Movie night - part II

Part II of The Hobbit was ummm, violent but sweet, since...

Sophie's pick for movie treat was caramel-filled mini donuts. (I am loving our frozen-food shop in town).


The kids brushed their teeth afterwards but I sure hope they don't have nightmares...

Friday's family movie night

The designation of Friday as family movie night waxes and wanes. It certainly isn't something we have done frequently in France (we tend to opt for episodes of Dr Who snatched whenever feels right.) But last night we had a good movie to savour and had found all-American jumbo-sized pretzels (thus "Bretzels") to enjoy with mustard and a glass of milk (or beer).

The Hobbit is a long movie, so part II is tonight!

IMAX meets Science World = Futuroscope

This past weekend we fulfilled a New Year's gift to the children - a weekend at Futuroscope.

Initially, I had high hopes of this outing (i.e. hands on experiments about how things might work in 20 - 50 -100 years; tackling pollution and climate change; etc),  but they had been downgraded to just having some fun on a blustery Spring weekend. And despite my heavy cold, we did!

It must be genetic.

007 - ready to blast apart massive amounts of garbage that float in our oceans forming the "8th continent"

and his 2 assistants

For some reason, Soph was too timid to do this but was willing to hang upside down and be thrown side to side whilst "dancing with robots"

Lunch de-railed by the search for 'X'

Wednesday lunch and the kids are home, which is a weekly pleasure in the French schedule. We are munching away on a nice tuna, lemon pasta when I ask the kids if anything fascinated them at school this morning. Seb immediately pipes up that the concept of proportionality in math was so interesting.

About 50 mins and several pieces of paper later, we parents left the meal table with our minds buzzing and amazed. So privileged to see these kids growing, learning and challenging themselves.

and perhaps what impressed me the most, Sophie grasping very basic algebra (plus her multiplication)

The scarf

It made its first appearance here, as you will recall

Sophie then decided she wanted to document all the ways she could wear it

But best of all, play with it

(oh and there has been the time she used it as a turban when coming out of the pool with wet hair)

Why we amble

To get some fresh air
To enjoy nature's diversity
To feel the weather and season
To spend uninterrupted time with each other (& occasionally friends)
To get dirty/wet
To get tired
To indulge in yummy snacks
To know that we can

and you?

rare wild orchids!

deciding to splash in the stream

after he fell in said stream

some of the hikers

Une décennie chez nous

On Tuesday, we celebrated 10 years to the day since we first clapped eyes on our lovely village in the Dordogne.  We marked the date with dinner at one of our delicious local restaurants, and were rewarded with terrific behaviour by the children.

wearing her "Michael Jackson" shirt (according to her)

We will continuing celebrating this lovely aspect of our life with a gathering of family & friends on April 13th to honour "Lou Chabrol" - the wine and soup festival that captured our hearts and minds 10 years ago, and also a party for our neighbours in the early summer to thank them for their kindnesses over the years.

Being siblings

Best of friends/worst of friends

Adoring/ loathing

Kind words / hurtful words

Need to be on top of each other / can't be in the same room (or car!)

Best buddies / want to disown the other

Bickering / loving

Competing/collaborating

Exhausting...

What our trip to Andalucia was really about

The food!!

This was perhaps my fella's favourite feature in Seville's cathedral;
if you look closely, you will see that each square is a different food. Tapas!

Next chance for Spanish gastronomy - Barcelona in May, perhaps?

Slipped through the Costa del Sol

For our last night in Spain, we blind-booked a hotel room on the internet (i.e. you are told the price, quality and general location but not the details of it until you pay); thus we ended up at a Flintstones-themed resort with many pools and play areas that were all closed in February. Luckily the beach was  20 steps away and now we are all hankering for a beach holiday!

They were rewarded with some arcade time

But digging on the beach

and meeting the sweet puppies on their walks

were the real joys.

Sophie did contemplate a dip in the Med - and eventually went in up to her belly

Spring has sprung here

Evidence that Spring has sprung for us in SW France:

1. we returned to crocuses in full bloom and tulips making a strong effort
2. flies - including one in the house
3. wasps in the garden and finding new homes in the stone walls

4. first mow of the grass

5. weather forecast of 18-20 degrees and sunny all weekend!

and 6. the ultimate proof, lunch in the garden!!

Beautiful buildings of Andalucia - part 2

Al hambra - world heritage site and for good reason. It's a hill top city really, with multiple palaces, a fortress, remains of the city dwellings that supported the court, and the amazing gardens (of both the productive orchards/fields and decorative relaxation varieties) complete with its careful crafted, ahead of its time, hydro-engineering system.

Mr M with the fancy camera has the best shots but here are more than a few:

A delicate spring had arrived, even though it was markedly chillier in Granada than the rest of Andalucia

Emperor Charles V or Carlos I's later contribution

If you are wondering about the white audio guide that I am holding at chest level,
it was to indicate to Sophie how to frame her shot

My lovely fella on the fortress ramparts

The plus side of the very rainy Monday was a stunning view of the new snow on the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday

We didn't explore much beyond the al hambra in Granada (see comment on rainy day) but we did find a vegan restaurant (with some lovely diners who split their lives between Granada and Turin), ate some great (slow) tapas, did our laundry (yay), and I went to a tiny new museum on the history of Sephardic Jews (and what a history it is!).