France, part 4 and final

Right. This week has been dedicated to SA's first set of upper molars, and the misery caused thereby. So I'm short on sleep, and I'll wrap this up quickly.

We spent our second week ouside the small town Rodelle - around 15 minutes away was LeClerc, a nice supermarket where we bought provisions (and sheets and towels and other odds and ends, since the gite wasn't pre-provisioned. Perfectly normal in France, unheard of in the US.) At the front of the store was the Very Best Toy Ever (well, any toy with a steering wheel is currently the Very Best Toy Ever.) A young boy told me it didn't work, but since my guy was mostly interested in turning the wheel, it was perfect.

It was very hot for much of the week. Again, Rodelle in the background (it didn't end up being visible in the previous shot.)

RB and I ready for the main event of the week, a good friend's wedding. The day started rainy, then cleared up and was gorgeous for the late afternoon outdoor ceremony.

SA dressed up in his wedding finery - well, technically, my parents dressed him up. I mean, he's not really dressing himself quite yet. He started with the tie and jacket intact. He ended with his jacket gone, his tie hanging loosely, his shirt untucked, and apple juice dripping down the front. It was quite the party.

At this point my parents took him home for a peaceful evening, while RB and I stayed to party the night away. Some comments on the wedding:

- It was immensely cool to be watching France in the semis of the World Cup on the big screen TV during the reception among people who cared.

- Our party endurance is seriously lacking relative to that of our hosts - the wedding started at 4pm, so I thought staying until 12:30 was pretty good. But we left before the fireworks at 1, and well before many people who stayed until 3.

- There were any number of French people who sang at the reception, and everyone joined in for the choruses of what were obviously well-known songs. Why don't we have universally known songs in the US? All I could think of were children's songs and goofy things like the theme to Gilligan's Island. What are our alternatives? "American Pie"? "YMCA"? "Oscar Meyer Weiner" or "Summer Lovin"? Maybe I just don't do enough (any) karaoke.

Anyway, it was a beautiful wedding and reception, and a lovely vacation. And the trip home doesn't bear mentioning (up and down the aisles for 8 hours! no nap for 8 hours! The only mitigating factor is that SA had no jet lag so maybe I'd best quit complaining.)