Along for the Ride

2009-05-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

Travelling Around

Since returning to France in early April, we went into Paris for a weekend, spent 3 days in Brugge, and travelled through southern Portugal and Spain for 10 days.

Luxembourg gardens the day before Easter. We had dinner with our friend, Catherine, that evening, then went to a Gregorian Mass on Easter Sunday.

Brugge

In Brugge, a very pretty small town with canals and winding streets in northern Belgium

Portugal

Overlooking Sintra, a very historic town with Moorish influences, perched on the side of a mountain to the west of Lisbon

At a cafe in Sintra Sintra

As we left Sintra, we headed west to Cabo de Roca, the western-most point in Portugal and in Europe

Next, we headed south toward the Algarve coast. This is a great restaurant in southern Portugal, nestled on a cove on the beach. You picked your own fresh fish from their catch of the day, and it was then prepared for you. Great Sangria made with sparkling white wine, too.

A beach on the Algarve coast near our hotel in southern Portugal. The beaches were very pretty, but the area was quite overdeveloped generally, with no discernible planning or control.

Spain

Our favorite beach near our hotel in southern Spain on the Atlantic coast, near Conil de la Frontera

On the deck of our hotel room in Spain

We took a drive east to the Mediterranean Sea and the Rock of Gibraltar (in the background)

We had lunch in this lovely hillside town, Vejer de la Frontera, in southern Spain

Back to Portugal

On our way back to the Lisbon airport, we spent two nights in Evora, Portugal. Very beautiful city full of things to see. We had a great dinner of local wine, a tomato soup with bread and sausage, wild pig with potatoes, vegetables, and salad, dessert, and port wine, for $30 euros. We thought is must have been a mistake.

After dinner in Evora.

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Back in France April 2009

We arrived back in Soucy on April 6. I was still rehabbing from my torn ACL (skiing in late March), so we started bike riding slowly and I wore a knee brace. But we quickly got back in gear and were doing 25 to 40 mile rides by April 20. By mid to late April the spring colors in the countryside were lush and vibrant, especially the mustard and the winter wheat crop. Milton's garden was full of blooming tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths when we arrived.

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Winter in Tahoe

Granddaughter Presley's first ski lesson -

Winter view from our deck

Sledding across the street from our house with my sister Mary and brother Paul in mid-February

With Jamari in front of our house, after a February storm

New Year's Eve at Northstar - we were joined by Susie and Bob and family, and Paul and Susie and family. A day of skiing and snow fun, then appetizers and games, Northstar fireworks, and finally a late New Year's Eve dinner followed by a couple of rounds of Murder in the Dark made it easier to stay up until midnight.

World's cutest grandchildren, at Northstar

After the gifts -

Back in the US

2009-05-08T03:43:00.000-07:00

We arrived back in the US just in time for Thanksgiving. After spending a few days at Jake and Anne’s and dinner with family, we headed to Yuba City for a traditional Thanksgiving there. Next, it was on to Tahoe and settling in to our home base for the four months to come.

We had our family Christmas at Northstar, with all the kids in attendance except Joel (he was sick).

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Sites Around Soucy

The area around Soucy is rich in history and things to see. We have barely scratched the surface. The churches date back to the 11th century. There are many remains of medieval chateaux and dungeons. The area was also in the center of WWI fighting.

Below are just a few highlights.

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Pierrefonds is just a 15 minute drive (45 minutes by bike) from Soucy, and is said to be one of the most visited monuments in France. It was built in the 14th century for Louis D'Orléans, brother of King Charles VI, and was demolished two-hundred years later by Louis XIII. Napoleon III bought the ruined castle in 1813 for under 3,000 Francs, and entrusted Viollet-le-Duc with its restoration, who rebuilt it along the lines of a medieval fortress. The surrounding forest and a small lake add to the area's charms. In WWI the area served as one of 3 hospitals for wounded French soldiers. The castle was also the inspiration for the castle at Disneyland.

Outside Pierrefonds

Water spout (on the left) inside the courtyard of Pierrefond

Laon: a city, high on a hill and in the north-east corner of France. The hilly district of Laon has always had some strategic importance. In the time of Caesar there was a Gallic village where the inhabitants had to meet the onset of the confederated Belgae. Whatever may have been the precise locality of that battlefield, Laon was fortified by the Romans, and successively checked the invasions of the Franks, Burgndians, Huns, and others. It contains many medieval buildings. The most important of these is the cathedral Notre-Dame de Laon, dating mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries. The picture above is of the chapel of the Templars belonging to the 12th century. The area was occupied by the Germans for most of WWI.

