gardens (including a huge labyrinth the kids wanted to play in all afternoon), this chateau, too, was more ... everything... than we expected.

We took three tired but happy kids (and three tired but happy adults) back to our rental car at about 4 p.m. and headed home through many small rain showers, which had the unexpected benefit of creating at least a dozen rainbows along the road home (really!). John said it was a kind of relentless beauty... and it got even more beautiful as we came back to Burgundy. We decided we still do like it best here... but we would be happy -- very happy -- to return to the Loire one day.

I think I will upload the photos in four sections: the Abbey, Chambord, the hotel-chateau, and Chenonceau. Don't know how long that will take (we shot a mere 588 photos!) but hopefully sooner rather than later. In the meantime, we are going to head out to one last lunch with Mom, who leaves from Lyon tomorrow morning. It's been a wonderful visit, and we all will miss her so much. We are also starting to count down as it suddenly became May -- which means we have just 20 days left in our fabulous French home. Talk about people and places we will miss...

The lovely, lovely Loire

Health update: Kate is almost back to full health (her version of the Bug was faster but just as furious as Liv's) and so we took off this afternoon toward the Loire Valley, home of France's famous chateaux. After a few hours of enjoying the company of three nearly healthy kids, Jack started drooping at dinner and now seems to be battling a milder version of it at this moment (at least we hope it's a milder version!). Ah, kids. And germs. And the unpredictability of life. They all just kind of go together, don't they?

Loire update: Wow! We aren't even "officially" there yet, and all six of us are blown away. The drive here included some kind of bland countryside once we left Burgundy, but as soon as we headed off the autoroute down to Beaugency, a town along the Loire just west of Orleans, the superlatives started.

Tonight, we have the incredible thrill of staying in a former Abbey right along the Loire (although I have to tell you, if the monks who used to live here lived as well as we are living tonight... well, it's a pretty good argument for the monastic life!). We climbed up stairs where the stone has been worn away by hundreds of years of footfall; we walked down a hall toward our rooms ("Frere Victoire" for us, "Frere Perceval" for Mom) on sloping terra cotta-colored tiles. The huge wooden beams along the ceilings and the huge windows overlooking the Loire are all simply stunning. And the view... we threw open those huge windows and stared out at the lovely Loire.

Once we had a snack, we decided to explore the town a bit. As you probably know, I have become quite the fan of Burgundy in general and Beaune in particular. I was beginning to think that no where else in France could match it. But (I hate to say this), I *could* be wrong. Beaugency, a gorgeous town with its 14th century bridge, was freed by Joan of Arc in 1429. And its twisting streets and narrow lanes and flower-filled windows and soaring stone towers literally took our breath away. As Mom said, "There just aren't enough words".

I had planned to post some of the hundreds of beautiful photos we took today, but John's computer is uploading them sooooooo slowly that I am tempted to toss it out the window. In the interest of his beloved Mac, I will just leave you with a few.  I can't believe the *real* spectacular stuff still awaits us tomorrow...

More pictures from Mom's visit

Kate looks a little better this morning, and is happily nestled in watching British cartoons. Still hoping to head to the Loire this afternoon!

In the meantime, I downloaded pictures from John's little camera. Here are a few more shots of the last few days with Mom and Sharon.