Mamy's house is nothing but georgous, provincially french, and pretty damn close to perfect. Built right around the time of Charlemagne, it comes complete with a gravel driveway (which has a garden in the middle of it), three seperate buildings, and a large backyard, with a vue of the river, extensive gardens, a pool, a bridge, and gravel walkways. The first, and main, building houses the kitchen, dining room, two sitting rooms, and 5 bedrooms, and about 5 bathrooms. the second building, what I call the garage annex, is built behind the self standing garage. there are (at least) two more bedrooms and a bathroom in there. the third building, facing the main building, has another bedroom, and several storages rooms, and possibly other things as well.
We took off friday afternoon, getting in around 7:30pm (side note: to any parents who routinely make long trips with small children, you have my immense respect. What patience you all have. And a special note to my parents, because i'm pretty sure Ben and I were terrors. sorry in hindsight for that), at which point all the adults took off to a dinner party, and Ester and I hung out with the kids all night. Ester, Caro and Stan's nieces' and nephew's live in nanny, and I chatted for a while after putting the kids to bed, and she seems like a really cool person. She's from Germany, and has been living in France for almost three years with the Grummers; before that she was living in Rome, also as a livein nanny. (I think I could really like doing something like that; must keep it in mind)
The next day I was introducted to the le monde du chausser, or hunting. Not only hunting, but hunting while riding horses, wearing crazy old school clothes, and playing horns. This is an old tradition in France, but apparently one that is strictly in the upper class. This weekend was a celebration of all the different clubs, or teams, so there wasn't a real hunt, instead there was a presentation of all the teams, followed by a faux-chause. It was interesting to watch, and cool to see Stan, Louis (Caros brother), and Phillipe (Caros Dad) riding around in their costumes. It also felt like the kind of thing that one wears a sundress and a big hat to (a la Kentuckey Derby) After chaussing for a while (chaussing would be an excellent example of franglais for those who care), Caro, Charlotte, and I headed into Saumur to see the town, stopping on the way for a wine tasting, and getting some ice cream too.
Other than that, the weekend was full of wonderful french meals, some down time that I spent drawing, playing with the kids, and celebrating birthdays (Mary Catherine, Caros Mom, and Alice, one of the Rusz neices). It was a great, relaxing weekend, I had a ton of fun, and I loved just being around welcoming french people. I really was lucky with my housing placement here, I have nothing back to say about the Ruszkowskis, ive loved being with them, and Im sure that I would have had a different experience here had I not lived with them.
Bisous!
ps, Ill try to get some pics of the weekend from Stan who took a lot, hopefully I will be able to put them up in a day or two...
1 comment:
Another great memory to add to "MaVie Parisienne"! Thank you Caro & Stan for welcoming Becky into your family. Can't wait till next week,
Love Mom
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