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Along the Chemin des Dames (Ladies' Road) - A road some thirty kilometres long and runs along a ridge between the valleys of the rivers Aisne and Ailette. It acquired the name in the 18th century, as it was the route taken by the two daughters of Louis XV, who were known as Ladies of France. At the time it was scarcely a carriage road but it was the most direct route between Paris and the château of the former mistress of Louis XV and former lady in waiting to one of the daughters, and whom the daughters visited frequently. To make the way easier, the count had the road surfaced and it gained its new name.

During WWI, the Chemin Des Dames was the scene of several bloody battles between 1914 and 1918. It was held predominantly by the German army from November 1914. The most noted battle took place over 9 days in April 1917. The French, advocating the use of overwhelming force, attacked the German line along a front on the Chemin's ridge. The German defenders had found shelter in caves below the ridge from which they were able to dominate the ground over which the attack was made. On the first day, the French army, with support by battalions of Senegalese soldiers, lost over 40,000 men. During the entire 9 day battle, French forces lost approximately 97,000 men. The overwhelming loss of lives with insignificant strategic gain was a disaster for Nivelle, the French general, and many mutinies followed. Petain (of later Vichy fame), soon replaced Nivelle.

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One of our favorite sites was Coucy le Chateau, a medieval city high on a hill. It was built in the 13th century and renovated byViolett leDuc in the 19th. In 1917, the German army dynamited the keep or donjon and the four towers using 28 tons of explosives. During its heyday it was famous for the size of its central tower (the largest in Europe, 35 meters wide and 55 meters tall). It was the pride of its lords, who adopted the staunchly independent rhyme: "Roi ne suis, ne Prince ne Duc ne Comte aussi; Je suis le sire de Coucy" ("I am not a King, nor Prince nor Duke nor Count; I am the Lord of Coucy").

View looking out over the valley from Coucy le Chateau

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Exterior wall around Coucy

Inside Coucy, at the bottom of one of the towers that remain intact

Coucy le Chateau

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Church and street in Ferte Millon. Note the name of the street (you can click the picture to enlarge). Perhaps not the most desirable place to live.

Ferte Millon: The castle would have been the largest in France of its time (XVth century), but it was never completed and was later dismantled. Also in the city is a pretty bridge designed by Gustave Eiffel before he became famous for that lovely tower in Paris.

Septmonts: Sunday flea market / Brocante at the base of the remains of the castle Septmonts, of which the principal remains are of the 14th century keep. The castle was the country seat of the Bishop of Soissons and was first built in stone a little before 1242. It is thought to have been inspired by the works of Charles V of France, combining both military and residential functions.

Septmonts remains

2008-11-08T09:05:00.000-08:00

More About Our Bike Rides

Fall colors

Sugar beet harvest

Dressing warm for November rides

Several weeks ago we thought that our bike riding days on this trip were pretty much finished. I had mentally set 50 degrees as the reasonable cutoff point and it was getting colder than that and had started raining every few days. But when we got back from Paris this week, I think we both decided that we wanted to ride some more, so we started pushing the weather limits, finding ways to dress warmer and limiting the total time we were out. I know that most of you think we are completely nutso about riding and, frankly, I wonder sometimes myself. However, the riding in this area is so spectacular we keep wanting to do more.

Over the time we’ve been here, the countryside has been changing with the fall colors. The colors have been so beautiful and even now, when the leaves are off many of the trees, there are still picturesque scenes in every direction. We often ride through open farm fields—corn, potatoes, and the prevailing crop right now, sugar beets. For the last three weeks they have been harvesting them like mad and when they are pulled out of the ground, they clump them by the side of the field to be picked up weeks and even months later. I was puzzled at first, wondering if there was a risk they would start rotting, but I went on line and learned that the large clump piles were a standard practice. Turns out the beets did not have to be picked up before the wet and rainy season. The farmers deliver the beets to the processor over time to allow the processor to keep up with the huge harvest. More recently, there are a large number of fields planted in winter wheat and the fields are just starting to shoot up. So everywhere you turn, you will see these large expanses of light green with the wheat from four to six inches high.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that no matter what direction we headed in, the ride turned out to be beautiful and scenic. We’ve probably been on close to 30 rides now and not one has been disappointing. Today was a typical example. Because the weather was less than ideal—low forties, winds of 10 to 12 miles an hour, and mixed sun and clouds, we picked a loop that started in Soucy and went out about ten miles in one direction, building on a ride we had done recently, but adding another 10 mile loop, so that the total was about 27 miles. We wound through colorful forest, picturesque small villages, and rolling hills. With the wind up, we generally tried to stay away from the open fields, but there was a 45 minute section of open farm land and strong wind. Nevertheless, we both thoroughly enjoyed the ride, our picnic lunch, and the time together. While riding today, I was reminded of why I wanted the time to do things like this while I was still young enough to really enjoy them. All in all, our riding here has been better than we ever imagined it would be and we started with pretty high expectations from our previous trips here. But having this much time to settle in and explore all the surrounding area has made it really special. Ken

