The past 2 weeks have been very busy tracing family ancestry, cooking new and exciting dishes in the kitchen, meeting more new friends (whom I am sure come for the cooking!), tasting wine from diverse regions, talking to many of our wonderful Australian family and friends, and enjoying the sunshine and the beauty which Spring brings to France.
No wonder we are behind updating our blog…..
OK! Firstly thank you for the gifts that we have received in the past 2 weeks. The look on our faces when we received Twisties and Aussie chips was priceless. Sorry, you missed it! If you think we passed these on, well………
Thanks to Pat and Wally who graciously sent 2 parcels. Merci beaucoup!
Today we had a Paella lunch, cooked by an English/South African gentleman called Mike and we shared this occasion with our Moroccan friend Karim! The picture says it all! Mike lives across the road from us.
If you enjoy and Oyster or 2, they are sold outside the church here every Sunday and they are so fresh. Shucking is an art, and finally we have mastered how it is done, thanks to our Moroccan friend. You can buy a dozen, based on the size from 3 to 5 Euros.
We had the opportunity to visit a vineyard about 1 hour North of here that produces wine, which does not have preservatives, and is delicious. We travelled there with our very dear friends Noël and Suzanne whose primary language is Dutch. So.... here we are at the Vineyard, Noël is speaking to the owner in French, talking to his wife in Dutch and translating to us in English some of the French we could not quite pick up. A remarkable man! We felt like we were at a Tennis Match and we were the BALLS! After an hour of wine tasting we walked away, (OK!OK!, so we wobbled away), with 30 litres of wine. Well!, we have to taste the wine before we introduce it into the bar..
We also visited their Dutch friends who have a holiday house in that area. Interesting time, whilst we listened to Dutch, conversed in French and English and wandered around their property in Baugé.
We now also offer a babysitting service for dogs. Babysat Virgule the Dutch dog, who responds to Dutch, French and English. Even the dogs are multi-lingual!
No news on our ‘working permi’ as yet. However we are still confident it will happen.
Classic quotes of the past weeks:
Ö Pete, would you like a strawberry in you wine love? “Why? do I have an apple in my beer?”
Ö Our dear elderly friend David had to go for a medical and a psych test. The Doctor asked him, “what day is it today, David?” David looked bewildered and replied, “how the hell would I know?” That’s life in Gourgé, and you don’t have to be elderly!!
Ö We received an email from our very pregnant daughter who lives in London. She is a Speech Pathologist who specializes in working with very young children. This is one of her wonderful stories. “So many funny moments with the children as I am getting bigger, and they all start remembering about the baby when they see me. Even some of the little 2-3yr olds see me and say "Angie…baby" pointing at my belly! So sweet…. I am yet to convince a few of them that I can't 'open' my belly to show them the baby and that I didn’t swallow the baby.... hehehe. They all now have to see my actual stomach and feel it, or put their heads up to my skin...it's so funny to watch their faces. Only a couple have asked how it comes out...hmmm how to explain that to some language disordered children!!”
Jusqui’à la semaine prochaine
Peter and Donna
No wonder we are behind updating our blog…..
OK! Firstly thank you for the gifts that we have received in the past 2 weeks. The look on our faces when we received Twisties and Aussie chips was priceless. Sorry, you missed it! If you think we passed these on, well………
Thanks to Pat and Wally who graciously sent 2 parcels. Merci beaucoup!
Today we had a Paella lunch, cooked by an English/South African gentleman called Mike and we shared this occasion with our Moroccan friend Karim! The picture says it all! Mike lives across the road from us.
If you enjoy and Oyster or 2, they are sold outside the church here every Sunday and they are so fresh. Shucking is an art, and finally we have mastered how it is done, thanks to our Moroccan friend. You can buy a dozen, based on the size from 3 to 5 Euros.
We had the opportunity to visit a vineyard about 1 hour North of here that produces wine, which does not have preservatives, and is delicious. We travelled there with our very dear friends Noël and Suzanne whose primary language is Dutch. So.... here we are at the Vineyard, Noël is speaking to the owner in French, talking to his wife in Dutch and translating to us in English some of the French we could not quite pick up. A remarkable man! We felt like we were at a Tennis Match and we were the BALLS! After an hour of wine tasting we walked away, (OK!OK!, so we wobbled away), with 30 litres of wine. Well!, we have to taste the wine before we introduce it into the bar..
We also visited their Dutch friends who have a holiday house in that area. Interesting time, whilst we listened to Dutch, conversed in French and English and wandered around their property in Baugé.
We now also offer a babysitting service for dogs. Babysat Virgule the Dutch dog, who responds to Dutch, French and English. Even the dogs are multi-lingual!
No news on our ‘working permi’ as yet. However we are still confident it will happen.
Classic quotes of the past weeks:
Ö Pete, would you like a strawberry in you wine love? “Why? do I have an apple in my beer?”
Ö Our dear elderly friend David had to go for a medical and a psych test. The Doctor asked him, “what day is it today, David?” David looked bewildered and replied, “how the hell would I know?” That’s life in Gourgé, and you don’t have to be elderly!!
Ö We received an email from our very pregnant daughter who lives in London. She is a Speech Pathologist who specializes in working with very young children. This is one of her wonderful stories. “So many funny moments with the children as I am getting bigger, and they all start remembering about the baby when they see me. Even some of the little 2-3yr olds see me and say "Angie…baby" pointing at my belly! So sweet…. I am yet to convince a few of them that I can't 'open' my belly to show them the baby and that I didn’t swallow the baby.... hehehe. They all now have to see my actual stomach and feel it, or put their heads up to my skin...it's so funny to watch their faces. Only a couple have asked how it comes out...hmmm how to explain that to some language disordered children!!”
Jusqui’à la semaine prochaine
Peter and Donna
Hi Donna and Peter
ReplyDeleteLooks like spring is coming to Gourge!
Wonderful to see the photos and read the stories. Keep them coming :-)
Love
Alpha
I like the multilingual dog. Now, my wife swears that she can understand our dog. I'm not sure I communicate well with either of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grumpy, communication is certainly an art. I am sure that you are gifted in this field!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alpha, wish you were here to take the professional photos!! Looking forward to your visit x
Could you please post your stuff here more often than twice a year, please?
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying every day, but honestly! I'm checking this blog from time to time and... NOTHING.
Not happy, Jan!