Oops!

I just realized I must have deleted this photo of Evan in front of the fortress as I was editing some text. Sorry, Ev!

Tour de France Stage 4: Torrières & Collioure

We took it easy the next day and went to the beach at Torrières about 15 minutes away. The beach was completely empty mainly because it was chilly but the sun was shining. The kids got into the water, but Craig and I didn't even attempt it. We searched for shells, played boule and had a picnic. We did have a very interesting experience with what seemed to be a homeless and crazy gypsy woman. Far off in the distance, we saw a figure approaching and dragging something. As it came closer, we saw it was a woman pulling a basket on wheels along the coastline. She stopped directly in front of us, mumbled something, started playing in the sand looking for something, stood back up and continued on her journey. Then about 25 feet away from us, she sat down and rested for about 15 minutes, got back up and continued on her way and eventually disappeared. Just one of those kooky things. Craig and I couldn't get over the amount of energy required to drag that wheeled basket along the sand.

The next day we planned to go into Perpignan to see a fortress and the big city. We entered the city and found our destination but could not find a single place to park! Sooo, we decided to keep going south to a small town called Collioure and what a fantastic decision that was! Sometimes things are just meant to be. The town was simply charming and picturesque as you will see in the following photos. We played in the sand, shopped, toured around the Templar castle which jutted out into the water. Matisse and especially Picasso spent a lot of their time painting in this town (Picasso was born very closeby). We had a very enjoyable day.

Nous aimons Collioure.

The patenque or boule court

There were probably 5 or 6 games being played simultaneously. The man in the baseball cap is holding a string with a magnet on the end and uses it to pick up his ball. The trees have hooks sunk into them at shoulder height to hang your boule bag and equipment.

That Voice

Allow me to preface this story by saying that our dining room has a Pergo-type floor and plaster walls and everything sounds much louder in here than it might actually be in real time.

That said, we were sitting at the dinner table this evening talking about stuff. Owen was contributing to the discussion in his "I am the third child of three boys and I need to be heard over everyone" voice which I am sure many of you have experienced at one point in time.

After he had been excused, I said to Craig in semi-jest that Owen's voice might drive me to commit murder one day. Craig responded, "We need a tapestry in the room". Finn then responded, "We need a tape-estry" and I replied drily, "We just need some tape."

People Magazine is Spot On!

I just read on Yahoo! that People magazine has chosen Hugh Jackman as the Sexiest Man of 2008. They are sooo on target, I can't even believe it. Just LOOK at this picture:

And this one:

Maybe three or four years back, my friend, Sue H., and I went to NYC on a bus trip with all of her yenta friends from work. While there, we saw two brand-new broadway shows, Wicked and The Boy from Oz. Needless to say, Wicked is a total blockbuster and was from the start, but Hugh Jackman starred in this one-man show The Boy from Oz and he was absolutely amazing. He oozed charisma like no one I have ever seen. We sat close enough to see his sweat. He eventually won the Tony in 2004 for his performance. I think this performance was post-Wolverine (X-men) but definitely after his Oklahoma days - in which he was also really good and is shown on PBS every once in a while. Okay, so Van Helsing was a joke, but he still looked good! He's really funny in Flushed Away too and I highly recommend The Prestige with Christian Bale as well, a duo definitely easy on the eyes.
If only David Beckham had a voice and Australian accent like Hugh Jackman!

I really like the fact that Posh is cropped out of this photo.

Tour de France Stage 3: Uzerche-Montauban-Claira

We left Uzerche with full bellies and started our last trip south. On the way, we stopped in the city of Montauban for a trip to the loo and a run around the park. Here are some photos:

We made it to Claira around 3 pm and explored the house. Craig and Owen went for a bike ride to get a baguette and a bottle of wine and we all relaxed that evening.

We highly recommend this house so if you are ever interested in going to southwest France, look it up at: http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p53690. In fact, just look it up anyway because the photos are great and accurate. It sleeps up to eight easily and had a pack and play for a small child as well. The owners were really easy to work with and they have a French neighbor who is very helpful if needed. Late spring to early fall is probably the optimum time, but it was still okay in October, although a little chilly and windy.