2008-11-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

The Election
The election was a big event here. The day before, we were at lunch in Paris sitting next to a French woman and her adult granddaughter. We talked abut Obama and she insisted on sharing her bottle of champagne with us and toasting to the "Feast of America."

We watched the results at a party in Paris for about 1000 Americans and Parisians. It was held in the Aquarium in the Trocadero, from 10:30 pm to 6 am. (Since the party did not start until 10:30, we spent the evening at the movies - MamaMia on the Champs Elysee, a fun distraction).

Food, drinks, and breakfast were served and everyone was very cheerful. We saw the results on a bigscreen TV showing CNN (another room, less crowded, was broadcasting Fox News). At 5 am when CNN called it, everyone jumped to their feet, there were great cheers and shouts of joy, hugs, and tears. I left feeling proud of being an American, perhaps for the first time that I was actually aware of it. (Since I am not running for office, I guess I can say that.)

2008-11-08T01:28:00.000-08:00

Daily Life

When we are at Soucy (and not Paris), we usually get up around 8:00 or so, as it is fairly dark up until then. Ken makes a pot of coffee, while I heat milk and chocolate so we can start our day with mochas.

Over breakfast, since we do not get a newspaper, we often check the NY Times headlines and editorials by blackberry, one of us reading interesting articles out loud.

Around 9:45 each morning (except Monday), the Bread Lady arrives in her van and beeps her horn. We come out to the gate to pick up our daily baguette. On request, we also get a pain au chocolate. The baguette is about $1, and it is enough for lunch and dinner, and sometimes more. The Bread Lady is one of our favorite parts of the day.

The rest of the morning is usually spent on minor chores, work related time on the computer, personal emails, etc. On Thursdays we always go into the Farmer’s Market in Villers-Cotteret to do our weekly shopping. For the first 2 months, we did a bike ride in the late morning or early afternoon, usually with a picnic lunch. Our rides are less regular as the weather changes, but we are still getting them in now and then.

If the weather does not allow a bike ride, we might go for a drive to any of the neighboring historic towns and sites, of which there are many. We also swim, and have been in many interesting pools. Swiming all year round seems to be very popular, at all levels of seriousness (in some pools people seem to just stand at one end of the pool and chat). So far we have swam in Switzerland, Munich (a beautiful and historic Belle Epoque pool), Paris (a pool built for the 1922 Olympics, very nice and modern), Villers-Cotterets, Couloisy, and Compiegne.

Except for when we are in Paris, we almost always eat dinner at home. For entertainment, we have been to several local concerts given in the small churches of neighboring towns. Most (not all) have been excellent.

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Ken outside the front gate, retrieving our daily baguette from the Bread Lady.

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Dinner

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Ken found a local cat to befriend, and has nicknamed her Princess.

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A lovely evening choral concert we attended in a local church

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View into the courtyard and towards the front gate from the study / computer.

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Preparing dinner in the kitchen

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Weekly shopping trip to the local farmer's market for fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, cheese, etc.

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Watching computer-tv in the living room. We have a program on our computer, Slingbox, which lets us record California tv, so we can watch The Newhour at night after dinner (though it is from the day before, since that day's program has not aired yet).

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Paying bills and checking the latest political news and sports scores on the computer.

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A bouquet of dahlias from Monique's garden. Monique is our housekeeper and is very nice to us. She leaves lovely bouquets to greet us after we have been gone, and irons everything. She says that is how she was taught by her grandmother. She speaks only French, not a word of English, but we communicate pretty well.

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Fall colors in the courtyard

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The church in Soucy is just a block or so down the road from us. It dates back to the 14th [?]century and was recently restored. The Mayor held a party in the church for locals to explain the restoration work, display paintings by Rene Demeurisse (well-known local painter who lived in Milton's house before his death), and to serve champagne and cakes.

