Guest Blogger-Irene Shackelford (Lara's mother)

Sorry for the long delay in blogging. Here's an entry from my mother chronicling their recent visit-during the cold/lonely weeks of record lows in late January/early February. Now that they are gone, the weather climbed up to the 70's! Despite the cold, we had a great time and all 4 of us miss them being here with us!! Meanwhile, Devin and I owe you all some stories of the last few months --we've been doing weekly visits of the region each Wednesday when the kids are out of school and are really enjoying our last 2 months before our return to Berkeley. Stay tuned!! Lara

A winter trip to Aniane France by Irene:

We arrived in Montpelier, on time, in spite of a harrowing race to make the flight, only to discover our bags didn’t make it.  Off to baggage claim and a quick look around for Lara who was picking us up.  No Lara and limited English speaking representatives in baggage claim.  Oh well, we tried describing the bags and then Lara, with Anais on her hip clapping her hands and Sebastien running with a huge smile, came towards us.  Well, who cares about bags, seeing the kids was good enough.  Lara took care of the details, bags would be delivered tomorrow and off we went to their house.  With two car seats and our carryon luggage it was a good thing we didn’t have all the bags.

Aniane hadn’t changed much since our trip in fall 2010.  Just a new playground for the children and no leaves on the trees.  A rather barren looking village after all the foliage on those beautiful plane trees, yet it allowed for expanded vistas and of course fitting for a winter day.

Lara had been talking about all the changes she wanted to make and wow she did accomplish a lot; of course we all know the muscle behind the changes.  Devin had painted, made cabinets, tiled counters

and implemented a multitude of things that made the house even more comfortable.  Lara’s great and evolving design eye had made each room a very pleasant, individual creation that also functioned well.  Their latest purchase that was another of their incredible finds on Craig’s list was a dishwasher.  I am always amazed at their tenacity in finding deals on the internet. 

I was curious about school life in France so the next day I walked with them to school.  Now it’s cold in the south of France in the winter, so there we were bundling up children and Nana, burr, but I had my down coat, my gloves so I was prepared but little ones don’t like gloves, hats.  We trudged off, dropping Anais off first, where she cheerfully kissed us goodbye, then over to Sebastien’s school where we waited in line for the school to open. (here's a similar pic but it's from another day, pretend you don't see the starbucks cup)

 There were an equal number of dads and moms (and or nannies) taking their children into the classrooms to be greeted by the teacher.  Pacifiers are dropped off also for the afternoon nap. Children 3 and older have the option of coming home for the French two hour noon meal or remaining at school for the noon meal.  Sebastien comes home, then returns for his afternoon nap, snack and playing outside.  We then pick him up at 5 p.m.   That means we were walking to the school and back 4 times.  Add that to the daily trek to get bread at 7 in the morning, the walks for meal items at the butcher or grocer, then the play time at the park for Anais and or Sebastien and you can see why the French are thin.  Although, the women my age were not thin, but matronly looking.  All the young women, moms, were thin and it’s not from the gym.  All the walking, hanging out the clothes, apparently dryers are not used as much as dishwashers, and climbing the steps in the houses make for efficient bodies.  The Aniane house has 4 levels.

Immediately Lara and Devin immersed us in village life.  Gus & I experienced a French stretch and exercise class that was challenging, gesturing and following by example is universal.  We met the Brits who live in Aniane at a dinner party, the local artisans and also the various neighbors and friends who have been so gracious.  There is a lot of eating and socializing in village life.  Here's a typical shot after dinner in their salon:

We also enjoyed long walks in the countryside, outings to nearby towns, stores and farmer’s markets.

Once we were over our jet lag we prepared to go to Barcelona. We took, first, a bus from Gignac, the nearby town,

to the train station in Montpelier, then the train to Barcelona, the city we have planned to visit for many years - I'm enchanted with the work by Gaudi.  We felt very European taking public transportation; it was a very pleasant trip even though it snowed in Spain!  There we were in the South of France and Spain and it's the coldest they have had, unusually cold we were told, after a very balmy December and beginning of January.  I think I'm bad luck.  Same thing happened when I went to Seattle.

Our trip was lovely even if we had to wear overcoats, gloves and hats. There is value in traveling in the off season, no crowds, museums and restaurants were not crowded, the people we met were locals, not tourists, and last minute flights in winter are cheap!

Two of the highlights of the trip was going to the sagrada familia (church built by Gaudi)

and to Casa Mila, the largest house built by Gaudi. There we met an interesting and respected contemporary artist from Barcelona, Perejaume, who was exhibiting his work.  And it was amazing work, dating back to 1990 in many different media revolving around the idea of excess.  We met a visiting professor from South Korea who was more of an art student than I and she kindly explained some of the art. The artist was hanging out, talking, the friendly, Spanish way!

The food in Barcelona is as wonderful as they write about, the seafood was amazing, along with the ambiance of the restaurants.  There is a vibe there that is enchanting, we said we liked Barcelona better than Venice, except of course for the art of Venice, nothing beats that.  Having said that, the contemporary scene in Barcelona is very hip and compelling.

We visited Sete, the nearby port that is the home of oysters. 

We also visited and liked Montpellier. Montpellier is a very hip, high tech, university city with wonderful winding streets, lovely shops, one of my favorite tea shops - Palais de Tea - was there, friendly French (yes, they are helpful and nice when we try to make ourselves understood) and the most wonderful toy and game shop we have ever seen.  It was a fantasy land of beautiful things to bring the child out of the adult and make children's eyes sparkle.

Of course experiencing the slower European way of life such as all stores closing at noon, the long meals, the incredible politeness, and the kissing, on my gosh, in the south it's three kisses, always,  on first greeting, and leaving, even if only for a few minutes, is always a highlight of visiting France.  The people who had us over for meals were so very nice, but we have to remember to slow down because eating is a very long and multicourse event.

The grandchildren were the highlight of course which is how we feel when we see any of our grandchildren.  We hadn't seen Sebastien and Anais since the end of summer so we saw a big change in them. They are doing well, as are their parents.  Life is good for them.

We had a wonderful trip and recommend it to you all!