The Week in Mortagne

The splendid view.

Mortagne-sur-Gironde is located in southwestern France, about an hour from Bordeaux.

The week went by quickly. On Tuesday, Line watched Philippe's son Gabin. He is only three days younger than Amelie and so she was thrilled to be with someone to whome she could relate.

Some time that week, I was straightening things up and was in the kitchen. There was a strange silence and I walked to the living room to look for Liliane. She wasn't there, nor was she in the hallway, nor had she sneaked up the stairs. I was starting to get nervous when I looked into the dining room and saw her tucked in a chair, eating a chocolate egg from the centerpiece. She had thoughtfully disposed of the wrapper back on the centerpiece. I let her finish the egg and washed her up. I went back to the kitchen to finish what I was doing and the whole seen repeated itself. After that, I hid the eggs. Later that afternoon, I discovered her on another dining room chair. This time, she was reaching for some chocolate bunnies that were on top of a crystal candelabra! I intercepted her hand, gave her a bunny, and then hid the other bunny! The rest of the week, she continually asked for "choc."

France is well known for its hypermarkets. My favorite is E. LeClerc, closely seconded by Carrefour. I even became a I was really glad to be able to go to both, since I haven't yet found any here. I stocked up on things we don't easily find around here (or anywhere else for that matter) such as rillettes, French children's books, foie gras, sheep's cheese and wine. After one of the trips, Liliane went on the mini-carousel.

One of the nights, Liliane woke up and asked me for boots. She had been trying on Capucine's boots which were much too big. I brought them up to her and put them on. She promptly went to sleep. Line happened to have an extra pair, so she gifted them to Liliane. True to form, Liliane wore them every night and during the day. They're Aigle brand, solid and sturdy. Here's a link to the US site. Liliane loved the blue boots.

Saturday rolled around and we went with Babeth, Jerome, their daughters, and Line and Jean-Louis to the beach at St. Georges de Didonne. It's a fantastic beach that's only about 15 minutes from Mortagne. There and at the nearby beach in Royan, one often sees windsurfers. St. Georges is huge and that day, there were even people sailing along the beach. I'm not sure exactly what the sport itself is called, but it looked like a lot of fun.

a beach surfer

After a week of Line's fantastic cooking and the relaxing atmosphere, it was hard to go. But going back is just something we now have to look forward to!