Birthday Extraordinaire

Last week I celebrated a birthday. Not a milestone birthday, but everyone made it feel so special. 

Starting with my friends Claudine and Ray who couldn’t be with me but made a giant sign in the sand. 

I began the day with a run then showered and met friends at the cafe for coffee and viennoiseries (breakfast pastries) but since it was my birthday, I got a l’éclair au café. Normally that would be an after lunch or dinner pastry. 

Next, we were off to Narbonne Plage. No sit-down restaurants were open but we found a bar that served paninis and fries as we sat on a swinging seat and sipped our Aperol spritzes. 

Afterwards we headed down to the beach for a walk and some sand time. It was sparking and not too windy. I only put my feet in the water. 

Next we drove to Narbonne and walked around the old city. The square was full of people soaking up the sun.

 A Roman road rests in the middle of the square, about 8 feet lower than today’s plaza. 

This is a picture of the road from a previous trip to Narbonne.  

This road originally ran from the Mediterranean to Briancon in the Alps. 

Next we explored the cathedral in Narbonne which is always striking. 

No filter. That’s how blue the sky was. 

We got home in the evening in time to chat with all the kids and mom and dad back in the States. 

Some amazing gifts included an espresso maker, an olive tree for the terrace, some luxurious bath gels, a blooming hyacinth, a silk scarf and robe, a sparkly green plant, a bottle of champagne and the pleasure of spending time with my amazing friends. 

Just another birthday in France. . 

The Dancing Fountains in Beziers

After a hectic summer, I have been playing catch up with work, trying to earn more money since I'm not able to teach university classes. Then recently, I learned that a new law in China would prevent teachers from outside China teaching students there. VIPKid is still offering classes to parents who bought packages, but the country suddenly called a moratorium to teaching for a week at the end of summer. I was free from my 12-3 teaching hours for nearly a week. I wasted no time in planning an outing, this time to Beziers. 

The lights and water were beautiful, like fireworks on the ground. 

Earl and I have traveled to Beziers before. Here's a link to a previous post when we considered moving there in 2015 as we visited towns and cities on our reconnaissance mission. But I was hesitant because the Catholic church and rioters killed 20,000 Cathars in Beziers during a crusade in 1209, known as the Albigensian Crusade. It just seemed like bad karma to move there. Bezier is beautiful though with a large swathe of park running through the middle of downtown and buildings in the Haussmann-style of Paris.

A Facebook post for people who live in Languedoc, the former name of our region of France, alerted me to a light and music show in Beziers. The musical fountain occurs at 10 p.m., so we needed to stay overnight. We convinced some friends to come along and traveled the two hours. First, a stop at the nearby beach Valras Plage. We had lunch in the square that faces the beach then spent some time in the cold Mediterranean (I don't think it ever warmed up this year) before dozing on the sand.   

The beach was not very crowded just two days before La Rentree, the day the French return to work and school 

The park in Bezier was decorated with all kinds of colorful creatures.

Us at the restaurant Pica-Pica

Strange lay out of the deviled eggs with caviar and lobster included

At 10 p.m., the music started. The fountains and lights had been going for a while. I think just the lights and water spurts were magical. 

I'm not sure if the music added anything to it. Some of the songs included YMCA, Laissez-moi Danser, and Formidable. 

Definitely worth watching.

Some of the illuminations in the park

The next morning, we had breakfast and wandered around the park, posing for a selfie in front of this Titan fountain. 

With Sue and Steve

This theater has topiary chess pieces in front of it. 

We stopped in Narbonne on the way home and had lunch at a restaurant along the Canal du Midi. 

The cathedral in Narbonne and an amazing sky. 

Lovely relaxing days without any teaching.

Dreaming of France -- Perfect Beach Day

Thank you for joining this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.

Today in Ohio, the weather is nearly perfect. Sunny, 77 degrees (that's 25 Celcius) with a lovely breeze. It would be a perfect day to spend on the beach.
It reminded me of another lovely day on the beach in 2006, when we visited Bandol along the Mediterranean.

