Adventure in Normandie

The kids had their last day of school today. We returned all the textbooks, gave out little Aussie gifts and had some lolly parties at school. Instagram and Snapchat details have been exchanged and promises to keep in touch. The kids have made some good friends in a short time.

They both got some good test results and have had a good academic term. Back to Australia for the last part of term 4 which includes preparing Louis for High School. He will be a step ahead!

Louis has been invited to fill in for the u15 soccer team tomorrow so we will fit that in, along with welcoming some visitors. I have started to pack our bags as well😣

Another walk along the river and village to enjoy the autumn colours.

I keep buying cheese but starting to doubt I can eat it all! Cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!

The beautiful weather just keeps going! Today was another lovely day. Although I was mainly inside painting and cleaning and preparing for paying guests, I did get out for a late run.

Lavinia had an early finish so I got her to work on the lawn 😁.

In this photo you can see how close we are to the river. Just high enough up the hill to avoid floods.

Final jobs include, paying the cantine bill, for the two months it is 84€ per child for lunch each day. I reckon that’s a bargain. Not just the cost but the effort involved in shopping for lunch supplies and making lunches! Louis wishes we had the same cantine in Australia 😁.

While working around the house I listen to a mix of FranceInfo and audio books. I love a bit of political news so have caught up on my French politics. I was surprised to learn today that the latest shortage is paracetamol! Already I find it strange you have to go into a chemist to buy it and can’t get it at the supermarket and now people are limited to two boxes at a time. Which could be fine except a box is usually only 8 tablets!

On a trip to the airport the only audio book I had loaded was Anna Karenina. So I have been listening to that through all my tasks and I have loved it! It is a remarkable book and covers a huge number of topics and while a totally different period and lifestyle, it’s also very relevant. If you have a spare 35 hours on a task, I recommend it 😁.

The thing with half-timbered houses is that they require a fair amount of maintenance! My final job is painting and painting. And then cleaning up from the painting!

The weather has stayed remarkably warm and there is much discussion of changed weather conditions. 23 today in Normandie! The petrol problem seems to be almost resolved and the school holidays are only two days away.

The autumn leaves are everywhere now. Yesterday driving along near one of our local chateau, that of Robert le Diable, the colours were lovely.

We also saw a big ship on the river which is pretty common but still impressive.

It’s crazy to think how quickly two months can go but we have done a lot and had an amazing experience!

Success! I got some petrol for the car today (well diesel). I was recommended an app to check for local petrol supplies.

I am spending this final week getting the house back in order for Airbnb guests, with some improvements! I had a great meeting with our caretaker and we came up with many plans.

Lidl had some more plants and mulch on sale.

The heather comes in many colors which is pretty amazing. The grass seed I have sown is starting to grow well too. It is so green in the garden.

I ordered some new photos on canvas for the house and they arrived via UPS today and I spent some time putting them up.

Time flies when you are having fun and Seb certainly made the most of his visit. Today he had to go back to his school duties and take the rather long way home via Hong Kong!

I ended up spending a lot of time on trains today but we made it safely home to Normandie.

Of course we had to sustain ourselves for the trip😁. Crêpes are a favourite, I had ham and cheese and Lavinia had Nutella and banana.

As much as I love Paris, it was lovely to get home to the clean, green fields of Normandie. As Louis remarked, Paris has a certain smell 🤨.

As convenient as the metro, trains and trams are, I got tired of being squished on them. We passed a lot of people heading to Nation for a big protest against the cost of living increases. There is talk of a general strike on Tuesday.

No petrol at the station on the way home from the train 😩.

It was less rainy than yesterday in Paris. We had a lovely brunch in the 11th with Estelle. When I say brunch, it was brunch food but most brunches in Paris start at 12.00 😁

Louis ran into one of his favourite players in the metro!

Just when I was starting to get worried about my half a tank of fuel the situation seemed to be resolving.

However, when we passed by again tonight. The empty signs were back up! 😬

We had a little visit to the Eiffel Tower. I wanted to walk up but the lines were too big.

Every year at the end of summer the grass in front of the Tower called the Champs de Mars is ruined by all the people and visitors sitting on it. This year the drought caused even worse damage. It looks as though some serious work is going on to replace it. There are also some new buildings at the end of the champs. For the Olympics the beach volleyball is going to be held here.

We passed by the Australian Embassy, not the best photo but had to take one! So many hours spent in these buildings.

We had a lovely dinner and catch up with friends. So nice to rediscover friendships unchanged after a few years absence ❤️ Merci.

We’ve come to Paris for a weekend and to farewell Seb at the airport on Sunday. Time to be tourists in Paris!

There is a huge worksite going on around the cathedral to fix the fire that occurred in 2019. It’s amazing to see the size of the worksite and the planning that has gone into the repairs.

Louis on the island namesake.

We got some navigo cards for the metro. Paper tickets are being phased out soon so time to get a plastic card for 2€ that you can recharge.

We stopped for an aperitif.

People often ask us what we miss about France. There are many things but food is definitely one of them. Fresh baguettes, lovely patisseries, soft cheeses! So many favourites. Here are a few photos.

I bought some plants to put around the garden. It’s always hard to know what will survive. After 3 years and a fair amount of neglect, only roses, lavender and rosemary survived!

Normandie gets pretty cold, no snow but pretty cold during the day so not all plants survive. During spring people put in a lot of seasonal flowers. I bought a few kinds of flowering heather which look very pretty right now.

Seb and I added a screen to the ceiling of the fireplace. It will keep the warmth in when the fireplace is not in use and also keep the flies out! So many come in search of warmth and die in the house!

I was busy at the end of the day and didn’t get to the bakery. Luckily the baguette machine was stocked and ready to do go in the next village!

Meanwhile, Lavinia and Louis have been going to school. They have been doing very well and learning a lot about many subjects, how to organise themselves and having lots of tests. It has been a particularly big change for Louis going from year 6 and primary school to the second year of a high school ( middle school) set up.

One of the big changes has been getting up about an hour earlier than in Australia and having to catch the bus.

Most nights there is some homework and there is a big focus on revision to ensure you have really taken in the lesson. One of the teachers explained that you learn about 70% in class but at home when you revise you get to 100%.

My observation is that things seem to be more structured and follow a definite pattern. You will get a ‘ note’ if you don’t have the right books or materials or did not do your homework. 5 notes and you get detention.

This is all excellent learning for Louis who is known for being forgetful and not tracking what he needs on a particular day for school.

The kids’ French has been excellent and they have not any problems due to that. They are regularly complemented as not having an accent.

I think the topics and subjects taught are at a similar level to Australia but perhaps there is more breadth. Louis is doing three languages, French, English and Spanish. Lavinia, is doing four with the addition of Greek.

They both have physics and chemistry as a subject that is separate from a kind of biology/ sustainability/ social impact subject.

Louis was proud to finish his scale château for maths homework.

Lavinia has been learning about the First World War and Verdun, a topic close to my heart.