Europe8

Saturday, January 15, 2005, 1:34 A.M.

We ended up leaving on Wednesday for France instead of Tuesday.   Tuesday we had a long lunch in a teeny tiny restaurant/deli type of place which sells natural local made foods & drinks and also serves lunch.  The owners sat with us and it was more like having a meal in someone�s home than in a restaurant.  It was the second time we�ve had fondu since we�ve been here and we�re having it again tomorrow night.  I could never get sick of it!    
Wednesday, we made it to Euzet in the south of France by around 7:00 and met friends for dinner.  Steve & Marilyn are a couple who live in Uzes and have known David & his mom for about 30 years.  They met when they were living in London, but they are originally from Australia.  Now they are living in and restoring an old farmhouse which they will eventually rent out.  I have a few photos of it from the outside but the inside is still in pretty rough shape.  That first night we stayed in the Chateau D�Euzet which was beautiful.  Coincidentally, Steve & Marilyn looked at this property years back but decided not to buy it.  They told us that at that time it was in as bad of shape as the one they now have�so it helps to imagine how beautiful theirs will be when it�s finished.  Euzet reminded me of a medieval village, and there actually was a tourist area called �medieval village� nearby.  We didn�t visit it though, instead, the next day we went to Pont du Gard (http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/P/PontduGa.html ) in Nimes which was built in 19 B.C.  (Can you believe that??) It was beautiful there and although it was really cold, it was sunny, as it has been every day that we�ve been in Europe.  In Switzerland, Italy, Hungary and France, we have not had rain or snow once.  (I hope I�m not jinxing myself for the next two days.)
	After the Pont du Gard we drove to Avignon for shopping and dinner.  We stayed overnight there and went on to Evian this morning.  There are a few photos of the building which marks the source where Evian water originates.  
France is really beautiful, I would love to go back and spend more time there.  I am so tired now, I guess it�s all catching up to me.  I can�t believe we leave on Sunday.  I thought three weeks was so much time but it�s as if I went to sleep one night and it was all over.  Tomorrow we�re going to visit more friends and then to see Auntie Janet and Uncle Paul again (we saw them the first day) and Francoise�s cousin Nicole and her son.  I keep thinking about my class on Tuesday morning at 8:30 A.M. and then work on Wednesday.  Yikes.  I just want to keep traveling through Europe, drinking lovely wine at any time of the day and seeing beautiful things that only existed in photos before.  
	Tonight we had yet again another excellent dinner.  Of course Francoise & Jacques are friends with the owners, they know everyone!  It was Brazilian food and it was excellent.

Photos of Day 1 in France: Euzet, Uzes (also Fondu in Switzerland)

Photos of Day 2, Pont du Gard and Avignon

Photos of Day 3, Evian and home

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Sunday, January 16, 6:48 P.M. (Cleveland time, 12:48 A.M. Monday, Sierre time!)

I am so tired. I can't believe we're home already. Yesterday was really nice. The dinner with family was a great end to the trip. We were supposed to go out after but David was too tired. We didn't really have any crazy drinking nights on this trip but it was ok because we were never hungover and were always feeling good to do things throughout the days.
I have absolutely no complaints. I feel so incredibly lucky. It's not going to be easy to get back into a normal routine but luckily we both have tomorrow off. My cats are losing their minds right now, they are so happy to see me. At first Freddy was hissing at me and wouldn't come near me...it freaked me out. Now he won't leave me alone. The best though was seeing Elisa when we first got here. I missed her so much! I missed the whole family and really wish we could do things like that together. Maybe when I finally win the lotto. I guess that's it. Thanks for tuning in!

Here are photos from our last day in Switzerland.

Here are a few more photos from Jacques.

The End...

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