Hello! scusi, Buon giorno. Sorry I forgot my Italian. In reality I have not learn that language yet... Anyway, we are in Laveno, Italy, a very charming village where the Romanini house is located. My parents brought me here because apparently we will hang out with some very cool people (their college friends) whom I have not met yet. So let's start...

Bonjour! Scusi, Buon giorno. Desole mais j'ai oublie mon italien. En fait je n'ai pas encore appris cette langue... Bon nous sommes a Laveno en Italie, un charmant petit village ou la maison des Romanini est situee. Mes parents m'ont amene la car apparemment on va passer du temps avec des gens tres cool (leurs copains d'universite) que je n'ai pas encore rencontre. Alors commencons...

This is Laveno view from the top of the street of the Romanini house. But let's get closer.

C'est Laveno vu du haut de la rue ou se trouve la maison des Romanini. Mais approchons nous.

Nice! Authentic!

Very cute village on Lago Maggiore.

Tres jolie village sur le lago Maggiore.

With Monte Rosso in the back.

Avec le Monte Rosso en arriere plan

I met some very cool kids. The biggest ones are Reza and Laith (picture above) and then there is Sarah who is 2, and Lucas is 7 months old.

J'ai rencontre des enfants tres cool. Les plus grands sont Reza et Laith (photo ci-dessus) et ensuite il y'a Sarah qui a 2 ans, et Lucas qui a 7 mois.

Look how proper I look! Impressing no?

Regardez comment je me tiens a table! Impressionant non?

This is Aline and baby Lucas.

Ca c'est Aline et bebe Lucas.

I like him a lot, we had a great time together. Cannot wait to be older.
Je l'aime beaucoup, on s'est bien amuse ensemble. J'ai hate que l'on soit plus grands.

And yes, we are cuddling.

Et oui, on se fait des calins.

And having fun in the mini pool!

Et on s'amuse bien dans la mini piscine!

Here we are at the Magnoni house in Varese.

La nous sommes a la maison Magnoni a Varese.

It has been a while since you have not seen me with my thumb!

Ca fait un moment que vous ne m'avez pas vu avec mon pouce!

Laith with his dad! He is so funny!

Laith avec son papa! Il est trop marrant!

Massimo and his girls (Aline, Blanca, Mimi) but Gwendolina is not in the picture!

Massimo et ses filles (Aline, Blanca, Mimi) mais Gwendolina n'est pas sur la photo!

Despite the fact that this swimming pool is heated, I am sorry but it is NOT warm enough for ME.

Malgre que cette piscine soit chauffee, je suis desole mais l'eau n'est PAS assez chaude pour MOI That's it, I got them all!

Ca y'est elles y sont toutes!

On the way back we took the train. But, OH my god, my mom cut my head! I cannot believe it!

Au retour on a pris le train. Mais, OH mon dieu, ma maman m'a coupe la tete! Je n'arrive pas a le croire!
100% fun

Aren't we cute? My mom must have taken that picture!

On est pas mignons? C'est ma maman qui a du prendre cette photo!

Enjoying each other's company and having fun together.

Savourant la compagnie des uns et des autres et passant de bons moments ensemble.

Aline and Lucas at the beach.

Aline et Lucas a la plage.

This big smile, those extended arms, believe it or not they are directed at ME!

Cet enorme sourire, ces bras etendus, croyez moi ou pas ils se dirigent vers MOI!
PLEASE, do NOT ask me what was wrong with me THAT day! I cannot believe I cried in this beautiful's woman's arms.

SVP, NE me demandez pas ce qui allait mal CE jour la! J'arrive pas a croire que j'ai pleure dans les bras de cette femme magnifique. Jamal and I, Lucas and his dad

Jamal et moi, Lucas et son papa Group picture: Serge, Jamal, Marcel, Clara, Noemie, Mymi et Marika
The boyz: Serge, Jamal, my dad and I.

Les garcons: Serge, Jamal, mon papa et moi.

Right corner of the table, Mymi, Maggie, Mai and my mom.

Coin droit de la table avec mymi, Maggie, Mai et ma maman.

