I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to write this blog, and the more I plan it out in my head, I realize some of it’s most likely going to sound like I’m writing a story whether I want it to or not. So bear with me if I start to ramble or describe things in detail – it’s worth it. I don’t plan on posting every day. But when I have time or a great story to tell, I’ll share. I plan to post more pictures than anyone will want to see, only because I don’t know if I’ll ever take the beauty of this place for granted, and I want to share it. So, this is my story…
For those of you who have been under a rock, I have moved to France to become an au pair for a family in the village of Les Avenieres in the Rhônes-Alps region. I live in their home and help take care of the children. The mother and father, Stéphanie and Frédéric, have 3 sons – twin 11 year olds, Mathieu (Matthew) and Thomas (Thomas), and 6 year old Antoine. There’s also a dog and a cat, Frilouz (free-looz) and Picou (pee-koo), inside and some chickens out in the garden… I don’t know yet if they have names.
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| Mathieu (left) and Thomas (right) |
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| Frilouz - she's loves to cuddle nonstop |
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| Picou - she loves to talk nonstop |
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| The chickens whose names I have learned are Darth and Vader - "comme les Star Wars!" |
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Stéphanie and the twins picked me up at the airport and we drove the 45 minutes to Les Avenieres. We hadn’t even made it home before we stopped at a Boulangerie (bakery) and picked up half a dozen baguettes and a few petits gateaux (small cakes, or as my mom calls them, “tartlettes”) – I felt so French already.
I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but this house goes far above and beyond anything I could have imagined. It’s a 3-story, 250 year old, completely restored villa… enough said. It’s the quintessential “French countryside” home on a tiny hillside road, which I’m pretty sure an American-sized car wouldn’t fit on. Everything about this place is so quaint, yet grand in its own way. I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
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| I'm told that the front door is about 150 years old. |
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| A swimming pool in production. |
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| Stéphanie has a ridiculous amount of fruit trees and flowers and whatnot. She said they should bloom soon and it won't look so "triste" (sad). |
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| What is left of the garden after they made room for the pool. They grow their own fruits and veggies. |
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| We feed Darth and Vader the leftovers from our meals, and in return they give us yummy eggs. |
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| I was informed that we "mangerons les bébés" (will eat the babies)... not looking forward to that. Fortunately, these pidgins don't have names. I don't think I could bear to eat their babies if I knew their names. |
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| My room - thank goodness I get a big bed, I was worried I would be on a twin bed with my feet hanging off. |
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| My desk and window |
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| The mud room - we take off our shoes here and trade them for slippers to wear around the house |
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| Kitchen |
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| Living room |
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| Dining area with a view of the garden |
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| The never-ending staircase |
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| The family closet - all the walls look like this |
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| The boys' bathroom |
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| The adults' bathroom - yes, I'm an adult |
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| This is the original sink and faucet which are over 200 years old |
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| The toilets have two buttons on top... luckily I chose the one that flushes. I've been too scared to try the other one. |
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| My shower - one of the coolest showers I've seen. It's up on a platform and it only has a glass wall, no door, and 3 shower heads. |
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| The kids' playroom up on the 3rd floor with the twins' bedrooms |
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I think that's enough for one post. If I start talking about anything else, no one will read all of it.
À bientôt
love love
Lo
