france summer 2015 pt 1
DESCRIPTION
Week 1 of vacation in France with familyTRANSCRIPT
FRANCE 2015 Photos by Jemma Gillon
During the months of June and July we, my aunts Carrie and Debbie, my parents
and I spent two weeks relaxing and exploring the country of France.
A PHOTO JOURNAL
TWO WEEKS
SOUTH OF FRANCE
Day one:
Twelve hour road trip, lots of music
We got lost as the sun started disappearing behind our backs, Asian food warm on our laps, lost in
a foreign country. We called the owner of the Gîte, one very nice, yet slightly muddled in the
concept of time and distance, so our five minute arrival time became ten and then twenty and
finally, after following him for thirty minutes, we pulled in to the driveway to two overexuberant
dogs, Lady Carmen and Rufus, and a number of chickens.
Evening of arrival, arrived at sunset
Oh for the lazy days
Day out at the beach, Dad swam, no one else
dared
We got our feet nibbled by little fish
There’s something magical about
walking at sunset. The landscape dims, yet
everything seems clearer. Your mind frees
itself from thoughts and worries and
concentrates on the coral and crimson
skies, the sun radiating it’s last colours,
everything slowly fading into darkness.
Gladiator moments
We drove down to Foix, a well sized French town. We had lunch in a bustling alleyway, naturally I
had to order caramel crepes. To our surprise, we learnt that the galettes, special savoury crepes
made out of buckwheat, didn’t have any gluten, so my dad had a nice meal without worries of
uncomfortable aftereffects. It was then off to Foix Castle. After a quick walk up the cobblestone
pathed hill, quite difficult in loose sandals, we arrived at the gates. Upon entering we found out
there were two towers you could climb up. So up the very tight stone staircase of the first, slightly
smaller fortification we went. Mum and Carrie made it up to the top despite their fear of heights,
elation all around. The difficult part was getting down. One in front of the other, we slowly
proceeded down, and then it was straight off to the next one. Carrie and my mum passed on that
and waited in the museum, safely on the ground. But after learning from us that the other tower
was better kept and the stairs less crooked they bravely climbed up. After that we decided to go
home and spend the rest of the day relaxing in the pool.
Foix
After looking for a bakery the day before, and discovering this beautiful medieval part of the
town, we, the girls, went shopping. The previously planned brunch got moved to lunch after mum
decided we should shop before the shops closed for lunch. A few shops later and we finally sat
down for lunch at an English restaurant ‘the Mad Hatter’, then promptly continued looking into
the little boutique shops.
Our two tired Australian travellers crashed onto the bed as soon as we got home, so the family
trio decided to visit the swimming hole a local Irishman had told us about. There was a good place
to jump in, and after a little swim, we headed home for the day and got ready to move on to the
next place the next day.
Mirepoix and swimming in Gaudières