Hello, this is me, myself and I! Apologies for ANOTHER picture of myself but my parents find me cute:)

Salut, c'est moi! Milles excuses pour ENCORE une photo de moi mais mes parents me trouvent mignon!

Today we are taking the boat and visiting the Borromean Islands (isola Madre, Isola Pescatore, and Isola Bella).
Aujourd'hui nous prenons le bateau et visitons les iles borromees (isola Madre, Isola Pescatore, and Isola Bella).

My dad and I eating on Isla Pescatore.

Mon papa et moi. Nous mangeons sur l'ile Pescatore.

Amer, Maggie and Laith eating as well. Look at what Laith is eating, this is what I ate too! Pasta! Afterall we are in Italy!

Amer, Maggie et Laith mangent aussi. Regardez ce qu'il y'a dans l'assiette de Laith, c'est ce que moi aussi j'ai mange. Ben oui, des pates a la sauce tomate, apres tout nous sommes en italie!

Since Sarah went for a nap...

Comme Sarah a pris une sieste...

I felt lost and I started to walk and walk...

Je me suis senti perdu alors j'ai commence a marche...

And quickly, I met my buddy Laith, that was so cool to see him again!

Et rapidement j'ai rencontre mon copain Laith, c'etait vraiment trop sympa de le revoir!

then, I started running after a peacock, it was a lot of fun!

Ensuite j'ai couru apres un paon et je me suis super bien amuse!

A little tired, I found Tiago and decided to get in his arms.

Un peu fatigue, j'ai trouve Tiago et j'ai decide d'aller dans ses bras.

Surrounded by women (Aline, Mai and my mom) in the back of the boat, I felt I could let go and cuddle.
Entoure de femmes (Aline, Mai et maman) a l'arriere du bateau, je me suis relaxe et je suis devenu tout calin.

I started my stay in France by going to Christelle and Crispian's wedding. It was really nice they were a bunch of kids to play with and a lot of brits! Then, we spent one week with Rod, Stacey, Meena, Oliver and Marley. I got sick during that week so I did not play with then as much as I would have liked to. The last week, I spent it with my dear cousin Eva and my new cousin Leo.

J'ai commence mon sejour en France en allant au mariage de Christelle et Crispian. C'etait super sympa, il y'avait pas mal d'enfants pour jouer et aussi beaucoup de British! Ensuite on a passe une semaine avec Rod, Stacey, Meena, Oliver, and Marley. J'ai ete malade cette semaine la alors je n'ai pas pu jouer avec eux autant que j'aurais voulu. J'ai passe la derniere semaine avec ma chere cousine Eva et mon nouveau cousin Leo.

Eva, Leo and I at Christelle and Crispian's wedding.
Eva, Leo et moi au mariage de Christelle et Crispian.

Meena, Oliver and I. It is really cool to have older siblings. They really take good care of me!Meena, Olivier et moi. C'est vraiment cool d'avoir un grand frere and et une grande soeur. Ils s'occupent vraiment bien de moi!
Marley and I looking at the Loire river from La Guiguette de chez Jojo.

Marley et moi regardons la loire de La Guiguette de chez Jojo.

Oliver and I checking out the car mom and dad rented. I had a blast!

Olivier et moi explorons la voiture que maman et papa ont loue. C'etait genial!

Le jardin du Mail a Angers

With Eva

Avec Eva

With Eva and her father on a carrousel. I was not even scared!

Avec Eva et son papa sur un manege. Meme pas peur!

The three cousins on a pony.

Les trois cousins sur un poney.

My cousin Eva, her cousin Valentin, and I. They call us "the bad guys"

Ma cousine Eva, son cousin Valentin et moi. On nous appelle "le gang des mechants"

Since June 4th, I am 1! I now have 7 teeth, I weigh 10.2 kilos and measure 78 cm.
I have been walking since May 16th and my favorite games on the playground are the slide and the swing.

Depuis le 4 juin, j'ai 1 an! J'ai maintenant 7 dents, je pese 10.2 kg et je mesure 78 cm.
Je marche depuis le 16 mai et mes jeux preferes sont le toboggan et la balancoire.

