This is it - the last day at home and I should be packing. And what am I doing? Why I'm creating a blog and ignoring the heap of stuff that has to go into my small suitcase. Being a blog virgin, this is taking longer than it should.
The idea for this trip arrived in the course of having lunch with my friend and former French teacher Françoise last December. I graduated from the French Diploma Program at UVic in spring of 2006 and was fretting about not having much opportunity to practise and could feel what little facility I had slipping away. Françoise told me that a group of current students in the program were putting together a holiday in France with a view to creating a French immersion experience for themselves. They were hiring her to accompany them and arranging a couple of gites in Brittany to stay in for a three week period. "Sign me up" I said.
In due course I met some of the other participants - the main organizers Brian and Susan, anaesthetists at a local hospital; Paul, Françoise's petit ami who also works at the university; Lisa, another student in the program. There are several others whom I haven't met as yet who are dropping in for one of the three weeks. We average out at around six participants at any one time. I signed on for the whole thing, what the heck! It's a long way to go and I might as well make the most of it.
We will be staying first at Cherrieux in Brittany on the coast near St. Malo and Mont St. Michel. After that we move to Maxent near Rennes, pretty much in the middle of Brittany. We will have a car and do lots of exploring, walking, shopping for food, trying the local restaurants and perhaps even a day of thalassatherapie at a spa. I'm on the lookout for the some cul noir, a particular kind of pottery made in Brittany although how I will get in home in once piece, I don't know. At the end of the three weeks I'm heading back to Paris to spend the final six days with a friend from England. It will be my third time there and probably not my last. It's still my favorite city on earth after Victoria.
Well, time to print up those copious notes (I'm a demon researcher), wind up things at home and get ready to hit the proverbial road. I will try to post often but I'm not sure how the access will be in the wilds of Brittany. And then there is the learning curve of the non-qwerty keyboard...the first few posts might of necessity be very short. Okay, time to get going...
2 comments:
Hi Denise—I actually composed a comment a while back and then got caught in trying to figure out whether or not I wanted a Google account—many consultations with my techie to determine saftey etc—needed to respond. Anyway, it seems to have passsed the test. I noticed in your first (and so far only) posting that you were hoping to visit a spa for thallosotherapie. I actually know the woman who popularized this type of therapie in France—at least that is what she told me when I met her—and she lives in Victoria! She is not practicing now, but I thought when you return I could connect you with her. Her English isn't great but you would have another person to speak French with and she is a very interesting person. So how has the Sarkozy election win affected those you have met in Brittany? Of course this assumes that politics is still an acceptable topic of conversation in France! Not much new here except excellent weather persists—sunny, warm days (17-19 degrees)—Moss St. Market has re-opened, and I'm finding it hard to keep my hands out of the garden and on the keyboard. Happy Trails! Sally xoxox
Auntie Denise.... well, it doens't look like you've been keeping very updated, now have you? Peut-être je devrais parler en français. Hey, cet semaine j'ai trouver un de nos relatives de Réunion sur un site de web, Face book... Nico Beauvillain de Montreuil, et il ne savait même pas qu'il y avais une branche de notre famille qui parler anglais! Je lui ai dit que toi et Harry sont allés à Réunion il y a quelques années.... mais c'est excitant!
Mais, j'espère que le reste de ton voyage est excellent!
talk to you soon,
♥ Catherine
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