ST. JOSEPH - JULY 10, 11
The week after spending time with Maud was a mix of babysitting Quinn, having dinner with the family that’s renting me my apartment, seeing my friend Luke before his grand send-off to the USA, and then leaving for another weekend in the country- this time to see my host family and to celebrate my host sister, Eleanor’s 20th birthday. I met Eléonore at the train station Montparnasse, after nearly giving myself a heart attack. I was convinced that I would barely make my train. I had left my internship early, but I had a lot of random things to get done at home and I had to finish packing so I thought I had left too late. Many of the logistics were unfortunately related to the fact that I won’t be going to Florence anymore- but on the bright side, also related to planning a last-minute trip to Barcelona! I will be voyage-ing to Barca this weekend- I hope the last minute craziness translates to lots of fun.
It was great to see Eleanor again! The Montparnasse station was crazy- given that it was the Friday before Bastille Day this should have come as no surprise! Most people take the whole week off since they have Wednesday the 14th and the 15th off from work. Eleanor was super happy because she had just finished her four-week long internship at a retirement home which hadn’t been very interesting and instead, very exhausting. We got into St. Nazaire at around 9 pm and Monsieur Ducoin was there waiting for us. My initial impressions from the drive to their home reminded me of where my grandparents live in Poland- a fairly flat, green, rural backdrop. M. Ducoin informed me that we would take a tour of the local ‘marais’ or marshes by boat the next day and then head off to the beach in the afternoon.
Eleanor had warned me that six of the Ducoin’s seven grandkids would be there during the weekend…but I wasn’t really worried. Aha. More on that later. Saturday morning we headed off to the marshlands with Blandine…the oldest of the grandchildren. A local led us by canoe through a small portion of the marsh- telling us about the wildlife, the history of the area etc. I really appreciated the fact that the Ducoin’s organized activities for us throughout the weekend and showed me around the region- super-thoughtful as usual. Afterwards we grabbed lunch nearby and then drove to a town in Brittany, whose name I have forgotten. We came back to the house, grabbed our swimsuits and headed off to the beach.
The beach was incredibly beautiful! Holy moly France! Although the Ducoins complained about how it was small and crowded- I found it breathtakingly beautiful. Rocks enclosed the beach itself- which made for a beautiful view and made the beach feel like a secret enclave. M. Ducoin, Eleanor, Heloise and I, all swam out to a floating boat some 200 meters from shore. It was probably the farthest out that I’ve swam in the ocean before and it was pretty challenging given the force of the waves and current. What was nice is that we were able to climb onto this boat-float thingamajig and rest before swimming back to shore.
The little girl, Alex, is one of the grandkids (in my photo-taking defense ;P)
Beautiful:
PRECIOUS!
Dinner that night was delicious- fresh coquilles St. Jacques were the highlight of the meal. I don’t even remember what else we ate after that because those clams were so delicious.
Unfortunately, one of the grandkids, Jacques, cried throughout most of the night so I didn’t get a lot of sleep, which left me feeling zombie-like throughout most of the following day. It was Sunday- so while the family took shifts going to church, I helped make lunch for the little ones and worked my magic spoon-feeding them. After lunch, we headed off to a different beach a bit further away with Eleanor, M. Ducoin and two of the older grandkids. After swimming, we walked around the town and got some ice cream. When we got back, it was time to get ready for Eléonore’s birthday celebration. The Ducoins love TRADITIONS, and I’m not sure why we were all made to wear white capes…but I am guessing that it is some part of the traditions that they love. Eleanor got 21 wrapped gifts (wrapped candies, toilet paper, and then some real gifts as well). M. Ducoin, stood by, photographing the whole gift exchange.
So maybe white isn’t our best color:
M. Ducoin summoning his minions around the snack table:
I love watching the Ducoin family interact during moments like those- there is just so much love, appreciation and generosity that floats through the air around them. I will miss being able to be a part of that- at the dinner table and otherwise. But I know that if I ever come back to Paris, I will always be able to have a place at their dinner table. That warms my heart, more than just a little bit…:D