What else can I say... My big passion is to empty drawers and I get at it almost everyday in my own bedroom but more interestingly in the kitchen.

Quoi vous dire d'autre... Ma grande passion c'est de tout sortir des tiroirs et je pratique presque tous les jours dans ma chambre mais aussi beaucoup interessant dans la cuisine.

Mom finally posted some pictures so enjoy!
Maman a finalement poster des photos alors passez un bon moment en ma companie!

One of my favorite passtime as you will notice!

Un de mes passe temps favori comme vous le remarquerez!

Chilling

Tranquille

Running after pigeons

Je cours apres les pigeons
Trying my first Guayabera over my pyjama. Birthday present from my grandma Tamara! It is cool, my dad has the exactly same one!
J'essaie ma premiere Guayabera par dessus mon pyjama. C'est mon cadeau d'anniversaire de ma mamie Tamara! C'est cool, mon papa a la meme!
That's it! It is June 4th, my first birthday cake!
Ca y'est on est le 4 juin, c'est mon premier gateau d'anniversaire!
MMMmmmm that was so good!
MMMmmmm c'etait tellement bon!

That afternoon I went to the park with Amandine, my friend Noah and Mom

Cet apres midi la je suis alle au parc avec Amandine, mon copain Noah et maman

June 8th, before my birthday party I decided to fall asleep in my grandpa's arm so I could get the necessary energy to play with my friends later.

Le 8 juin, le jour de la fete de mon anniversaire, j'ai decide de m'endormir dans les bras de mon papi afin d'avoir assez d'energie pour ensuite jouer avec mes copains.

My dad and I wearing our Guayaberas

Mon papa et moi portant nos Guayaberas

La pinata

My dad and I and Vincianne who also wanted to be in the picture

Mon papa et moi et aussi Vincianne qui voulait aussi etre sur la photo

Too much excitment: my new toys, Louis blowing bubbles...

Trop de choses interessantes: mes nouveaux jouets, Louis qui fait des bulles...

My mom and I

Ma maman et moi

Having a blast!

Je passe un super apres midi!

Just a little tired, taking a break.

Un peu fatigue, je fais une petite pause.

Doing much better! That's it for today, no more pictures!

Je me sens beaucoup mieux! Ca y'est pour aujourd'hui, plus de photos!

October


It's Anselm's first autumn and here in his little cocoon, as well as everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, in places he does not even know exist nor can even imagine, the days are shorter, the nights are longer, and one day for the first time, his body shivered in an involuntary response to a chill wind heretofore unknown to this newcomer. A June baby.

Yet, all is not lost. It may be autumn in Europe, but we're in Spain. That means many things including that that while you may have to come to terms with predominantly grey skies and steady drizzles in the northern latitudes, here there are still plenty of opportunities for this kind of thing...

Anselm makes it out to the beach for the first time

Believe it or not, this is a beach in Barcelona. Perhaps not downtown, but not too far either. Where, you might ask, are the hordes of sangria-swilling tourists? Well, you certainly won't find them here. This beach is rather tricky to access as it is right in front of a military compound. Some of the buildings are visible in the background.

We gained access to this gem through a friend of ours who is a career army guy although you would not know it by looking at him. In fact, I've never seen him in uniform and am not even sure he actually wears one to work. In any case, I certainly couldn't picture it.

We came here for a change-of-the-season BBQ and after gorging ourselves with way too much meat, we made our way past the officer's club lounge, past the pool, through the gate, and out to the Mediterranean. Nice.

This was Anselm's firs time at the beach (I don't think accompanying us to a beach-side "chiringuito" counts). And while it was October, the late afternoon sun was still warm enough to counter the soft wind that sent waves curling up the sand toward us.

The Frazier men caught on a moment of quiet contemplation

Steph and Anselm soak up the sun as a ship rolls by almost unnoticed on the horizon

That's one of the cool things about Barcelona. This is a place that leaves little room if any for ambivalence. The pace is furious; the streets are crowded, noisy, and dirty; people usually range from cold to downright nasty. That's when you ask yourself what the f*** are you doing here.