Demeurisse painting

2008-10-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

PARIS TRIPS

We go into Paris once a week. Sometimes we go for the day, but usually we spend one night. We alternate between going in on the train and driving. The cost of the train is about the same as gas and parking for 2 days. The train is more relaxing, but it means I can’t bring as much stuff since I have to haul it on both the train and the metro, and then walk to the hotel.

We have been staying at a nice but modest small hotel in the 7th, a short walk from the Tour Eiffel. The neighborhood is very pleasant and reasonably quiet, and there are plenty of restaurants within a short walk. Next week we are going to try a new hotel in the 6th.

To entertain ourselves, we go to museums, take long walks through all the sites and through neighborhoods, and have leisurely lunches (often a picnic in one of the many beautiful parks). So far we have been to the Musee D'Orsay, the Orangerie, the Marmottan Monet (in the 16th, highly recommended), the Dali in Montmartre (excellent explanations of the symbolism in English as well as French), and a new exhibit at the Luxembourg, Miro to Warhol.

We also go on the organized walking tours, “Paris Walks.” The 2 hour walking tours are really fun and interesting. So far we have done the Latin Quarter at the time of the revolution, and the history of the Marais. Next week we will do Montmartre, and later Paris Under the Occupation.

In the evening we go out to dinner. We also saw the new Woody Allen movie, in English with French subtitles, which was fun and a good mini French lesson at the same time.

Below is a sampling of pictures. If you can't see something clearly, you can click on it to enlarge.

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The fine print describes L'Espoir Obama. Next week we are going to Harry's Bar in the 2nd, a hangout for American expatriates, to cast our vote for president (we already voted officially, absentee).

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On a bridge over the Seine, outside the Musee D'Orsay

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The view looking out across the Seine from the top floor of the Musee D'Orsay

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One of our first museum trips was to the Musee D'Orsay. We drove in, had a nice lunch, then spent several enjoyable hours walking through at a leisurely pace.

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On a Paris Walks tour, this one of the Marais. We have really enjoyed these 2 hour walking tours / history lessons. In conversation during the tour we learned that the couple to the left, the Montnas, is from my home town (Yuba City).

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In front of Sacre Couer, Montmartre

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In Montmartre, after the Dali Museum (unexpectedly, one of our favorites).

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On a walk, crossing the Seine

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A picnic lunch on a sunny day in the Luxembourg Gardens. Even in late October, the dahlias and other flowers were beautiful. After lunch we went to a new exhibit, Miro to Warhol, a collection of art from post - Impressionism to today.

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Ken under the Eiffel Tower at night

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The Eiffel Tower after dinner on a rainy night. It is lit up in blue at night during the month of October.

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A lunch break at the Jardin de Tuilleries

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Notre Dame Cathedral in the background

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Bike Rides

A big part of what we do here is bike riding. We usually ride about 4 days per week. Most people would probably get sick of riding as much as we do, but fortunately it is something we both really enjoy. We see the beautiful countryside, discover new places, and get fresh air and exercise all at the same time. And, it justifies the good dinners we have in the evening.

Sometimes we ride from our house, sometimes we put the bikes on the back of our car so we can start from a more distant point and cover more area. We almost always pack a picnic lunch (tomatoes, cheese, baguette, apples, and a pain au chocolate) because we have found that most of the towns we ride through don’t have any places to buy anything, or that they are all closed during the long lunch hour.

Our rides range from a quick 12 mile loop to a maximum of about 40 miles. The area is hilly but nowhere as steep as the area around Orinda and the Bay Area generally. We ride through farmland and small villages, and stop frequently to look at ruins or check out a town. Most every small village is centered on a picturesque and often historic church, some going back to the 11th century. On the edge of the village is usually an impressive home and an adjacent farm and farm buildings, also made of stone, and all within a stone wall.

The area is also rich in WWI history, and to a lesser extent, WWII. We are about 2 hours from the Belgian border, so there are many war-related sites and memorials. Each small village, while having maybe only 50 inhabitants total, has a memorial dedicated to those lost in WWI showing as many as 20 names.

Below is a selection of pictures from various rides. You can click on any image for more detail. The pictures do not do the beauty of the area justice.

