ODDS AND ENDS

May 16-19, 2005

Various activities were planned for the remaining 4 days of Pauline and Jerry, Susan and Roger and Cheryl’s stay.

Monday Sue and Rog and Cheryl took the train back into Paris to spend more time at the Louvre and see a few more museums and cathedrals.  They planned to have dinner in Paris and come back on a fairly late train, arriving in Gironville at about 9pm. Surprise!  It was one of those days that Paris was on strike, so very limited access was permitted in the Louvre and many other sites were closed.  We got a phone call saying “Come pick us up earlier, we will be on the 4:49!”

Tuesday it was cool and breezy, but the sun was out.  We played cards and thought about going outside.  Finally, in the afternoon, we bundled up and went out into the Park of the Three Gables for a hike.  The terrain is very rocky and we climbed up and up over huge boulders.  There was a marked path, but it went right over the huge rocks, requiring us to jump across deep abysses.  At the top we found a cave which had been fitted out with a stone chimney, a sandy bed and a fire pit. There was a “petroglyph” of a wine glass? carved into the granite.  We took the easier route along a sandy path for the rest of the hike.  At one point we were only about a half-kilometer from the Merle house.

Wednesday Don and I did a very nice bike ride over to Courances where we were able to peek in the wrought iron gate and see the expansive grounds and estate of this chateau.  Then we looped around through Moigny and on to Maisse, Gironville, Tousson and home.  About 3 hours, 47 kilometers.

By the time we got home everyone had done his or her packing and Sue was mopping furiously.  We had our last meal together, and then Don showed a slide show of photos from the trip.  Everyone enjoyed refreshing his or her memories of the interesting places we visited.  We girls played our last few hands of Spite and Malice and then everyone was off to bed.

At 5am Pauline roused us all with a hearty “Rise and shine”.  Breakfast was eaten, the last few things were packed, the bags were strapped onto the car and everyone wedged himself or herself into the car.  As the car pulled out of the drive I stood on the porch waving and listening to Susan’s cuckoo calling out to her.  After the dust settled I started the laundry project and as I looked out the window I saw 5 cuckoos pecking at the sand in the back yard.

Au Revoir my darling mommy and daddy, sister and brother-in-law, and Cheryl.  We had a busy, noisy, fun time.