Our Last Day with Charpentiers

We first met the Charpentier Family 7 years ago when they did a home exchange with Eric's mom and we took them to do things here and Lake Tahoe. Ally and Gabby were just 8 and 9 years old then. The following year we went to France for the first time and visited them for a week. It was time for a reunion and although we had just 24 hours with them we made the most of it.

Ally and Gabby were singing Karaoke until 2 am and had a great time together.

 In the morning we had a wonderful French breakfast and then toured all of their hobby classic motor bikes and cars they like to restore.

 Ally and the mom, Judith, were the exact same height last time we visited!

 We went for a ride in their restored VW Bus Camping Car to visit a beautiful little town of Chailland.

 It was the most idyllic little town and all the buildings were so adorable.

 Lile every town, the center of town is always the catholic church.

 There is a statue of Mary that was hauled to the top of the rocks so we went for a little hike to get up as high as we could.

 Such beautiful views from up top with peaceful rose gardens along the way.

 We finished our visit down at the river in Montflours. It is a beutiful spot on the river with waterfall overflow.

 The crème brûlée was amazing!

 They dropped us off at the Laval train station and we took the 2 hour ride into Paris where we were going to meet up with their son Armand who lives in Paris for a few more weeks. We only had the evening to spend in Paris so it qas great to have a local give us the quick walking/metro tour.

We met at the Notre Dame at sunset!

This is the oldest working clock in all of Europe (says our amazing tour guide)

We were so excited to fit in a visit to this church. Yes it is a beautiful chuch but we were most excited for their steps...

 These are the steps featured in one of our favorite movies Midnight in Paris.

 We also happened upon the bridge from the movies Inception and National Treasure 2.

 This cute little alley resembles diagon alley from Harry Potter and had cute little shops. The road is so lumpy and like walking on a rainbow.

But our ultimate goal was to see the Eiffel Tower all lit up since we were never in the city that late in our last visit. It was the perfect way to end our visit!

One more item checked off my bucket list! We had such an amazing adventure!

Family Reunion and Farewell at Ecologia Park

Saturday was a fun day where we got to meet most of Gaëlle's extended family at the Ecologia Park in Laval. It is ruins from the middle ages that have been turned into a botanical gardens/activity center.

 We broke off into 3 groups and competed in activities. One was trying to solve a bunch puzzles, this one we could not figure out to get both small wood pieces on same string.

We also did archery and Eric won the final round for our group.

 Our favorite activity was blowdarts. There were goals for each round: one handed, eyes closed, standing on one leg...

 And upside down through the legs!

The final task was to creat a chant/song for your group that represented your team mascot and experience. Eric and I were in the Indian (Native Americans) group and did a circle dance. The French are not concerned about Cultural Appropriation.

This was the chant of Ally and Gaëlle's group.

 Just one of the 3 tables of all the family members. Everyone was very nice and about half of them spoke pretty good English.

 We had amazing food and as always, delicious cheese after every meal. This is her mom's cousin Pascal. His English was very limited but always tried to make sure we were fed!

 Alas we had to say goodbye to Gaëlle and her family after a wonderful 3 weeks with them. It was hard but we know it will be a lifelong friendship and will make efforts to reunite and keep in touch. A bientôt!

Goodbye, La Baule! Headed inland to Mayenne!

We had a last full beach day, lounging in the sand and playing in the water. It was a great day with great people. These three girls had a ball together and it was so hard to say goodbye (for now) to Albane and her family at the end of the day. For dinner we made them a soft taco bar and snickerdoodles. They loved them all.

 Here are the last few pictures I took as we packed up and headed out the door.

But we didn't get too far before Eric noticed something in front of our car and realised it was our front license plate. 

Someone had actually side-swiped the car trying to parallel park and ripped off the whole license plate holder. There was no note left on the window. We called the police (gendarmerie) and they told us we could go ahead to our destination today and visit the police station there to file a report.

 We brought Christophe (Gaëlle's father and Claire (her aunt who speaks excellent English) to the Mayenne Gendarmerie to file a report.

Good thing we brought a translator because no one in the office spoke any English. But they were all friendly and helpful officers.

 The Officer even volunteered to pose for our official blog photo to remember this adventure. After 20 min or so we had full police report in hand. Hopefully the rental car company will be just as cooperative when we return a damaged car tomorrow. It is just a hassle that we have had the car for 3 weeks and 24 hours before returning it, this happens. But I suppose if this is the worst thing that happens to us on our trip then we are considered fortunate.

We took a walking tour of Mayenne after our report was complete.

The ruins of this castle is from 900 AD.

 Christophe was in my shot so I told him to wave "hello", instead he galloped across the bridge like riding a horse. I will never believe anyone who tells me the French are always serious.

 This is the church Gaëlle's mother Laure grew up attending. It was built in 1100 AD.

 Gaëlle says you dont want to be late for church especially for Christmas because the only seats left will have this spectaculat view...

 This is the school behind the church where Laure attended as a child.

 This is a beautiful government building. Such an old and beautiful city Mayenne is!

 Today I also received wonderful news that my sister Jaime had her baby today. Welcome Cecilia Claire Starks to the family. Mom and baby are doing well. 7 lb 7oz and 20 inches. Perfect size. Can't wait to meet her in a few days!