Nous sommes arrives!

Storm before the Storm

Here's a tip if you're going to go off and be coucou, like us: CHECK YOUR ITINERARY BEFOREHAND!!!!! Just a little shock was handed to us when we learned that we were to depart 24 hours earlier than the date I had seared into the minds of all aware of this endeavor, most importantly, that of my husband. These little details can get you in trouble and add just a teensy bit of anxiety to an already nutty situation. That said, and the lightening strikes and thunderclaps in K.C. as we were taking off notwithstanding, the whole trip over was very smooth.





We have decided that Air France is our new best and most favorite mode of transportation and that since we have to fly Delta all the way home, we're not coming back. Very nice to feel taken care of-completely-and not that you are doing an airline a favor (or maybe actually making it inconvenient for them) to take up a seat on their plane. We had to dash in between the three flights but everyone took it in stride and we got to Bordeaux unscathed.


To Jason's great happiness he slid into the driver's seat of our brand new Renault Scenic minivan and immediately tried to emulate the millions of Frenchmen driving like they're in The Bourne Identity, which promptly turned me, his wife, into an unbearable shrew. I am trying to back off (because we OWN this car at present and I don't wish this a permanent situation) and he is being quite gracious. Thanks to our handy GPS with a voice like a female embodiment of Valium, we made it as far as the local cave (or wine cooperative) down the road from our gite. We were plied with fois gras samples and wine tastes while the children cried for food in the car outside (unfortunately I am not exaggerating). I managed, between glasses, to ask where the nearest grocery store was and, grabbing a great bottle of Cahors for about $11 ($25 stateside), we took off. At this point our brains were resembling above mentioned fois gras and we tore through this tiny grocery store numbly grabbing whatever to feed us all. I think we left with mortadella, Camembert, Gauloises (mhmm), yogurt, non-refrigerated milk and eggs...can you make a meal with that?

A few minutes later we pulled into a narrow drive with our honey colored limestone gite on one side and some purportedly child-eating grumpy neighbors on the other. Here is the link to the gite's site, where there are many, many photos of the great renovations going on here and of the area:


http://esparoutis.com/