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.