In Rambouillet, we were going to meet family, quite a bit of it actually. We saw 2 of my 3 cousins and spent a lovely (but unfortunately short) week with my aunt and uncle, Eliane and Geoff. On top of this, I got to meet Sophie's youngest Alix for the first time, and Virgil for the first time since I was able to cradle him in my arm. Kat got to meet them all!
First of all, we had to get to Sophie's place in Paris, which proved hard without a SIM card. But lucky a good samaritan came to our rescue, and Sophie came to meet us at the station, before taking us home to a lovely home-cooked meal where we spent the evening talking and catching up. Of course, Sophie noticed that we were acting a little weird, but couldn't work out why. We were desperately trying to get in touch with Tim & David to share the news of our engagement before sharing it with anyone else but those two somehow prove a little more elusive that other members of the family.
It was so nice getting to know the boys and have an extremely personalised tour of the gardens at Versailles. Sophie and the boys must have been there dozens of times, but they don't seem to tire of the history.
Next up was the short drive to Geoff and Eliane's place (slightly modified since I last saw it in 1999), joined after work by Phillippe every now and again by Monique, a close family friend. Dad had preceded our visit by a few weeks, having come to Rambouillet after leaving us in Turku, Finland, back in the days where I had a respectable beard. If they were sick of Australian Dashwoods they gave no sign of it, they wined and dined us so well, we were fit to bursting.
Sophie, Phillippe, Virgil and Alix spent the weekend with us in Rambouillet where we rode through the forest spying deer and boar (yes! the Asterix and Obelix kind) and paid a visit to the remarkable Espace Rambouillet where we saw a show on the birds of prey they are restoring back to health.
During the show, the birds fly right over your head. Luckily the trainers/keepers have yummier food than us, so the closest we came to being dinner was when one of the vulture's cracked Geoff over the head - probably because he's so tall!
Too much for one weekend? Not for us, we returned to Versailles to revisit the gardens, but this time with the fountains turned on. We had ninety minutes to get around. With our guides increasing from 3 to 7, a lot of shouting and only occasionally a bit of running I think we got to see just about everything, except the obelisk!
The King of the Titans who lost a battle with Jupiter, by being crushed by rocks was probably our favourite - Alex's too, I think.
The icing sugar on the crepe, was a dinner out with the whole crew, before Sophie, Phillippe, Virgil and Alex returned home.
We took a day to go out to visit my other cousin Annabel, and meet her partner Antoine at their place near Le Mans where they run a 'free angling' fishing farm - I can't pretend to know all about the types of fish and the enjoyment that people get from catching fish and putting them back, but there's enough people out there who do, so they've got a pretty good business going! They live on a beautiful lake, and as we were walking around it, one of the fisherman was weighing his catch. A whopping 23kg! Here you can fish and be amongst nature while camping out under the stars...but mainly fish!
Such a wonderful time and only a few days, it really makes one wish that France and Australia were a little closer together.
First of all, we had to get to Sophie's place in Paris, which proved hard without a SIM card. But lucky a good samaritan came to our rescue, and Sophie came to meet us at the station, before taking us home to a lovely home-cooked meal where we spent the evening talking and catching up. Of course, Sophie noticed that we were acting a little weird, but couldn't work out why. We were desperately trying to get in touch with Tim & David to share the news of our engagement before sharing it with anyone else but those two somehow prove a little more elusive that other members of the family.
It was so nice getting to know the boys and have an extremely personalised tour of the gardens at Versailles. Sophie and the boys must have been there dozens of times, but they don't seem to tire of the history.
Next up was the short drive to Geoff and Eliane's place (slightly modified since I last saw it in 1999), joined after work by Phillippe every now and again by Monique, a close family friend. Dad had preceded our visit by a few weeks, having come to Rambouillet after leaving us in Turku, Finland, back in the days where I had a respectable beard. If they were sick of Australian Dashwoods they gave no sign of it, they wined and dined us so well, we were fit to bursting.
Sophie, Phillippe, Virgil and Alix spent the weekend with us in Rambouillet where we rode through the forest spying deer and boar (yes! the Asterix and Obelix kind) and paid a visit to the remarkable Espace Rambouillet where we saw a show on the birds of prey they are restoring back to health.
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| http://www.asterix.com/ |
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| Le Tour de France |
During the show, the birds fly right over your head. Luckily the trainers/keepers have yummier food than us, so the closest we came to being dinner was when one of the vulture's cracked Geoff over the head - probably because he's so tall!
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| Alix took the lead on the bikes |
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| Monique looks like she's not entirely convinced |
The King of the Titans who lost a battle with Jupiter, by being crushed by rocks was probably our favourite - Alex's too, I think.
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| It's a good impression |
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| Virgil - a highly recommended Versailles tour guide. Look him up on Tripadvisor. Tours in English, French & German. |
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| A sneaky night out for crepes! Geoff, Kat, Alix, Sophie, Virgil, Phillippe, Rob & Eliane |
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| Looking back at the house from the far side of the lake |
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| Antoine, Eliane, Annabel, Kat & Rob |
Such a wonderful time and only a few days, it really makes one wish that France and Australia were a little closer together.
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