Then, there are days like this when you discover a nice quiet spot like this and gaze out to the horizon and thank the fortune that brought you here.

About a week after that, a week of buses and metros, of pushing and shoving through crowds, of working way too much, it was time to go out and find some more ying for all that yang. This time we went with Roland and Andrea (check out their blog on the sidebar) to the park.

Yep, a Sunday family picnic at the park. Gabriela is just a few months older than Anselm and Louis is 3. While we knew each other before, it's been great to get closer to them now that we have Anselm and lots of common experiences to share. People with children often tell the childless how their arrival changes everything. One of those things is your social life. Childless couples, not to mention single friends, just don't come around as much any more. It's nothing to take personal, it's just that mobilising on moment's notice is a bit more complicated. It usually involves a complex logistics exercise and a great deal of determination.

So after a few failed attempts to hook up, we finally made our way to the park on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with the kids. Lovely.

Andrea feeds Gabriela

Roland feeds Steph with Louis looking on



Louis showing off his tree-climbing skills

Post-picnic stop by the beach. That face Anselm is making is an early warning sign he will soon enter the "take me home NOW" stage.

Yerevan



Yerevan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerevan) is the capital of Armenia, the easternmost country I have ever been to. It is also the first, and so far the only, former Soviet republic upon which I have set foot. I have to say that not really knowing what to expect, I was rather pleasantly surprised and I found the city, the country and it's people to be elegant and charming.


So how did it come to be that a boy from La Ceiba ends up in in Yerevan contemplating Mount Ararat seen here from the hotel window?






Ah, well such is the glamorous life of the international consultant. At least that's what I keep telling myself to forget the bitch-ass corporate whores that we are. The reality is that most of the time you fly coach, eat shitty food, and stay in hotels that look like this.





To give you an idea of how I end up in places like this, I should probably spend some time explaining a few quirks about what I do and how funny this business can be. Earlier this year we got shortlisted for a project that I was almost certain we would win. We had done the previous Strategic Planning study and were (so I thought) the logical choice to win the implementation project. I knew the Client well and we had a great working and personal relationship that I would even go as far as describing it as chummy.


Things looked great, at least until somebody in a warehouse in Miami put my box in a bin or belt that read Brazil instead of the Bahamas. And just like that, everything changes. Months worth of work, the prospects of a lucrative project and more importantly, the the idea of living the glamorous (beach-side) life of the international consultant, were gone.


So that's just how it is. You win some and loose some. And most of the time it is for reasons completely beyond your control.


About that time, we found out we were shortlisted for a couple of projects in Armenia which we did not expect. We went ahead and put together a proposal almost convinced that we wouldn't win but I felt it was just not good manners or good business to just not respond. And somehow, we pulled it off. We won. Again, for reasons mostly beyond our control and the details of which I prefer to keep in that kind of mysterious realm.


So there I was, on a red-eye flight over the Black Sea looking out at the lights of towns and fishing villages of the Turkish coastline and gliding east. Steadily quietly slipping past countless meridians to arrive at 44 degrees 30 minutes East. Always East.


The long overnight flight gave me some time to reflect as did the conversation with my neighbor on the flight. I don't usually find much conversation on flights because...well actually, I don't know why but maybe I'll post a blog entry on that topic some other time.


That night though I was sitting next to a man who's story I would later conclude was perhaps very similar to that of most others on that flight and indeed many of the people who visit the country. He said he was Armenian, despite the fact that he was born in Iran and has lived in the US for decades now. He was traveling half-way around the globe from L.A. to a country he had only been to once before and in which he had never lived, but was to him his uncontested home. He was going home.


He said that his grandfather, like many Armenians, took refuge in Iran after the Turkish genocide (I imagine they went wherever they could). To put this exodus in perspective, he told me some figures that I would hear repeated many times over the following days. The Armenian population today is roughly 12 million, buy only 3 million are in Armenia and the rest in a Diaspora spread far and wide but with amazingly strong ties to that country, and that city, which they hold as their spiritual home.


