Steve and his adorable family!
We are about four hours away from Paris, so felt some comfort with the distance, but the country is on very high alert and is having rallies, marches, and gatherings to demonstrate their feelings about free speech and to mourn for those lost.
We got in the car for a little excursion to two nearby towns-
Henry said the sun was in his eyes! It was a gorgeous day!
Then we went to Vichy, about 20 minutes down the road from Charroux.
The baths....
Back home for oysters and Monopoly!
And a Bon Voyage breakfast before Mick drove back to Paris to get his flight home.
We will miss you Dad, Mickey, Mick!
As you all know Wednesday was the day of the greatest attack France has had in decades. On the night of the attack, thousands of people gathered in the plaza of our town to show their solidarity.
You have probably seen their slogan for unity in France, " Je suis Charlie". This is showing up everywhere!
This is on the pavement here.
It has been powerful to watch. This was today in our Jaude Plaza as people gathered to march through the town.
So with all that has happened this week, I was understandably on pins and needles for my dad's arrival Thursday afternoon from Paris!! When I heard the buzzer of our front door with his voice, I was so relieved, I burst into tears! Once he was here safely we knew we could all enjoy the weekend!
His first day we just showed him around Clermont and did a great walking tour! We had some great meals and ended up at our favorite restaurant Friday night for Vietnamese food! He agreed with our assessment that it tastes unlike any other oriental food he has ever had!
Here we are at the restaurant, Rivieres de Parfums
The next day we took Dad to our neighborhood market to pick our dinner. They had oysters, all kinds of fish, cheese, bread and wine and vegetables galore!
First was Charroux, a charming little town that was mostly still on Christmas vacation! All of the restaurants were closed as well as most of the shops and they were still fully decorated for Christmas! No one can say the French are in a rush!
It is and was the place people came to "take the healing waters" so it is full of all of these huge thermal bath buildings and spas. It was actually very strange looking. There was a casino in the town and several of the buildings had trim that looked like what would be on a promenade in a beach town. Seeing so many French towns, I have to say I kept thinking "one of these things is not like the other!"
Vichy became the capital of France when the Germans occupied Paris, so we were very curious to see it. We had a delicious lunch and a nice walk.
The front page of the newspaper this morning showing all of the people in Jaude yesterday (70,000) I am proud of this city's solidarity for their countrymen.
Hopefully this week will be UNEVENTFUL in the French news!