Eat, Eat, Eat

All we have done this past week is go from meal to meal. Saturday at noon, we went to the same restaurant where we celebrated Ren's baptism when he was a baby, the Bleu Marine in Gerardmer, but this time we were celebrating Patrick's brother Philippe's 50th birthday. Here we are, left to right, back row: Patrick, Dennis (Christine's bro), Ren, Lucie, Philippe, Florian, me, then Christine in front of Patrick, then sitting Bernadette (Christine's mom), Gladys (Patrick's aunt and godmother), Ida, and Remi.



Then Sunday, distant cousins who have become friends recently, came to Granges, and we went to dinner and celebrated my birthday a day late. First picture, Philippe and Ren. Who does Ren remind you of? The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, although it may skip a generation! 10 points for the first to e-mail me with the answer!



Below, same night in our kitchen. Clockwise starting from bottom left: Gladys, Ida, Coco (Jean Francois, the cousin), his mother Pacquerette (meaning "Little Easter"--she was born on Eastere morning), Coco's wife Sylvie, their baby Helene (they are our age, and yes, the baby was planned), and me. Coco is the artisan who did all the windows in the new house and our beautiful ash staircase.


Coco and me. Notice the two delicious cakes, and Ren's homemade birthday card, the highlight of my day.



On Tuesday, we went to a favorite restaurant called Auberge de Belbriette, with Lucette and Camille. Here are the four of us at my favorite spot in the Vosges, the lake at Belbriette (not the same one the restaurant overlooks).

On Wednesday, we drove up to the mountain tops to eat at a Ferme Auberge, a restaurant that produces 75% of what it serves. Check out the view! Left to right, Gladys, Bernadette, Christine in front of Philippe, Ida, Patrick, me.

Finally we got a day of walking! Patrick, Ren, and I went on a hike that took us past some WWI barracks and trenches. This is Patrick and Ren in front of German bunkers from the first war.

And this is "graffiti" on one of the bunkers telling the date, 1916, and the name of the bunker.

This will most likely be the last entry in the blog. We go back to the US on the 19th. It will be hard to leave, especially for Patrick, and I think for his mother too. It is very difficult for Patrick to live this far away from family, and it is a blessing to me that he is willing to do so. Please say a prayer for him and for his Mom, and for us for Travel Mercies as we go back next week.

Diet starts on August 20th...