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France Day 25 - Tennis anyone?
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Back in Chateau-Gontier means a good night's sleep ... a relaxing morning with a walk to la boulangerrie with the kids in the AM ... and of course, TENNIS!
Janice kicks my butt AGAIN. 6-3, 6-2. Argh. Back to the house for her to rest with the kids, and then I head off to meet Hubert for another visit to his rural chateau. We play tennis for just over one hour, and talk for another two. We discuss everything from WW1 and WW2, religion, divorce, money ... its an enlightening time. My goal in tennis was to make him sweat at least a little. Last time, even with Janice and I tag-teaming him, he left us both exhausted and out of breath and he looked like he had just stepped out of the shower, fresh and cheery. ... Today, at least, I was able to get him to run around a bit. : )
It also works out wonderfully ... his daughter, a very bright and happy 18yr old named Caroline ... wants to babysit for us tonight! The first time we visited their home, Caroline showed that special spark with the kids that made us feel absolutely confident in her abilities as a sitter. She speaks English well, and was able to capture the children's attention in just a few moments. So, after tennis, it is planned that her mother will bring her to our house at 7pm to let Janice and I escape for a nice night on the town before our schedule gets crazy busy. Our exchange partners, Franck and Sandrine, were thoughtful enough to leave us a list of recommended restaurants, but unfortunately ... with it being summer vacation in Europe, and a Wednesday ... all of their choices were closed. I did, however, manage to connect with a woman who spoke English ...she answered even though the kitchen was closed ... and she gave us what turned out to be a GREAT recommendation. We ate at L'Aquarelle, http://www.restaurant-laquarelle.com/ . Awesome location and ambiance, and thank goodness ... the manager spoke English wonderfully and was able to help us make sense of the fancy menu. And what a menu it was.
Before I write about the dinner experience, a couple of notes on the kids. Its so cute. When we were in Spain, the kids were constantly saying "Ay Ay ay ay!" ... now Ella says non-stop "Viola!" ... .... Also, only the Styrsky kids say exclamations like, "What the ...?" .... and "Yeah baby!" ... and "Wowawoowa!". Love these kids of ours! Have you ever watched Iron Chef? They take the most bizarre ingredients and somehow form them in to a lavish feast. But every time I've watched the show, I've thought to myself, "Come on. Those judges have got to be lying. There is no way something that looks like that tastes as good as they are acting. Who wants a blended mango soup, for instance?!" ... Well, now I'm a believer. I've never eaten food like this. Ever. It defies explanation. Its amazingly good. But I simply can't explain the tastes or textures to you. Yes, I'll tell you what was in the food ...but the taste was not like anything I've ever had. There were hints of this or that, half way through a bite, you might have a vague sense of a familiar flavor ... but.... .... ah.... so good.
We return home with bellies full to the brim. We ate until it hurt. SOOOOOoooooo..... GOOD! A quick drive home for Caroline with hopes to see her and her family again before we leave. Maybe we will go out to play tennis with Franck and Hubert ... all of us together? To bed for Janice, ... I end up staying up till 2am blogging and working. Ouch. Goodnight! More thumbnails ...
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