Another long weekend

For this past long weekend, we stayed home.  I wanted us to take a break from all of the road trips and visit more of the sites in and near Clermont.  As much as I love to travel, I needed a break, or at least a chance to rest before the big summer trip back to the states in June.

So Thursday, we went to the Michelin Museum, L'aventure Michelin, located here in Clermont-Ferrand. We really enjoyed learning more about the history of the company and the innovations it has contributed to the tire industry. The children had a great time because most of the displays were interactive and written in French and English.  Preston was able to show us some of what he has done over his 14 year career with Michelin. A friend of ours, Laurie, was also with us for the visit to the museum.  I could only take pictures in the lobby, but the museum is really quite impressive and well worth a visit.

We took a day trip on Saturday to the Dordogne Region, about 2 and 1/2 hours south of Clermont. We specifically went to the Gouffre de Padirac. The drive was beautiful and the weather was perfect. We drove through cute villages and winding roads along the French country side.  We were almost to our destination when we ran into a traffic jam of sorts.  As we were coming around a corner, the road was completely blocked by sheep moving from one pasture to another.  It was fun to watch the sheepherders and the sheep dogs try to move the herd up the road.

Finally we reached the Gouffre de Padirac.  A gouffre is a large chasm.  It was enormous!  We took the stairs all the way down.  Once you descend, you go to the underground part where there is a lake whose only source is rain water.  A river flows underground as well. We did part of the tour by boat and part on foot. There are huge stalagtites and stalagmites, made from the water depositing calcium over the years.  It was fascinating because there is no natural light, therefore no vegetation.  Our tour was in French, but our guide said that she would also do it in English.  Well her English is like my French, very basic.  So she would go on and on about some interesting facts and the group would nod or laugh.  Then she would turn to us and say one sentence like, "This is a lake of rain water".  Fortunately, my comprehension of French is better than my speaking, so I got most of what she was saying in French.  But at least she tried to speak English.  Again I couldn't take pictures once inside, but I scanned a picture that we purchased of us on the boat.  Although there was an elevator, we decided,  ok I decided, that we would take the stairs back up. We rewarded the children with icecream afterwards.

We then drove on to Rocamadour, France. It is a city built into the rock. It was fantastic! We started our tour at the top, walking down to the village. After a little shopping, we walked up to the cathedral.  In medieval times, many religious people made a pilgrimage to this city because it is believed that a man who knew Jesus and witnessed the deaths of Paul and Peter was a hermit in this area.  There had been reports of miracles and healings.  It is still the 2nd most visited religious site in France.  Again, an elevator was available, but I decided that we should continue up another set of stairs to the castle on top.  By this time, my children were really tired of me and my effort to add exercise to our entertainment (exer-tainment!) by walking up so many steps throughout the day.  But they survived and we had a great day and a lovely weekend close to home!

Hiking into Puy de Pariou

Since we have been here in France, one thing is obvious, French people are very active outdoors. Here in the Auvergne Region, we are surrounded by beautiful volcanoes and national parks just outside of the city. The weather is very agreeable for outdoor activities as well. We are in the middle of May and there are still cool breezes in the air. It is not hot and humid like in South Carolina. But the warm weather is not the only time when French people enjoy physical activities outside. When it snows, many people enjoy skiing or snowboarding. Now that it is warmer, more and more people are on bikes, taking walks and jogging. There are many trails just outside of the city with clearly marked paths for all levels. And get this, it is May and there are no bugs! Mosquitoes are one thing that I don't miss about the South.




Daniele and I walk most days for about 45 minutes for exercise and Preston has purchased a new toy, a road bike. He pretty much does this without the family since I am not much of a cyclist and the kids are too embarassed to be seen with him in his outfit!






Sundays are very popular days for family activities like hiking the nearby volcanoes. So, this past Sunday, we climbed our first volcano and had a picnic lunch in the crater. Puy de Pariou is a dormant volcano and is apart of a chain of volcanoes here in the Auvergne region of France. It took us about an hour and a half to climb to the top and descend into the crater for our picnic spot. I was very excited about the hike, but the children were a bit reluctant. We were all out of breath by the time we got to the top, but it was worth it. The sun was shining and there was a cool breeze in the air. In fact, the higher we climbed the cooler it got. We had to put on jackets once we reached the top. It was a challenge for us, but we are all glad that we did it! The view was excellent and eating lunch in a volcano? How cool is that!

