Reconnecting

It has been over a week since I've posted on this blog. A lot has been happening; some of it great, some of it not so. That's life as we all know it. I'm officially on holiday for a month. This is the longest holiday I have known for many years and I'm ready for it. French folks have more holidays than Kiwis and since I work in the public sector for a University I get a few extra days on top of that.

I've recently been battling some health issues which I am having investigated so that has taken off the shine and relaxation of my holiday so far but the bright spot has been seeing my daughter again.


She arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport last Saturday and JC and I were there to meet her and bring her to my little studio in Cafeolait. Such a horribly long trip from NZ but she was in fine spirits. We hadn't seen each other for 10 months; quite a change from living together for 19 and a half years.



After JC dropped us off we wandered around the Saturday markets at Cafeolait where she found a good bargain in footwear for walking. It has been a good investment because we've been walking a lot ever since she arrived.









The next day was full of jetlag tiredness for her and so it was quite a struggle for her to stay awake for the Music and Dance festival at Maintenon.






After dinner at JC's we headed off into the countryside of Eure et Loir, pointing out items of interest. We arrived in good time and settled in for the very long programme. It was a tad too long for Laura to cope with but at least this way I got to cuddle my 'sleeping baby' again.






This lovely community event was very well supported and the venue was magnificent; the front grounds of the Chateau de Maintenant (you'll remember it was the home of one of Louis XIV's mistresses). The chateau wasn't open but the atmosphere was splendid.






We saw acts from India, Poland, Argentina, South Africa and also some gypsies performing. The latter had a poor standard of presentation compared to the other groups. I've never seen such professional performances and such high quality costumes from dance groups in NZ but the difference is that on this occasion I suspect the groups were professional, rather than local residents portraying their various cultures.





 I loved it and I enjoyed sharing my first community concert (other than the wee festival in Binic) in France with JC and a mostly napping Laura. It was a great way to taste other parts of the world.

Photos: Laura and JC at the airport, Laura with her first Baguette, the concert at Maintenon