First let me set the scene. You can see the beautiful villas and hotels across the bay.

Our kids were still young enough to enjoy digging in the sand and running along the beach. 

Look at that intensity.

 But mostly, look at the joy of running and kicking up their heels.
I hope you find joy this weekend, whether it is on a beach in France, or wherever you are.
And my thoughts are with the people in France and in Houston who have suffered rising flood waters.

 Thanks so much for playing along with Dreaming of France. I really appreciate your participation and I hope you'll leave a comment plus visit each other's blogs.

I'm also joining a link for All About France. All of you France lovers have another place to visit now with this once a month meme.

Dreaming of France -- Nice

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
My friend Leah went on what she's calling "The Trip of a Lifetime." Her son graduated from college in May and so they decided to travel to Europe. They began their vacation in Nice then moved on to Arles before heading to Spain then Algiers.
She agreed to let me use her photos for my Dreaming of France meme.
Here's a beautiful shot of the beach.

I'm sure you can tell from this photo that Leah is an artist. I can't wait until she finishes some artwork from her trip. 

Don't you just love this reflection? 

You can see some of Leah's artwork on her Facebook page or her Etsy page. 

Thanks for playing along with Dreaming of France today. I hope you'll visit each other's pages so that you can enjoy more pieces of France. 

Saturday Snapshot -- College Paradise

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme, post a photo that you (or a friend of family member) have taken. Then leave a direct link to your post on West Metro Mommy. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.
I keep saying that my life is going to slow down and I'm going to have more time to devote to blogging. That's not happening so far, but maybe soon since my second son is safely delivered to college in Florida.
Here's a picture of the two of us sitting on the deck of The Hurricane restaurant on St. Petersburg Beach. It's become a tradition now for us to have lunch at The Hurricane before dropping him off for a year on his own.

Even though he towers a foot taller than me, I still feel that twang in my belly when we drive away from campus knowing I won't see him again for at least three months.

Dreaming of France -- Cannes Beach circa 1983

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again
I have only visited France two times in August. And the first time I went, the camera I had was one of those little square instamatics. The photos are not stellar, but still I thought you'd enjoy seeing how crowded the beach was in Cannes on this long ago day in 1983.

The cluster of clothed people in the middle was the student tour I was on. They spread lunch on a mat there and we all descended like vultures.
If you enlarge the photo, you can see the more scantily clad French people.
I'd even brave the crowds if I could return to France this summer.

Dreaming of France -- Bandol

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it

Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.
Six years ago we took the three kids to Europe. They were 14, 12 and 10. We took a night train from Venice to Bandol, France along the Mediterranean. We walked off the train tired from lack of sleep on the train.
Since the sun had risen, we'd been watching the coastline and the sparkling sea. The train station was up a hill from the town, so we traipsed down, pulling our suitcases behind us. As we walked along, I smelled the most wonderful scent -- wisteria was blooming in great sagging bunches along the walkway.
Even though it was April, we played on the beach.

Here's Spencer at 12, a much skinnier version of the boy he has grown into.

The kids buried Tucker in the sand.

This was the view from our hotel room.

 The kids counted the time in Bandol as their favorite, but who doesn't love a vacation on the beach?
I'd say one of the biggest mistakes people make when vacationing in Europe is travelling too much. With kids, pick a central place and do day trips.
A place with natural attractions, like a beach or skiing or hiking is perfect. That way, the kids are distracted and having fun, and my husband and I were only there to soak up the culture, which we can do in any town in France.

Saturday Snapshot -- Florida

To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post on Alyce's blog At Home With Books. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don’t post random photos that you find online.
We're in Florida to drop Spencer off for his first year of college. Here we are on the beach the day before college check in.

While Spencer looked for a pick-up basketball game, Earl and I relaxed on the hotel terrace. This was our view.

And the next morning, I went for an early morning walk along the beach. It looked like it might storm, but it didn't.

The blue helps describe my mood as I leave my 18-year-old at college, 16 hours away from home.

Hope you all are having a good Saturday.