We continued talking about the concept of home and identity, boundaries and borders all the way until we began our descent around 4 am and were interrupted by something I have never experienced before in a flight and seldom anywhere else.


From the back of the plane came the unmistakable sound of women singing. It started as a low playful, perhaps wistful humming among friends that grew until almost the entire plane was singing old Armenian folk songs about Yerevan. Songs they had probably heard and sang at family gatherings in faraway places like London or Buenos Aires, New York or Paris. Songs of mountains and lakes they had never seen. Songs of streets they had never walked. Songs that proved the power of an oral tradition to preserve identity through time and space. And here they were, gliding down to a blanket of lights of that Yerevan of their grandfathers, that Yerevan of the old songs, that Yerevan that had been cut-off from those who had gone West instead of East almost a hundred years before. At long last here they were. And they sang, sang all the way to the gate.


I don't mind telling you I was moved to tears. No matter what might happen after that during the trip, Yerevan had me at hello.





Moon over Mt. Ararat







View of Hrazdan River canyon from hotel window



So what does one find in a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, that region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea that is neither Europe nor Asia yet both?


The truth is, I found it to be quite European. The city has a modern downtown planned and constructed in the 1930's under the Soviet era. That means that is has wide boulevards that terminate in monuments or large plazas like Republic Square seen here.

Statue at World War II Monument

View of Opera House from WWII monument

View of WWII monument from the south

Opera House

The city has a ring of parks surrounding much of it. Here near the Opera House.

Silhouette of the city's planner with the steps to the WWII monument in background

As you can see, the city is rather clean and lined with trees and overall you get the sense that it works, or at least it used to. The fact that I was there betrays the reality that there are some serious mobility issues in the city in terms of both traffic and public transport.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and formal independence came a corresponding collapse in funding for all basic services. I was told that the first years were the worst with no gas nor electricity (meaning no heat in this country where winter temperatures dip to -20 degrees Centigrade). To top it all off, they fought a bitter war with neighboring Azerbaijan during the same period in the early 90's.


In general, I got a sense that despite the many signs of prosperity and even opulence (I don't recall so many S-Class MB's in any city I've been to before), there was some nostalgia for the stability of the Soviet days. To be sure, Armenia is out of the dark days of the early nineties, but I cannot help but think how much the their world has changed in 15 short years. I would often hear people say things like, "In the Soviet era there was..." or "In the Russian days that used to be..." and so on and so forth.

An example is the main train station (below) that once boasted long distance trains to Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, and other major cities. Today it serves mostly domestic traffic with an occasional train to Tbilisi.

So as you can imagine, subsidies for public transport quickly dried up and they ended up with a classical example of savage capitalism that is the privatisation of passenger transport that has sprouted spontaneously all over the world. I won't discuss here the details of how this situation arises, but it is enough to mention that the model consists of large numbers of minibuses operating on the most popular routes only, usually in very overcrowded conditions and with little or no regard for schedules, itineraries or passenger safety. This destructive competition degrades into very aggressive driving by the drivers (we have seen cases of fist fights between drivers in some South American cities) who are by all intents and purposes independent business/production units that must maximise the number of passengers in the vehicle, limit the passengers going to the competition, and minimising major operating costs, primarily maintenance.


So that's why we're in Yerevan, to fix this...



It's not all work and no play though. While there, I managed to get out of town for an afternoon to Lake Sevan, the country's only natural lake near the Azerbaijani border. It is also one of the highest lakes in the world with it's surface at nearly 2,000 meters of altitude.

Northwestern shore of Lake Sevan

On a peninsula that used to be an island, this was a vacation residence for Soviet artists and writers. In the background is the ninth century island monastery.

While having lunch, a wedding party pulled up to get married at the monastery. I saw a wedding every day of the week I was in Armenia.

Pic-nic benches on the shore of Sevan. And me without my swimsuit.

The Volga, in Soviet times it was THE car to have, mostly reserved for diplomats and high-ranking party officials. This one came with a TV inside, but no seat belts!

Sevan from the north.

