My European Adventure

After experiencing the tropézienne in Saint-Maxime, a visit to Saint Tropez was a must. I imagined the streets would be lined with the scrumptious dessert, la tarte tropézienne. Wa, wa, wa. 😞  Saint-Tropez is a charming village so all was not lost. Eating lunch outdoors in a narrow “street” and seeing all the people gather to enjoy each other’s company makes me smile. Nobody is in a hurry or seems stressed. It seems like everybody is on holiday.  I could see this dome from my table. The tiles reminded me of fish scales. I love how the  contrasting materials in the bell tower reflect its history.   The clock tower from the trail and one in town. At first I thought it was the same one, but now I am not sure. What do you think? Check out the plant wall! No wild turkeys here, just peacocks. Views From Our Hike Once again, a photo can’t capture the beauty of the entire area.

Ahhh, the coolness of the sea is exhilarating! Saint-Maxime makes me feel close to home. Seeing the harbor, walking along the jetty, and many small boutiques brought my two worlds together. Of course, being on the French Riviera (Côte d’Azur) has a different feel because it is Southern France; it is not as cold or windy. In fact, Simon was impressed that I was in shorts and a t-shirt when we sat outside eating dinner (approx. 9:30 pm). He and Cécile were wearing jackets and covered with a blanket. I loved walking through the city center and seeing the history, art, architecture, and groups of people sitting outdoors enjoying a meal or drink.   This tree is 1,000 years old!   Back in the day, this is where people came to do laundry. The amount of boats in the harbor was incredible.  A room with a view. There is something about looking out and feeling the quaintness of a village. Simon had to back the car up, so we could load and unload our luggage. I present to you, l...

Today we had a conversations about small towns. We mentioned to Cécile that someone in our small town had said he would like to have a store where he could buy underwear. She laughed and said, “I have never thought about that.”.  She cannot buy underwear in her village, too. Until recently, she could not get a baguette in the village. Seriously, this was a bigger problem than finding underwear! Fortunately, a nearby business decided to rectify the situation. A short walk, can get you bread and pastries at the red box. Voila!

As we stepped down onto the train’s platform, I let out a big sigh of relief. We made it. We were in France. Now, which way do we go? We looked left, we looked right, and as we looked left again I spotted two waving arms. Cécile Lou! Smiles, hugs, and kisses were shared. Cécile said, “May I help you with your stuff?” She glances at our luggage. “OMG! Is this everything? You guys are staying 6 months, right?” If only you could hear her English and French accent here. Cécile really is adorable when she speaks. She is very expressive and can have a strong emphatic tone. We had a good chuckle. It felt good to be with our French daughter again.   After a very long journey, I couldn’t wait to get to Cécile’s and sleep. Being a good French daughter, she prepared a delicious meal so we wouldn’t go to bed hungry. “You are in France, mommy, you have to have cheese.”   Mont d’or cheese is a mild, creamy cheese baked in two thin layers of wood. It was poured over boiled potatoes. The sala...

Yes, my very first French sentence I spoke was “C’est un chien.”. I was so excited that I could say something to Gene in French. I wasn’t in France yet and I was speaking the language! Duolingo paid off.  Then I got a reality check. The young boy (~ 8) and girl (~11) who belonged to this dog started conversing in French, Spanish, and English. They sounded amazing! I am certain the dog was trilingual, too.  The next day, Gene and I took a walk and I saw this… Duo was right! Chien is an important word. My knowing how to say it’s a dog in French and being able to read beware of dog in French boosted my confidence. I know my dog babies from home were channeling their energy to me so I could feel better. Thanks Valentine, Greta, and Maizie. 💖

Gene and I got very little sleep the night before our flight. We both were very excited and just a tad nervous. We asked to be on the shuttle for 5:30 AM, but ended up catching the 5AM shuttle. The airport was very crowded. The photo does not capture the zigzagging of the security line. We overheard many people say that they traveled often at that time and it has never been that crowded. I am sooo happy we gave ourselves plenty of time. We may have puffy eyes, but check out our smiles!  

The last few days have been crazy! Amongst all the crazy, I just have to express my gratitude for having wonderful people in my life who have expressed their excitement for us. Spending time with them before I leave reminds me how full my life is. Thanks to all of you (you know who you are) for your support and well wishes. I will carry each of you in my heart. After all, you all are the inspiration for this blog! 💖 Now, here is the real crazy! How did Gene manage to convince me that three carry-on bags would work? Six months of living in three little pieces of luggage! If you were to come to my house right now and look at our closet and drawers, you would think we were not going anywhere. Wish me luck! 

Since Cécile left in July of 2006, we have been to France twice to visit her and she has been back once to America to visit us. With every reunion, my husband, Gene, and I have felt our bond with Cécile become stronger.  When Cécile came back to America, we were introduced to her boyfriend, Simon; they are married now. During our first visit, we met her parents, sisters, grandparents, cousins, and second cousins. We felt our French “family” growing. Since our connection with Cécile had become stronger, saying goodbye to our French daughter was difficult. There was a lot of hugging, kissing, and tears. So after our second visit to France, Gene proposed the idea of living in France for three months when I retired. What a wonderful idea! France 2025 here we come!   Cécile et Simon Elise (sister/sœuro), Cécile, Christine (mom/mere), et Jean Marie (dad/pere)   Adeline (sister/sœur)

My adventure really began in December 2005 when a young lady from southern France came to live with me, my husband, and our youngest daughter. Like many life events, Cécile was not planned. Cécile was an exchange student who was about to be sent home because her original host family situation was not working out. Luckily, Cécile knew my daughter’s good friend, Curtis. Within minutes of hearing Cécile sob about how she was going to be sent back to France after her parents spent all this money for her to study in America, Curtis reassured Cécile that he had a family for her.  That evening as we sat down for dinner, our daughter, Elena, explained to us that “her friend” needed to desperately find a host family or she was going to be sent back to France. Our parental heartstrings were saying yes, but we had to remind Elena that the program director may not approve because of our living situation.  We had just sold our home and quickly moved into an unkept 70s house with balding, g...