Good, good, good, good vibrations....

I just had the most fantastic vacation in the US yet again with my Dear friend Cathy. Late August, we flew all the way to California to spend a week with Helen (Cathy's grand mother) and Jack (Helen's boyfriend) near San Diego. Helen has a house in Pauma Valley, at the top of a hill surrounded by avocado and orange groves.

I cannot start to describe the beauty of the place. The photos below speak for themselves. We had a fabulous time. Cathy was working and I did nothing but sunbathe, swim, walk and eat peanut butter and avocados (picked directly from the trees). Helen is an amazing woman. I shall not disclose her age but tell how she is a role model to me just as my grand mother Mimone. These old ladies are smart, energetic, curious, connected, stylish and I hope that I will age as gracefully as they do. Helen, if you ever read this blog, I would like to thank you very much for a warm welcome and making me feel so at home.

Following this relaxing week, there was another adventure ahead of us : the long awaited rafting trip in the Grand Canyon. We flew to Phoenix where we stayded at Gail's (Cathy's Mom) for 24h...

Now this is another of my favorite place in the US. Gail has one of the prettiest and most cosy house ever. I just love going there as I am always treated like a VIP, with a lot of kindness and generosity. Gail even understands my shopping craving & took me to Banana Republic (twice)...Thank you so much Gail for your patience driving us around, making me discover Little America and many other things...

We departed the next morning with Gail and Roger toward the Grand Canyon where we started our trip on the Colorado River. Again, the pictures will speak for themselves. I have been blown away by the immensity, beauty and magic of the place. No phone, no fax, no computer, no bed, toilet or shower (food was fabulous though !!)

I found two quotes (respectively by Albert Einstein and Clarence E. Dutton) that best describe it:

"The most beautiful and most profound emotion we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the source of all true science"

"To the conception of its vast proportions must be added some notion of its intricate plan, the nobility of its architecture, its colossal buttes, its wealth of ornamentation, the splendor..."

Last but not least, I would like to thank Joel and June (Cathy's Dad and his wife) for helping us make this dream come true and organisazing the whole trip in the Canyon for us.

The Summer House

In the 60's my grand parents (Mimone & Bon Pa Georges) bought a piece of land near Royan and built 2 houses on it. The first one is called "La ribambelle" which translates as "throng" or "flock" in the wordreference.com website (???). The second one is "La Benaiserie" which means the place where one feels good. Later in the late 90's a 3rd house was built right next to the other 2.



Every single year, our entire family gets together during the summer. This is a great time to catch up, eat fabulous food bought fresh from the market every day, drink fantastic wines and just enjoy a simple life. Every little event is seen as an opportunity to laugh & celebrate. The atmosphere is quite unique (please refer to Cathy's blog on http://expatting.blogspot.com/ for she is much better than me at describing all of this stuff).

I have just spent a few days there and my stay has been enjoyable as ever. As I am writing about this paradise, I realise how lucky we all are.

Still another holiday is coming up!! I am going to the States for two and a half weeks. The first week will be spent in San Diego at Helen's (my dear friend Cathy's grand mother) and the second week in the Grand Canyon rafting and camping in the wild. While staying with us in La Benaiserie, Cathy had the good idea to tell my parents that beside wild waters, the Canyon is full of rattle snakes (some of them pink!) attracted to the warmth of campers sleeping bags at night, that the only way to get out of the Canyon was by Helicopter and later on a tiny (micro) plane (I call them flying moped).

Poor parents, the worries they have to put up with...but what can I do?
I like to live a dangerous life ;-)
Watch out for the post about the snake in my sleeping bag. Until then, bon weekend et bonne reprise à ceux qui ont déjà trop buller.

Welcome Batiste!

Long time no hear! I forgot about the blog as I have been busy running around between work and the summer house. This is just a short post to let you know that I am an Auntie again. Batiste was born on the 7th of August in Avignon. Both Carine & the baby are doing fine. We are totally thrilled! Welcome to the family Batiste!!

Watch out for my next post which should be out soon!