La Famille Félicitée

Day Dix Our intent had been to celebrate our wedding anniversary (one absolutely must distinguish between an anniversaire – the word for birthday – and anniversaire de marriage – wedding anniversary, otherwise comical conversations can result) with a trip to Dune de Pyla and dinner out, but oversleeping and confusion with our host’s plans demanded a recalculation – and turns out we’re pretty good at coming up with a Plan B! As Heather worked, the rest of the family set out to explore the local castle. Not 6 kilometers away is the Chateau de Rauzan, one of the many fortresses in the area established by the English in the Middle Ages when the entire region (along with several neighboring regions) were in constant dispute between the English and the French. Perhaps your grade-school history class mentioned “The Hundred Years’ War”? This is where that happened! This one was built some time in the 12 th century, and was granted in 1225 to Rudel the Elder (a Rauzan) by King Henry III. ...

Hello, bonjour, salut to friends and family! Thank you and merci for your interest in our family's adventure in France. The experience is so much richer with you along for the ride -- virtually -- and we would like to use this space to bring you with us as we learn, grow, and, of course, adventure! Week One: L'Arrivée La première et deuxième journées We started out Monday (June 19) afternoon with a 10-hour flight from Seattle to Paris, a 4-hour layover, and then a quick hop from Paris to Bordeaux.  Felicity fairly effectively fell for our little scheme of turning the afternoon nap into an overnight snooze and slept most of the flight -- woohoo! Wilson, on the other hand, was just too excited and wound up sleeping less than 4 hours...which meant Mama and Dada got no sleep at all. Oh well.  Our host, friend, and reason this adventure is possible, Jean-Claude, met us just outside baggage claim with his son Matthieu ("Thieu") and grandson Fañch, who is 4....