[align=center]
France - Une baguette s'il-vous-plait...[/align]
[align=center]With Giggles keeping us on our toes, Jeff and I didn't sleep on Monday nor Tuesday. Luckily, Jeff had installed the webcam on Monday so I didn't have to go out in the middle of the night much. However, because he had to work on Tuesday, he had to bring his laptop and that meant not having the webcam on Tuesday during the day. I checked on her a few times and I could sense she would give birth soon so I tried to check on her on the right times. I knew Jeff would be home soon so I figured we could reinstall the webcam then. However, when he went to install it, he realized that she had already given birth. Lol. Sooooo that is how we missed the birthing process. Ah well![/align]
[align=center]We stayed up all night, keeping an eye on them and waiting to see if there were more or not. I knew I would be up all night so I kept all the ironing so that I would have something to do to keep me awake. Lol. We were packing, cleaning, ironing, folding clothes at all hours of the night.
[/align]
[align=center]At around 4:00am, I went out and checked on the bunnies. I decided I would put the baby in the nestbox before leaving so my mind would be a bit more at ease. Luckily, we are blessed with Jeff's family. They live closeby and they love animals. Jeff's mom and sister came by twice a day, everyday, while we were gone. Giggles got calcium supplements during the week we were gone as I had heard that it was good for them while they are nursing. I must say, she rather enjoys them. I like them too!
[/align]
[align=center]Anywho, we left the house at 5:30am. Our flight was at 7:40am and the airport was about an hour away. It was pretty crappy weather to be driving in really. Ugh, it was pouring! Finally, we got there and pretty much headed for the security checks right away. Mine was completely uneventful as I am very paranoid about it but Jeff's didn't go as well :expressionlessHe had put in his laptop bag through the x-ray and they spotted something so they patted him down etc. Next, the guard searched his bag and didn't find anything but the woman working the screen insisted so the guard searched again. Jeff and I just looked at each other, a bit confused. Well, it turns out the woman did her job very well. Jeff's bag is the same bag he uses for work and Jeff has a habit of opening envelopes with scissors. Turns out he had left a pair of very pointy scissors in the envelope. He had been looking for those for a long time but they were hidden amongst the papers. Oops! [/align]
[align=center]The flight was pretty boring. It was only a one-hour flight. I must admit that my ears hurt really badly on this one though :expressionlessWe ended up at the smallest airport I have ever seen. It felt more like a hangar really. LOL. Welcome to the countryside :biggrin2:They live in Penne D'Agenais. Jeff's father was there and that's when I saw him for the first time. There is no doubt in my mind that Jeff takes after his father in many ways. It was quite interesting to watch them. Hehehe. Anyway, he was very friendly and we chatted the whole drive to the house which was about an hour away. [/align]
[align=center]Now, they really live in the countryside. Farmer's land everywhere. It was pretty gorgeous I must say. I looove the countryside and I really enjoyed the outdoors. Jeff's stepmother came to greet us and she gave me a big hug. I was surprised and happybecause the dutch usually give 3 kisses and I don't really remember getting a hug. Also in the family are: two donkeys, two cats, and one dog. I have never really been around donkeys so it was quite nice to get to know them. They were a ton of fun and I really enjoyed feeding them. The house itself was absolutely beautiful. They own a stone house which is about 300 years old. It's actually a converted barn. They also have quite a bit of land. [/align]
[align=center]I spent quite a bit of time outside walking with the dog or donkies. I also spent a lot of time looking for any critter that might be about. Of course, I had spotted lots of bunny poops and tracks so I had hoped to spot a rabbit but I didn't. *Sigh* On the other hand, on my first day, I spotted lizards and a hmm coral? snake (couleuvre) and managed to get them on picture. I must admit, I absolutely love my camera and I am so very happy that Jeff got it for me! I'll be adding pictures in a few.[/align]
[align=center]Aside from enjoying the property, I often went with Jeff's stepmother on a nice walk with the dog. This gave us oppurtunities to chit chat and see the surroundings. I really enjoyed it though the walks could be tiring at times since it was a bit uphill most of the time. Lol. On Sunday, we went for chinese food. That was a lot of fun because it was my first time actually eating with chopsticks. I had played around with them in the past a bit but never really had a full meal. I am very proud to say that I ate only with the chopsticks (including rice!) and didn't make a mess. :biggrin:I tried duck for my first time and I must say it was absolutely delicious. Another first was carpaccio... I didn't particularly like that. I think it's more about the cheese that was on top though but anyway, it was not my favorite. Of course, we had baguette every day! We had things like smoked mackerel , salmon, pate, ham, fig jam, etc. on them. Mmm :biggrin2:[/align]
[align=center]So that's pretty much how we spent the week in France really. It was lovely butI was a bit homesick. I had the pets on my mind a lot but luckily we got regular updates so that helped. It was also a big relief to know that Baloo was with someone he knew and enjoyed. It was nice because Jeff's mother often sat, had coffee, and played with them. That makes a big difference, especially for Baloo. [/align]
[align=center]France was lovely, but coming homewas oh so sweet...[/align]