British Translation of the Day

Finn is going on a field trip tomorrow so I asked him if he wanted to wear his wellies because it's been wet here (surprise!).

His response: "My teacher recommended just trainers and mufti that's appropriate for the weather."

Translation: Running shoes and casual clothes

My Last Political Rant, Simply Said

Yes, we can, OBAMA!!!

Did anyone notice how the crowd at the Obama celebration clapped for John McCain (albeit weakly) when his name was first mentioned in Obama's VICTORY speech but when McCain first mentioned Barack Obama's name in his CONCESSION speech NO ONE clapped, but instead booed outright? If anything, that signifies the spirit of the Republican party. No matter what your political affiliation, you should think about those two moments and decide which side you are on: a devisive, bitter America or a hopeful, welcoming America who wants to move forward. We still have work ahead of us. Join the cause.

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

Editor's note: Bonfire Night is in full swing right now (11/5 7:20 pm) and all of our neighbors are lighting off fireworks right next to our houses! The park our house overlooks is full of crazy fireworks. It's a bit unnerving but pretty. There are like 10 mini 4th of July's going on simutaneously.

"Remember, remember the 5th of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot
We see no reason why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!"

On the night of November 5th throughout Britain, bonfires are set alight, effigies are burned, and fireworks are set off. This is to celebrate the defeat of the "Gunpowder Plot", a conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.

The Story of the Gunpowder Plot

After Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603, English Catholics had hoped that her successor, King James I would be more tolerant of their religion, but this wasn't the case.

In 1605, Guy Fawkes joined with a group of four other Catholics led by Robert Catesby, in a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament, which would kill the King and Members of Parliament, who were making life difficult for Catholics. To carry out their plan, they stored 36 barrels of gunpowder in a cellar just under the House of Lords. However, one of the conspirators, Francis Tresham, sent an anonymous letter of warning to his brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle, to stay away from the Parliament on November 5th. The warning letter reached the King, and the King's forces made plans to stop the conspirators. The King's soldiers discovered Guy Fawkes and the barrels of gunpowder in the cellar under the Houses of Parliament in the early hours of November 5th. He and his fellow conspirators were caught, tortured and executed as traitors.

Bonfires and Burning the Guy

The tradition of Bonfire Night began the same year as the failed Gunpowder Plot. The conspiracy was foiled in the night between the 4th and 5th November 1605, and already on 5th November agitated Londoners, who knew little more than their King had been saved, lit bonfires in thanksgiving.

In 1606 Parliament agreed to make 5th November a day of public thanksgiving and ever since then the day has been celebrated with bonfires and fireworks.
Preparations for Bonfire Night include making a dummy of Guy Fawkes (called the "Guy"), which is placed on top of the bonfire before it is set alight. Sometimes in the week or so before Bonfire Night children will take their Guys on to the street and beg "a penny for the Guy". The money then goes towards the fireworks.

The extent of the celebrations and the size of the bonfire varies from one community to the next. In Sussex, towns such as Lewes compete to have the best Bonfire Night celebrations. The Guys used in these celebrations can be enormous - the height of a small house - and under the guy's arm is placed a barrel of gunpowder, so you can imagine the bang when it goes off!

Bonfire Food

One of the best parts of Bonfire Night is bonfire food. Traditional food includes potatoes baked in the bonfire, sausages cooked over the flames and marshmallows toasted in the fire.

Tour de France Stage 2: LeMans-Tours-Uzerche

We continued our trip southward and stopped in Tours for a picnic lunch and a much needed playground break. Craig and I both forgot it was our 19th wedding anniversary until the late morning. A couple of romantics, eh?

Tours was having an IKEA grand opening the next day and we could actually see the building from the playground. I was lamenting that we missed the chance to be the "foreigners" at an IKEA. Now THAT would have been an awesome tourist experience!

We arrived in Uzerche by 4:30 pm which was refreshing and checked into our hotel. Finn, Owen, Craig and I walked around town until our late dinner. We ate at the hotel and had to converse completely in French! As an aside, there was a kids' menu which included of all things a terrine AKA pate. Evan and Finn pretty much finished it without complaint. Owen and I traded starters. Then, they ate duck which I told them was chicken. It was "the fanciest meal" Finn said he'd ever eaten. It was a wonderful intro to France and the kids were duly impressed that I could order in French and understand our waitress who was very patient.

