Our last few kicks here in France

So, the parents left 2 days ago and I'm still exhausted from the trip! How can two nearly 60 year old people have so much non-stop energy!? I don't know, but this pregnant lady here was dragged from one side of France to the other! I have to say, I kept up pretty good. We did so many fun things during their trip here and I will have to do a little re-cap in photos so I can remember all the places we were. Yann loves when they visit because he gets the chance to see a lot of France that he's never seen before; it's a win-win situation for everybody.

So, first we went to the island of Port Cros for a day of hiking. The waters are crystal clear and very chilly, so no swimming this day. There are some old forts on the island and just a few beachy cafes, where you can relax and dine outside. The views are very incredible from the hiking trails which wrap all the way around the island and snake into the interior.













Then, it was onto the High Alps, which I already posted about but I thought I could just post again a few pics from the trip. We did this insane hike that was way too vertical for all of us, but Yann, to be doing. It was rated Easy in the French hiking guide book. But they really must have a different vision of what Easy is they we Americans do. I think we all wanted to hunt down the author of that book. But once we made it to the top, the views were very impressive and there was still snow there, for making snowballs!












Then, in no special order, we climbed around on castle ruins in Grimaud, stayed in a gite in Le Luc, where we stuck my dad in the car to sleep at night because he was snoring so loud, avoided Saint Tropez like the plague, because there were 80 billion tourists going there, visited Cezanne's art studio and Renoir's family house and studio, visited many many beautiful ancient villages like Eze and Gorges, saw an amazing Picasso and Cezanne exhibit in Aix, went canoeing and swimming down the Ardesh river, shopped the veggie markets in Aix, dipped out toes in the freezing spring waters at Fontaine de Vaucluse, walked up and down many cobble stone steps, cooked lots of good food, and ate at many good restaurants, and had an overall great French adventure.



Now, today is the 29th of May, which means that I have only 6 more days of living in France. Then, I go back to the States and wait for my husband to join me; hopefully it won't be a long wait, we are hoping for less than two months! It's the end of my French adventure; one year and four months long. And I am really looking forward to getting back home and to indulge in all the homey things I have missed about the States. Oddly enough, Chilies ceasar salad being one of them (pregnancy craving, I'm hoping). I've had some great times living abroad and I'll have all great memories to last a long time. When I get annoyed with how "cookie- cutter" America can be, I can remember that in France I lived in a very ancient village with a bell tower that rang on the hour. And that in France things aren't always efficient and that has taught me patience. We battled through the French immigration system and after waiting in many hot, sweaty lines of people, came out with my permanent residence card! Also, living here has made me become more ecological and use less of everything overall. When laundry takes 5 hours to complete a wash and dry cycle, you just learn to do less of it and wear the same clothes a few times. And I've learned to park a car in much smaller spaces, perfecting the art of the parallel park. I also have learned that you can actually get sick of eating croissants and other French pastries, if you eat them every day. What I would do for a Grand Slam breakfast, complete with eggs, sausage, waffles drenched in syrup! Well, the point is, in a few short days I will be back home and can reacquaint myself with all the lovely things I've been missing, including my family and friends. I think living abroad has also given me a much stronger sense of what America represents to me and though it sounds a bit cheesy, I really do feel more thankful now to be American than I did before. Also, this little baby growing in my belly is half French so I am connected to France now more than ever. I have my husband's family here in France, and I am just lucky that my in-laws have a house in Sarasota too! So, this baby will grow up knowing the language of it's father and also I know we will be taking frequent trips to France for visits to the Homeland.

But, before I go one more thing. We are hopefully finding out the sex of our baby on June 3rd...4 more days! I have been counting down to this appointment and I hope the baby positions itself in the right way to get a look!! I cannot wait to know and I can't imagine there are people out there with the patience to wait until the actual birth to find out! I can hardly wait 15 weeks to know; forget about 40 weeks!

Trip to the High Alps

Well, we are right in the middle of our visit from my parents and I had to post some pics of our 2 night trip into the Alps for some high altitude hiking and relaxing. We stayed at this beautiful, old French farmhouse converted into a quaint mountain Bed & Breakfast. The views out of the windows of this place were great; craggy, snowy peaks in the background, with smaller, lush green mountains in front. We did a lot of really hard hiking, which was rewarded by breathtaking 360 degree views from the tops of the mmountains. One hike we had wanted to do was impassable due to the snow still there and unmelted.

Yann is off to work for a few days so we crazy Americans are loose on the town. We are having a great time just exploring some cool things right around the area. Today we are going into Aix en Provence to shop at the markets and get inspired to cook something fantastic for dinner tonight. Also, we are going to visit the painter, Cezanne's studio; it is his perfectly preserved studio he worked in the last 4 years of his life.

More pictures and stories to come soon...

Ventabren is blooming

Spring is definitely in the air here in Ventabren. All of the roses are going crazy with big, colorful blooms. With all the bright petals against the bold blue shutters, it made for some pretty photos. Also, I included a few belly shots. I'm not showing all that much now, but I have a tiny bump and is feels bigger every day. I wanted to make sure I took a few pics along the way to my huge belly!

Le petit bebe

Well, I just dropped off my dear friends, Stephanie and Logan, at the Aix train station. Off they go to Paris for a couple of days before heading back to the States. It was so great having them here! Yann and I got to play tourists for once and go check out some places we had both never been. Lots of sightseeing and wandering around old ancient villages and sipping espresso on the boulevards. It was Logan's first time out of the country, so it was fun to see France from the eyes of someone so excited to be there and taking it all in. I mean, these guys were the easiest guests; so easy to please, they loved everything we did! We ate at lots of restaurants around Aix, which was fun, because normally Yann and I cook at home. And I didn't take one picture the whole time, because Steph had her camera and was going nuts with the pictures, so I will have to post some after she sends them my way. We checked out St. Tropez and Barcelona; I had never been to either place. How could you not road trip it to Barcelona when it's only a 4 hour drive? I'm sad to see them go; the trip flew by, but now I have to prepare for the next guests, my parents!

So, above I have posted the first ultrasound image from the doctor! Look at that little cute, alien lookin' thing! I think it looks like Yann! Just teasing, honey. We just had our third doctors appointment a few days ago and it looks like everything is right on track. I cannot tell you how happy we are to hear that! I love my appointments because we get to hear the heartbeat and to see the baby moving around. It gives me great comfort and happiness to see that, because it reassures me that the baby is healthy and growing in there. I have basically felt incredible thus far in the pregnancy. I had my 2 weeks at the beginning where I was feeling all kinds of morning sick. But Steph kept telling me she always forgets that I actually am pregnant, because I'm not really showing yet, and I feel amazing. I was pretty much able to keep my energy up enough in Barcelona to walk around the city for 2 days straight and have no problem. Well, besides sore legs and feet!

But if the rest of the pregnancy goes as well as this, I will be very happily surprised. For now, I am just thankful all seems well and the baby is ok. My next appointment is on June 1st and there is a small chance she will be able to tell the sex. Last time the doctor could almost make a pretty sure guess, but we asked her to not tell us until she is very sure. The last thing I need is to go out and buy tons of blue clothes, when really it's a little girl in there! So, we will wait and see soon. I am dying to know though!

Well, I'm off to take care of Laundry Mountain. Who wants to come help me??