Velos, Marriages, et Beouf

We've had a busy couple of weeks around here.

My little 5-year old lady has had another bike accident, this time without the training wheels and going quite quickly down a hill. Luckily she had her helmet on; unfortuntely said helmet didn't have a face grid. So another round of trips to the ER, the doctor, the pharmacy and the dentist has ensued. I've got this area of French vocabulary well and truly covered now, thank you.

We also celebrated our 10-year wedding annivesary last week. The Duke and I managed to escape for one whole night! We were married in Arles so decided to have a night in the same hotel to celebrate. We had a sunny couple of hours at the beach on the way and then drove through the Camargue with all of the flamingoes, wild horses and bulls running around. Friends from Canada flew in and surprised us, the weather was amazing, and the food and wine were good too. Almost makes it worth enduring another 10 years....

Last weekend my village held the first outdoor meal of the summer, our annual fête de boeuf extravaganza. Definitely not one for the vegetarians. The cow (and the whole cow) goes on the spit up at the park around 9 in the morning, while all the local boys come out and circle around it, poking it, advising on how to do it, and of course drinking pastis. Oh, and someone stirs the gigantic pot of beans cooking next to the cow too.

At 7.00, there is an aperitif dansant, where the older couples of the village come out to dance for an hour or so before the rest of the village shows up. The food usually shows up around 9-9.30, after a few bottles of wine have already been and gone off the tables, and then the coffee is served and the real dancing begins. We went to bed at 2.30 with the sounds of band still bouncing off the village walls.

And today, I'm off to the beach. I'm taking advantage of one of my last days to myself before school gets out next week. Summer is most definitely here.