So that was how it went on my first trip to Yerevan and Armenia. A lovely land that is at once exotic and familiar. No doubt, a people capable of breaking into song in an airplane are bound to be great hosts.

Epilogue

I even got a huge suite after complaining about my minuscule room. Apparently there had "been a mistake". And it was in my favor this time. There may be something to this international consultant thing after all.

My pimpin' suite at the Hrazdan Best Eastern (not kidding) hotel. I'm told this was THE hotel in Yerevan in Soviet times, reserved for dignitaries and, you guessed it, high-ranking party officials.

Galicia Trip



Hi everyone. Here are some pics from our recent trip to visit Marta and Jesús in Galicia. We went over a long weekend due to a local holiday here in Catalunya. On the auspicious date of the 11th of September, Catalans observe their "national" holiday. On this date they commemorate the loss of their sovereignty to Castille some 300 year ago, which some of the more radical sepparatist groups still consider on occupying force. The commemorations themselves have the overall feel of a a collective funeral with solemn ceremonies punctuated by very loud demonstrations calling for independence. All in all, it's a great occasion to get out of town.


Galicia, on the other northern extreme of Spain is also an autonomous community with it's own language and culture. However, one does not detect the same vehemence of anti-Madrid sentiment that permeates the Catalan sociopolitical discourse. There are of course a number of reasons for this including the socioeconomic coditions, the climate, and the geography.

Whatever the reason may be, the effect is that the people are very laid back and easy going. Located north of Portugal, Galicia's Gallego language is very similar to Portuguese in its structure and tone. It also poseses a sing-songy rythmic quality that is absent in much of Spain.


The region has a landscape dominated by mountains descending to the sea that have been etched by ice-age glaciers to form "rías", the equivalent of the Norwegian fjords. This geographic coincidence, coupled with it's location on the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula has meant that Galicia has traditionally been a sea-faring culture. The region is renowned for its increadible variety and abundance of seafood. Indeed, the best seafood in Spain is here and much of the seafood consumed throughout the country comes from here.

In addition to all the things Galicia has to offer, what really draws us there are Marta and Jesús. They and their families are very dear friends of Steph and hers (and now mine). My first trip to Spain was to visit them and they and their hospitality have remained the standard by which I measure Spain's multicultrural, polylingual culture. It goes without saying that our experience there on previous trips made our decision to move to Spain a relatively easy one.




Relaxing with Marta, Jesús, and their son, Anton.


This trip consisted of lots of sleeping, eating, and drinking. Galicians are well known for eating and drinking well and in healthy (read: abundant) portions. Our main event was a sit-down dinner for Marta's birthday on Saturday night. On our previous trip two years ago, this event consisted of us starting dinner around Spain's usual ten-ish and were still on desert and coffee around 4 am! This year's dinner was not quite as obscene and we were able to finish at a more descent 2 am, record time.



Limbering up before dinner, Steph takes us to school in darts. Who knew?


So as you can immagine, we had a pretty cool time with lots of time for stuff like this...


The Fraziers in the plaza opposite Marta and Jesús' place in Cuntis.

Out and about in Cuntis

Anselm and his special lady friends

Marta and Anselm after a good lunch and a diaper change, what could be better

After several days of this kind of thing with great fish and seafood meals, we decided we would go and visit a Lonja (LON-ha). This is where the fishing fleet comes in and sells off their catch in lots to buyers for supermarkets, restaurants, and pescaderías(fish stores).

The afternoon fleet comes in.

There are two types of lonjas in Galicia, those for single-day outings and those for vessels that spend weeks out at sea. The one we went to operates every afternoon upon the arrival of the late daily fleet. The fish is auctioned off in lots to buyers in a reverse auction whereby an initial (high) price is set and the auctioneer lowers it until a buyer stops the price at his/her buy level. We tried to get our hands on some fresh fish for ourselves but the buyer we knew was tied up. All in all it was pretty cool to see the whole thing working.

The dock area was full of the fishermen's wives and children coming to greet the sailors. Note the trucks ready to take the fish. Some will be in Madrid and Barcelona restaurants for dinner that evening.

The Frazier men dockside.