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Typical open farm road, this one outside Dommiers

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The dungeon of Vez rising on the hilltop

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Overlooking the Sunday soccer game in Pernant

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Climbing after lunch, outside Saconin et Breuil

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Mustard field north of Montigny Legran

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Typical WWI monument, in Ambleny

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Ruins of a tower in Ambleny (with WWI monument to the left)

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Abbey near Vez

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Typical lunch

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A lunch stop outside the ruins of an abbey in Chateau Thierry.

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Outside of Largny sur L'Automne

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Ken retuning"home" to Soucy, after a day's ride.

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On a small back road we came across a 32 kilometer foot race that went on the country roads and through the forest trails. We past several runners who looked pretty tired and hot. As we rode on we came to one of those water / rest stops, like we have in the US. But, instead of water they were offering little pieces of bread spread with pate, pieces of cheese that looked like a brie, and small plastic cups with red wine! The person manning the station invited us to share, so we had a snack and went on our way. The wine was pretty good, too. The French, what can I say?

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Outside of Hautefontaine, an amazingly charming and pretty area.

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The Abbey at Longpont, largely destroyed at the time of the revolution.

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Rethonde, crossing the river Aisne.

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On a ride in our neighborhood, we went on a small road we had ridden before several times, where they were doing road work and the road was blocked to cars. The road work had stopped and instead there were about 6 or 8 college students digging by the road, with a man writing on a clipboard. As we got up next to them, you could see they were digging up old unmarked graves just off the side of the road. They were small and shallow, about 10 dug up so far, and many with almost completely intact skeletons laying in them. I asked one digger if it had been a cemetery and he said yes. I asked if it belonged to the nearby farmhouse. He said no, it was a cemetery from the Middle Ages and the time of Charlemagne . The students were painstakingly dusting and cleaning off each skeleton. About 30 more spaces had tags on them like they were about to be dug up.

2008-10-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

On the road to Taillefontaine

2008-10-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

September 20: We left Switzerland and headed to Munich, stopping overnight at Lake Bodensee in southern Germany. Once in Munich we met up with our friend Carl just in time for the first day of Oktoberfest (which always lasts 3 weeks and spans the last 2 weekends of September and the first weekend on October; go figure). Oktoberfest was an aboslute kick to see. It is a massive 3 week beer party on a totally amazing scale. The fest is centered in a very large amusement park in Munich. Every day for the 3 weeks, people fill these beer drinking tents from morning til midnight. Each tent holds about 5000 people and there are 14 tents, each by a different beer maker. The tents fill up so you can't get into one unless you get there early in the day and there are big lines of people waiting to get in. They serve beer all day in liter mugs and they also serve food, huge pretzels, plus dinners. Everyone is jolly, many are very drunk. There is band in the center of each tent and periodically the band plays German beer-drinking songs, and everyone will stand up and join in. Needless to say, for those of you who know Carl, he was in his element. It's one of those events that has to be seen to be believed and the pictures here only give you a taste.

2008-10-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Another stop on our road trip - Lake Annecy in France- turned out to be very beautiful and charming. We had never heard of it before, but it was highly recommended to us by our friend Roger. We stayed in Tailloires, in an old Benadictine Abbey. The weather was crisp but I mannaged to get in a good swim in the lake. We stayed 2 nights, then headed back to Switzerland before leaving for Germany.

2008-09-30T09:33:00.000-07:00

September 12-15. These are pictures from and around our condominium in Villars, Switzerland. There is great hiking through the Alps. You can see a fresh dusting of snow that arrive the night before we left. We talked to a couple over dinner one night who raved about the skiing--from village to village, stopping for lunch or snacks with great powder conditions.

The food in the area was great--fondue and raclette. There is a small family-run restuarant tucked back against a large granite mountain (like a minuature Yosemite valley) where Ken has been going for 25 years. Ken, not one to exaggerate, thinks it is one of the best restuarants he has been to, the food rivaling those he has been to from Napa to Paris.

2008-09-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

September 13, 2008.

Our first stop on our 10 day road trip was Villars, a small town in the French-speaking Swiss Alps, and the annual wine festival in neighboring Ollons. This was our second time at the festival and we again thoroughly enjoyed it. About 15 small family-run wineries open their vineyards for winetasting accompanied by tasty foods prepared by the families. Several have live music as well. The wineries are generally no more than about a half mile apart, so you can walk from one to the next (or you can hop on constantly circulating free transportation that is part of the festival). Although the weather was cool and wet, the scenery was spectacular. It is hard to capture the vastness and beauty of the vineyards climbing up the sides of the Alps, with charming Swiss homes sprinkled here and there.