This is a zigzag staircase built into the hill.

One of the old gates of Uzerche

The windows along the streets are well-known for their innovative construction and are very well-crafted, therefore they are status symbols.

In the underground crypt of l'Eglise de Saint Pierre

Interesting fountain sculpture in the town square

Tour de France Stage 1: Cheltenham-Dover-Calais-LeMans

We got an early start for Dover where we caught the ferry to Calais, about and hour and a half trip from load to unload. Dover was nice and perhaps we will explore the town another time. There seems to be a few things to see, especially war-related spy stuff. The cliffs were also impressive.

We ate at our first British Burger King (unimpressive) and shopped for a map before leaving. In the map was a GB sticker which I have really wanted to get being the car sticker queen that I am and we realized that it was required when driving in Europe to have your nationality sticker next to your license plate unless your car has fancy plates that already show the nationality which ours does not. On the ferry we also learned that they had some thingie to cut down on glare since our head lights are now pointed in the wrong direction - we had to have them altered for left-hand driving - but my dear husband basically dismissed the announcement. More on that later...

The ferry was a bit choppy. Finn & I were a bit icky at first but recouped nicely. Owen wore seasickness bands and that helped him a ton. We cashed in some pounds for euros and were set to go.

This vision of leaving England should have been a moment of foreshadowing.

We arrived easily in Calais only to note that there are minimal highway signs pointing one in the direction they might like to take and we subsequently got on the wrong highway, but were going in the right direction and went with the flow. My first impressions of the outskirts of Calais: desolate, marshy, industrial. My first impressions of France past Calais: rural, hilly, agricultural, desolate.

So, we are driving and driving to LeMans to spend the night and it's rainy and getting dark. I don't want to turn on the headlights because I know I am going to bright light the oncoming traffic but I must. Sure enough, about 50 cars (no lie) flash me to turn off my brights along the way and I curse Craig mentally and sigh every time for not buying whatever we should have bought. As we go through the last few peage (tolls), our credit card gets declined (hmmm...) and THANKFULLY I exchanged some sterling because we used ALL of it, plus 10 euros I had in my wallet from a previous trip.

We finally arrive in LeMans around 8:45 pm and the hotel reception closes at 9 pm, but we can check in automatically by machine with the credit card used to book the hotel online. We are on the right road, see the hotel, pass the hotel and get back on the highway we just left! A definite sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach moment. Luckily, there was an exit (which we learned doesn't occur often) and between Craig and I, we manoeuvred back through dark neighborhoods and a zone industrielle. I couldn't believe it but we made it!!!

We arrive at the hotel at 9:10 and get into the gated parking lot. We go to the check-in machine, find our reservation, Craig inserts the credit card and it doesn't work!!! Sinking feeling moment #2. We realize that it's been put on a hold because a couple of foreign charges triggered it. The same thing happened when we moved to the UK. So... we need to call the US and luckily there is a six hour time difference. I am having sinking feeling #3 because I have no idea if my UK cell phone will accept our UK only phone card access number in France to call the US and if not, where do we get a French phone card at 9 pm? Well, guess what?? Technology is awesome - phone card worked and after Capital One lectured Craig that we should have called to tell them we were travelling, the hold was lifted.

It's now 9:45ish and we are all so tired and stressed but the kids were super troopers. I, being the oh so patient person that I am, go to try the check-in again after waiting all of 3 minutes and it still doesn't work. I am so crabby and go back to the car where Craig patiently waits another 7 minutes and then tries. He returns with two room keys and receipts!!!!

A major McCarter family cheer ensued.

We hightailed it to our very basic but never more-appreciated hotel rooms. Highlights included Finn waking me up at 3 AM and Evan just about flooding the bathroom while taking a shower, but we think it was designed for it since it was like a full port-a-potty placed into a hotel room. The whole thing was a plastic room that could easily be hosed down. The next morning we experienced our first French petit dejeuner, hit the ATM and sped away from LeMans in true race car fashion.

Lessons learned: have appropriate cash, call Capital One, get a phone card, don't drive at night unless you fork over the cash for the headlight blinders.

Come back soon. It only gets better!