Back home after a long trip, Anselm stretches out in the new crib.

Some New Pics

Hi all, here are a few pics from recent weeks.


Train from Angers to CDG


Anselm found his thumb a couple of weeks back. The combination of thumbsucking and headrubbing seems to be a very pleasurable sensation.


One of his many facial expressions we're learning. This one is a half-smile as a precursor to the rather elusive real thing.

Thumb-headrub combo again. His fixation with the playing board has lead to this...

...Anselm is now rolling over in his search for toys.

Trip to the countryside last week to visit friends. Ms. Mo came along for the ride during her stay in Barcelona

No way in hell you catch me in that thing.

In the play area with Mom. What could be better?

Out and About

Hi all. We're back in Barcelona after a little over two weeks in France. The luggage is unpacked, the place is acceptably clean, and we're slowly coming to terms with the reality of no longer being on vacation and hence the obligation to tackle all our projects, both large and small, where we left them at the beginning of the month. Steph is still on maternity leave but I go back to the grind tomorrow.

But before delving into our daily lives in Barcelona, I thought I would post a few picks from last week. Despite a pretty full schedule of family engagements (the baby, we gotta see the baby!), we still managed to squeeze in some time to visit the area around Angers as well as the Norman and Bretton coasts.

In case I hadn't mentioned it before, the area around Angers is full of vineyards. In fact this entire stretch of the Loire valley has a number of different "denominations" of red, white, and rosé (pink) wines. That is to say, wines that are particular to a particular region and type of grape. The first picture below is of some vineyards in St. Jean des Mauvrets. Here they grow Anjou blanc as well as the red variety. In the background is the hilltop village of St. Saturnin sur Loire. As for St. Jean des Mauvrets, its where Steph's dad grew up and, perhaps more importantly, where Steph and I got married.


Vineyards of St. Jean des Mauvrets with St. Saturnin sur Loire in background

This area is the highlands formed by the Loire over centuries of flooding and the wine produced there today has no doubt benefited from this rich alluvial soil deposits found there. From the road that connects these two (and other) villages to the Loire river itself, the landscape is pretty flat as one might expect from the floodplain of a major river. In many ways, these strips of wide flat land leading up to a levee at the river's edge reminds me a lot of south Louisiana.

Our plan on this particular day was to go sip a few glasses of wine at La Guinguette de JoJo (just because I like the way that sounds). Also because it offers a rustic outdoor setting at the river's edge. Those plans were quickly dashed however by a stiff, chilly wind that made for a rather unpleasant outdoor stay. Before leaving, I managed to snap a few shots of the river. This is one with an exposed sandbar in the middle.


View of the Loire as seen from La Guinguette de JoJo

On the land-side of the levee next to JoJo's, we spotted an honest-to-god gypsy circus camp. It was complete with an actual tiger cage reminiscent of the Tiger Truck Stop between Baton Rouge and Lafayette where - true to their name - they have a very sad-looking tiger in a cage out next to the gas pumps. But anyway, as for the gypsy circus camp, I would have taken more (and better photos) but I was frankly afraid of possible hostile response from the camp's residents. The dogs and geese were already making there way toward me and I didn't want to stick around to see what other creatures would be set loose on us.


Gypsy Circus camp on the Loire

As our plans for riverside drinks were dashed, we decided to head back up-hill to St. Saturnin sur Loir to have the aperitif at Steph's uncle and aunt's restaurant and so they could meet Anselm. They have a pretty cool outdoor patio underneath a walnut tree that offered some shelter from the wind and a great view over the valley.



Walnut tree at the courtyard of La Caillote

Steph and Anselm pose

Three generations of Bourochers

Brief stop for the sunset over the Loire on our way back to Angers

The next day we finally set off for the coast. It seems every time we go to France we say we'll go and somehow we never do. I guess this time we were in such need of some quiet time for just the two, err. three of us, that we wasted no time getting on the road. Our plan was to head to Mont St. Michel on the Normandy coast. While there, we planned on going to Granville a bit further up the coast. In the end, we went to Granville first so we could drop in on Aurelie's grandparents who grew up there and have their summer house there.