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Michael and Cary spent a few days at Soucy with us in early September. We took them on a couple of very short, easy bike rides :-). The first photo is outside of Taillefontaine, a pretty little town a few kilometers from Soucy, on our way to Pierrefonds. Sadly, you can see how Michael and Cary faired toward the end of the ride in the second photo. We revived them with a hearty meal in Milton's lovely kitchen, consisting of sausage, potatoes, squash, salad, and of course, a baguette and wine. In the photo at the bottom they are admiring the good smells.

2008-09-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

9 Rue du Gadenet

02600 Soucy, France

9-30-08

Before reporting on our travels and adventures of the past several weeks, I thought that I would start with a description of our home away from home. The three pictures above are of Milton's house in Soucy. The first two are of the main house where we are staying. The third picture is of the guest house across the courtyard. The main house has three bedrooms, large kitchen/eating area, living room, dining room and an adjacent family room off the downstairs bedroom where we are staying. The two houses are situated around a common courtyard in front with something approaching an acre of lawn and gardens in the back. The house is located in a very small French village--maybe 30-40 inhibitants and no commercial establishments of any sort--about 60 km northeast of Paris. The area itself is bicycle-riding heaven. You can head in any direction--not just north, south, east or west, but also any variation thereof, and have a fabulous ride. Farms, open fields, forests, little villages--some of the most scenic countryside we have ever seen or ridden in. One of the reasons we have not been updating the blog recently is that when we returned from our trip last week the weather was great so we took advantage of it and rode three to five hours a day for five of the next six days. The weather has now turned; light rain and colder, so we are trying to catch up and will post several items in the next few days.

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9-11-08 We spent yesterday walking around Paris, especially Ile de la Cite and Ile de St. Louis. Took the train in the morning, back late afternoon. It was an absolutely beautiful fall day in Paris. Tomorrow we head for Switzerland and Germany for a 10 day trip. During that time we have no access to a computer, so no blogging until we return. Ken

2008-09-11T07:33:00.000-07:00

Sept. 10, 2008: Ken and I took a great ride on the bike paths running through the Foret de Compiegne and through the surrounding villages.

Dinner with Milton

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On Milton's last night in France, Angela and Milton selected a one star restuarant in the countryside about 45 minutes from Soucy. It ended up rivalling any three star in Paris. When Milton sends his course by course report on the dinner to his friends, we can cut and paste for the details of the dinner. It was fabulous. Ken

2008-09-07T10:12:00.000-07:00

Arriving in Paris. Ready to start this phase of our sabattical. More pictures to come.

Checking In

2008-09-06T01:07:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone.

It is Saturday morning, so we have been here just short of a week. I feel pretty well-settled by now. We have eaten out twice, cooked at home the other nights. We are shopping at the local farmer's markets for most of our dinners - last night was sausage, zuchini and tomotoes, and small potatoes with rosemary from the garden. The surroundings are very beautiful and green. We are off to explore now. Love to all. Angela

Getting Started

2008-09-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

It has taken us a few days to get settled in and to organize our daily lives. Not surprisingly to some of you (since you know our computer limitations), it has also taken some time to figure out how to start posting because for some reason the prompts now come up in french and I couldn't figure out at first how to get into the posting section.

We are now finally managing to get settled into some sort of routine. Caveat: I thought that I was over my jetlag, but it's now 3:30am and I'm wide awake. So I figured that it was time to start blogging.

Angela's understanding of french is quite impressive. There is a caretaker lady named Monique that works for Milton supporting the house. Her son also works to support and repair anything that breaks down in addition to regular chores and jobs in the yard. Angela is able to understand most of what they have to say, and while she is better at receiving the information than talking herself, she is able to converse at a basic level. Needless to say, it's a real confidence boost knowing that Angela has the ability to communicate.

So far, the weather is more like late fall. It's been raining for the last two days, off and on, so we've been swimming rather than biking. But we managed to get Angela's old bicycle over here with no problems and I spent half a day while Angela was in Paris with Milton fixing up one of Milton's bikes. So we are ready to ride and have done two short rides so far. The general area--any direction you decide to go--is absolutely great for bike riding. As it gets later into the fall, we may be challenged with what we can do, but we both think that the time we will be spending on our bikes will be great. More soon. Ken

AIDS Ride Photos

2008-07-26T16:42:00.000-07:00

Pictures from our AIDS ride --