Later Sunday night, we went to a very good restaurant in the village of Chateaugay called Le Vigosche. It was excellent. The specialty of the restaurant is local food from the Auvergne Region. Auvergne food is typical french country food meaning lots of meat, potatoes and cheese. We loved the Truffade salad which is potatoes and cheese, with bits of bacon. Preston had the duck made with peaches and I had fish. The house dessert is the Pain perdu aux pommes caramel which is French toast, apples and caramel. Delicious! The restaurant atmosphere was lovely and very family friendly, including a children's menu. We had a wonderful French dinner and a fantastic day!

Mother's Day, Fête des Mères

I have been intrigued by her every since I saw her from a distance soon after we arrived here 10 months ago. We have passed her on several trips, but have never taken the time to stop. She is only about 15 minutes outside of Clermont, near the village of Veyre-Monton. So two weeks ago, we decided to go see her up close...the Vierge de Monton. It is the biggest statue of Virgin Mary that I have every seen! I don't know why, but I love it! It is white and sits on top of a hill. She is holding baby Jesus in one hand. I guess I like it number one because it is so big, it cannot be ignored. Secondly, it reminds me of Jesus' humanity and diety in one when I think of her and His conception.

As I prepare to celebrate Mother's Day twice, May 10th in the US and June 7th in France, I think about what kind of mother Mary must have been. The struggles that she went through as she cared for, taught and nurtured her son, the son of God. She must have had wonderful expectations of him, her 1st born. Did she ever think that maybe he would be a great king or a great leader loved by all, instead of him being crucified and mocked? Did she ever think of his future and imagine a wife for him and the grandchildren that they would give her instead of the short 33 years of his earthly life? Or did she always have the insight and wisdom to know that his ultimate sacrifice would be the salvation of the world?

I believe that Mary was a great mother and his biggest cheerleader. She believed in her son and trusted God with her life and his. She was able to let Jesus be the man that God intended him to be, not the son of her dreams. She was not an overbearing presence in the bible, but she certainly was an important part of Jesus' life. As I raise my children to go on to do great things for God, my prayer is that God's will be done in their lives, not my will. I pray that I may be an important part of their lives, their biggest cheerleader and supporter, but never a hinderance to their call by God and the plans that he has for them. Mother's Day is a great time for me to reflect on the importance of my call to care for, love and nurture the children that God has given to me.

Paris with Paula

Paula enjoyed her 3 days in Clermont and they were very relaxing. After shopping, eating and recuperating from our Barcelona trip, it was time to go to Paris. Paris is a beautiful city and is full of history and great things to do. Since this was Paula's first time in Paris and she didn't know when she would ever return, we tried to see everything. We saw the Eiffel Tower, a Moulin Rouge show, took a boat tour along the Seine, saw Notre Dame cathedral, did the Louvre in 1 hr, saw the Arc de Triomphe and walked down the Champs d'Elysess in 40 hours. I think we set a personal record!

When we first arrived in Paris, we went straight to the Eiffel Tower. Afterwards, we had dinner and then we went to the hotel. Paula, Preston and I were going to the Moulin Rouge late show. We didn't take the children, but we could have since the minimum age is 6.  When we arrived for the 11 pm show, there was a line around the corner and up the block.  People were dressed up for an evening out to a cabaret show.  It is a Las Vegas style show with singing and dancing in elaborate, revealing costumes.  There were probably 60 women and 10 men in the production.  Everything was in French, so I am not quite sure what the show was about.  In between some of the dancing, there were three different acts, a juggler, a vantrilloquist and acrobats.  Before it was over, they did the famous French can-can, but they didn't sing the Lady Marmalade song!  

The next day we took a Navette batobus  on the Seine River for our transportation around Paris.  From the base of the Eiffel Tower, we sailed to other sights, first getting off at the Notre Dame.  This was my first time seeing the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris and it was beautiful.  After lunch, we went to the Louvre. We got there a 5 pm and they closed at 6 pm. So we did the 1 hour tour. Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, The Winged Victory, Napolean's coronation, and whatever we passed along the way. Finally, we took the batobus to the Arc de Triomphe and walked the Champs d'Elysees. We were exhausted. Sunday morning Paula's plane left and we returned home to Clermont. It was a great springbreak. But I needed a vacation after this vacation!

Barcelona, Baby!!!

WARNING:  This is a long blog with a 7 min video at the end.  What can I say, it was my 1st trip to Spain!