Granville, at least its historic center, is an old medieval walled city perched on a granite bluff on a peninsula that protects the still-active fishing fleet in its natural harbour from the winds (and waves) of the English Channel. Its got one street in, and one street out. The rest is small little alleys and lanes like the one in the pic below. This narrow lane is simply called Rue Etroite or narrow street, not too complicated.

Narrow Street in Granville

North face of Granville with old army barracks in the background

View of the Channel from Granville

City Gates

All around the north side and the western point of Granville there are a series of large bunkers from WWII built by the Germans, to protect the harbour. The pictures below show the ruins of these huge blocks of concrete. This city was one of the first places occupied in 1940 along with other similar ports along this coast. Aurelie's grandfather told me how within the first days of the occupation he and a small group of his friends managed to steal away in a small boat in the middle of the night and made it all the way to London to join De Gaulle. Its odd to see these instruments of destruction in this quiet and pretty corner of the world.

Ruins of German bunkers with town in background

Lighthouse with bunker at right

After leaving Granville we headed for Mont St. Michel a bit further south and west along the coast. Here again the land is pretty flat and then you come around a bend and see this...

Mont Saint Michel at dusk

A good choice for the monks that selected the site for a monastery, it's a huge granite rock that has remained after the surrounding land eroded away around it. The flat land of this coast stays the same way well beyond the shore. The result is a spectacular tide and that can vary by several kilometers making the mount an island twice a day. At least, that's how it used to be. Today, the mount is connected to land by a man-made causeway that has caused the bay to silt up to the point of preventing the sand to be washed away by the tidal action. Plans are said to be underway to replace the land-bridge with one that would restore the bay. Still, the sight is pretty spectacular and well worth a visit.

The mount as seen from the land bridge

The abbey at Mont St. Michel

At low tide the shore is out of sight

As cool as MSM was, I have to admit that I couldn't wait to get away. The place was absolutely choked with tourists making it impossible to even move. I thought I was gonna loose it. I think I'd like to go back in winter. They say it gets bitter cold with very strong winds so, as much hate the cold, at least the place will be less crowded. I also get the feeling the place might be quite spectacular in winter.

We got out of there as fast as we could. One diaper change and couple of feedings later we were in Mt. Malo on the Britanny coast. This is another one of those walled cities built on a rocky bluff enclosing a natural harbour like Granville. Unlike Granville however, St. Malo is a larger city and home to a thriving maritime industry from fishing, to shipping, and everything in between. Also unlike Granville (and perhaps because of this), much of St. Malo was destroyed during the war. Many of the buildings there today have since been restored. The result is a well preserved medieival walled city with a rich maritime history.

The sea wall in St. Malo at low tide with one of the protective forts in the background at left. They say the waves crash over the walls at high tide during storms

I liked St. Malo alot. Although it is also a bit touristy, you can definitely see this is a real working seaport town. We spent a nice afternoon checking out the place and could definitely go back to spend some time exploring. On our way out we came upon a little plaza with this...

Nice.

We capped our stay tasting the local specialties: galettes, crepes, and apple cider. A good weekend.

And a good trip indeed. Perhaps the greatest thing is that we got to see some amazing changes in Anselm in this short period of time. He is now officially obsessed with his hands and has found new pleasure in sucking a varying number of fingers depending on the occasion. Speph's mom has been teaching him how to roll over from his back to stomach and back and he's actually done it on his own for the first time today! He now smiles spontaneously and has even started to burst into actual laugther. It's been pretty amazing so far and it's a bit scarry to see how fast it goes. Everybody tells you, but you have to live it to understand it. And it's just the begining for us.

So now we're back in Barcelona. In a few hours I'll be back in the office to see what awaits. We're about to start a new project in Armenia and two others in Panama and Mexico in addition the the one in Angola (if it comes through) so I'm sure that between those travels and Anslem's new adventures, there'll be lots to write about. I'll try to write as regularly as I can but don't be surprised if my frequency drops off as spare time will be hard to come by. Until then, take it easy and I hope you're enjoying it. Take care.