France, part 1

Well, we came home on Saturday, and it's taken me 4 days just to make a first pass through the photos and videos. So the highlights of our trip will emerge slowly, over the next few days (weeks?)

We arrived at our gite (a gite is a rental house or apartment, pronounced with a soft "g") on Saturday June 24 exhausted (10 hour drive after an overnight plane ride). Well, the adult members of the party were exhausted. The youngest had ample sleep in his carseat all day, and was ready to party. Happily, there was a bit of a playground for energetic kids:

We did some walks in the woods around the gite, and managed to explore a nearby castle or two. The one below is at Puivert, a fairly well-preserved remnant of the crusades against the Cathars in the 12th and 13th centuries.

After seeing his first castle, SA was ready for lunch - we failed to make it to Mirepoix in time for the market, and instead went into a restaurant for lunch. SA enjoyed his cassoulet, disliked the vegetable soup we tried to give him, and really loved the chocolate mousse and creme brulee (well, seriously, who doesn't?) After, we hung out in the Mirepoix square for a bit.

And that covers the first 3 days. Tune in next time for: another castle! a beach! and an exciting altercation with a French girl!