Throughout this blog, I have links to many of the pages that I researched to prepare for our trip. Just click on the highlighted and underlined words for more information.

As you can see from the pictures in the previous blog, Spring break, it was rainy and cloudy, but that would not stop us from having a good time. We just grabbed our umbrellas, hats, rainjackets and kept it moving. There was so much to see. Barcelona is the capital of a region know as Catalonia. In fact, people in that portion of Spain speak Catalan and Spanish. The area is so beautiful, close to the sea and the mountains. It has inspired many artist and some of Spain's most famous artist come from this area.

Antoni Gaudi was a very unique architect and certainly ahead of his time. He was born in Catalonia and his architecture is known all over the world. His buildings are so creative and are works of art. His work gives Barcelona a look that is like no other city. As I began researching what to do and see in Barcelona, I learned at lot about the work of Gaudi. La Sagrada Familia, the church that Gaudi was commissioned to design, is a great example of Gaudi not following convention. It is very different and strange looking as far as churches go, but a sight to see none the less. It is also interesting that it was started in 1882, but has never been completed. The work continues as funds are raised through donations and tours.

Gaudi's buildings were built in the late 1800's and early 1900's and are Art Nouveau style. Other buildings that we saw were Casa Mila and Casa Batllo. I enjoyed the fantasy that Gaudi's work brings to the city and the boldness of his ideas. Parc Guell was my favorite display of Gaudi's work. The park overlooks the city and exhibits many structures, including Gaudi's personal house. Many musicians and artists were there entertaining and the park was full. It was a great day, with lots of sunshine and we really enjoyed listening to one instrument in particular, a wok-looking instrument called a Hang. We liked it so much, we the bought CD.

My next favorite part of Barcelona was Las Ramblas. We enjoyed rambling down Las Ramblas, a major street in Barcelona. Daniele, Paula and I enjoyed shopping for one of a kind jewelry, hand-made and hand painted pieces. Preston liked the art work and the street performers were plentiful. La Boqueria, a market on Las Ramblas was a great place to buy fresh fruit.

On Good Friday, while walking down Las Ramblas, we were able to see part of a processional of a religious brotherhood. This is a traditionl that is common throughout Spain. They were wearing the traditional Capirote, or cone shaped hood and robes. Unfortunately, the KKK stole the look from this catholic tradition. I am not sure why the brotherhood wears them on Good Friday. Nevertheless, the processional actually gives me something else to think of when I see hoods and robes now. Besides thinking of all the people that have been terrorized and killed because of hate, I can think of the brotherhoods that wear them on Good Friday in Spain and remember that Jesus died for me because of His love!

Easter Sunday was really rainy, so we stayed in and cooked a big breakfast in our apartment. Later that evening, we attended a flamenco show. We had great seats close to the stage and the children were captivated. The intensitiy and the passion of the dancers was evident. The show was held in a restaurant in Poble Espanyol, a display of spanish architectural replicas. We met up with two other expat families that we knew would be in Barcelona at the same time for the dinner and show. Friends, food and flamenco, a great way to end our time in Barcelona!

Tossa de Mar, Spain was our last stop before heading back to Clermont. It is a small village on the beach that has parts of its original 12th century wall in tact. We had lunch, walked along the beach and took lots of pictures. The weather was not warm enough to get into the water, but it was sunny. Instead of sand on the beach, there were actually tiny pebbles. This was very different from South Carolina's sandy beaches and warm water.

Well, after all that reading, here is the video.  You can also see it fullscreen on Youtube by clicking the following link to "Barcelona, Baby!"

Spring Break

For springbreak, the children were out of school for 2 weeks. We decided to take one week to travel since Preston was off as well. Preston's sister, Paula, was also on springbreak, so she met us in Barcelona. She would be our 1st family member to visit us! She found a great price on a ticket from Newark, NJ to Barcelona and from Paris back to Newark. This way, we would spend the first 5 days in Barcelona, 3 days in Clermont, and the last 2 days in Paris.

So, we put the 7th seat back into the car, packed a barf-bag kit for John and headed south. On the way down we crossed Viaduct de Millau, the tallest vehicular bridge in the world. It is taller than the Eiffel Tower and it was impressive. The scenery was different in this part of France, the Languedoc region. It is amazing how different the landscapes are in every region of France, considering this is a small country. Each mountain range has a different look as well. God is so creative! We stopped for lunch then continued our trip, crossing the Pyrenes Mountains, into Spain. Our next stop was Barcelona, baby!