Art & Carol's European Adventure

J'ai appris a parler francais!!!

On the 5th of January, I started one of my most memorable experiences here in France...I attened the Institute de Francais...in Villefranche, France. For SIX weeks, I travelled back and forth to Villefranche, five days per week, with lessons from 9 AM until 4:45 PM, and was totally immersed IN the language!
My first two weeks, I studied until I could not keep my eyes open, trying to learn as much as I possibly could...and what a job it was!
I am STILL at it...my confidence to speak is amazing, I am now conversing with folks I have never been able to speak with, because THEY DON'T speak English!
Life here in Monaco and France had been quite limited...I never felt like I was a "part" of the culture here, couldn't order a drink in French, nor so much as French Fries! Pomme frites!
Maintenant, je peux parler francais, et, j'apprenais francais pour quelque fois! J'adore le langue, et je suis tres contente a comprendre le langue! Je marche dans les rues et de sentir que je suis maintenant un participant, non plus un "etranger" ... c'est tres bon! (Now, I can speak French, and, I will learn French for some time! I adore the language, and I am very content to understand the language. I walk down the road and feel that I am a now a participant, no longer an outsider! It is GREAT!)
So, enjoy a few photos of this wonderful institute...it's been here for 30 years...my teacher, Magali, is amazing...and I was lucky to have her for SIX FULL weeks, and am continuing to have lessons with her each week!
For me, this IS the total experience!!!
http://www.institutdefrancais.com/index.html
This is the site for the school...do check it out!

OK, Now for the good part!!! Camden!

Dustin, Camden & Crystal...

These are a few of my FAVORITE shots of Camden...from Christmas til now!

Yummy Yummy, Ice cream!

Camden with his cousin, Skylar!!!

Camden & Crystal at the Atlanta Aquarium

If you miss your connection at Christmas, Paris isn't a bad place to BE!!!

We were headed HOME for Christmas, on the 20th of December...and without going into details, we missed our connection to Atlanta in Paris...UGH!!! Air France put us up in a not so great hotel, with a not so great dinner, but, in an AWESOME CITY!!! So, we found where we'd spend the night, got back on the bus, and headed into Paris on the train....and WOW!!!! We were so amazed by the "city of lights"...especially at Christmas. We didn't have much time, but our short walk was just amazing!!! Enjoy this short picture show....of PARIS!!!

The Lights of Christmas...In Monaco

It's a new year, so new Christmas Decorations in Monaco...it's like when you plug in the lights to decorate your tree, and they don't work, so...off to the store for new ones...Well here, even if they don't work, they're new!

From Casino Square, with the lavish decorations and lights....

To the Hermitage adorning the most modern of decorations!

And onto the Port, where the live Provence Village is set up...with a crepery, thick Italian Hot cocoa, a daring Ferris Wheel, and Again, Pere Noel ( Father Christmas)...

If it's Christmas in France, the Creche's are abundant!!!

On another, blue skied Sunday in France, early in December, Art and I took a ride to a town that is famous for it's 400 plus creches. Every year since 1998, this medieval village, north of Nice, perched high on a cliff, celebrates the birth of our Lord with almost every villager displaying a creche, in virtually every nook and cranny, along their ancient stone lined steps, up, down, through and around their village!!! You could not blink for fear you would MISS a special creche! The sizes ranged from a creche made in a walnut shell, to a life size creche at the entrance of the village.

On this special day, we were lucky to have a visit by "Pere Noel" along with his donkey, angel children, the farmer, and the maiden...what luck we had this special Sunday, at Christmas time.

Blue Skies, Lots of Snow, LET'S GO, TO LIMONE, Italy!!!

First Saturday in December, the skies were clear, and we knew it had just snowed...so, OFF we went, with Peter and Rosy Dunn, to Limone, Italy, for the day! This town is just an hour and a half drive from Monaco, into Italy to our East and then North...towards Cuneo!

The drive was wonderful, and we never hit snow til we went through the tunnel that leads into Limone. And on the other side, WHAT SNOW THERE WAS!!! Oh My Goodness...almost a meter. The village was quite clear of the snow, but the rooftops were full! We found Limone to be quite charming.

As to keep the tradition of most European Villages, there was a beautiful church in the center of the town, lots of restaurants, and quite a few "ski" shops. Our first order of business was to decide WHERE to have our lunch...or at least, book our table! All the businesses, except the cafe's, close down at 12:30, and open again three hours later! So, it was strictly window shopping for us...

Our lunch was scrumptious, and always includes a charming bottle of wine...Afterwards we took another walk, to work off just a touch of the pasta we consumed!!!

On our way home, the sky was just right for a photo opportunity of Monaco from "above"...

Snow in the mountains!

The last weekend of November, our good friend, Peter Dunn, called and said, let's go find some snow! He has a Range Rover, four wheel drive, with WINTER tires...
Off we went...towards La Foux d'Allos...

As we climbed into the Alps, the snow got heavier and heavier, and the roads were not in the best of conditions. The views were spectacular, and we had to turn back before we got to the pass that would lead us to this mountain village, but, it still gave us a bit of the gorgeous views of the mountain villages. You might recognize, this is our Xmas card photo, taken by Peter...in the Alps...

Heading BACK towards home, we searched for the perfect spot for our "French Lunch" and we came into a sleepy little village, Annot. The slushy streets kept folks from wandering around, but we entered a darling little hotel, with a charming, wood paneled dining room, and a BLARING fire! Just what we were looking for. Luck was on our side when we were able to sit directly in front of this fire, and enjoy the plat du jour. Warm, hot food, une piche' du vin, and voila! A perfect afternoon!