Weekend in the country.

I have this one French friend. This sounds ridiculous, but it’s practically true. It doesn’t bother me like it used to and I know that it is commonly difficult for Americans to truly befriend the French here in France (those who come to the US are already exceptional, and a category of their own!). This is possibly food for thought in another post. For now, let’s talk about Madame Jolie (not her real name, but she is indeed beautiful inside and out). I met her in Amiens in 2008 at a gathering of faculty who were exploring the idea of an exchange program between our universities. Before the meeting officially started, there was a little coffee and cake, over which I was asked the typical questions that visitors get: When did you arrive? How long are you staying? When Jolie found out that I would be staying a full month, she invited me, then and there, to visit her for the weekend. “I have two kids,” I said, “and my mother is with me, too.” “Let them all come!” Jolie replied. We sat together during the initial meeting: Jolie opened her planner and indicated two weekends that would be good for her. “Pick one!” she insisted. So I did. And we have been good friends ever since. She’s even come to visit in OKC!

We had had lunch once already this summer while she came to Paris for a conference, and last Friday I took the kids on the TGV (that’s the Train de Grande Vitesse, or Train of Great Speed) to Arras, a lovely city not far from the Belgian border. Train ride took less than an hour! Jolie’s husband, R, came to pick us up. He’s a sculptor and carpenter and also, truth be told, très joli. They are a gorgeous couple. No kids of their own, but they were entertaining two of their nieces for about 10 days (J is 11 and S is 7; more pals for my kids to run around with!).

Jolie and R live in a tiny hamlet, on a property that has been in R’s family for generations (most recently, it was his uncle’s home). It is old, impractical, rustic and romantic. There are gardens. There are chickens. There’s a big black dog named Coyotte who is Thayer’s anchor to this place (when he can’t remember Jolie or R, I remind him of Coyotte). The girls were playing out back when we arrived, so we got introduced and the four kids ran and got acquainted whilst I had some time with Jolie. And we had a fantastic homemade quiche for dinner (eggs from the property) and salad just picked from the garden. And delicious local bread and cheese, and a bottle of wine opened just for me (Jolie is allergic to wine and R prefers beer, -- so much for your preconceptions of the French!). It’s been hot, so we ate in the courtyard, under a gorgeous oak tree that was planted to honor R’s birth. The kids didn’t even miss dessert, so much fun they were having together (and screaming, and falling down, and looking at bugs, etc.).

We all slept downstairs (the kids and I were in what seems to be their living room, but the downstairs rooms apart from the kitchen remain mysterious to me in terms of function) after lots of up and down and giggling and whispering and whatnot. Meredith claimed she was cold and her mattress was too hard (a princess, no?), but we all slept soundly until the morning light brought a couple of pesky flies (Thayer slept on, oblivious of the fauna). Yogurt and fruit and tartines (bread and butter and/or jam – pink cherry and cassis jams! Ooh the fruits!) to start our day, and then there was an expedition to the back garden where we gathered up an obscene number of raspberries (from bushes planted by R’s mom many years ago). I found a beautiful bird’s nest, complete with several tiny blue eggs, that I showed the children one at a time. When they were done berrying, Jolie got them to dig up some potatoes from the vegetable garden. We then went back to the kitchen to make raspberry smoothies (with fromage blanc) and enjoyed them after our delicious lunch of baked chicken with those self-same potatoes and fresh peas and more salad, bread, cheese, and wine. The kids drank fresh strawberry sirop in their water – miam miam Thayer started to say (French for yum yum!)

After lunch, we made raspberry ice cream and put it in the freezer so it would be ready for dinner. Then we packed up some snacks and took a short drive to the woods. The girls had discovered the frame of a cabin tied together near a ruin of a chateau, and they worked to make a special place for Coyotte within it (he did not care for it, in the end), and the kids sat within the frame and ate their snack and Jolie and I took some photos and talked and relaxed. The children were a bit too interested in the bons-bons I had brought from the States (gummy bears and such), so we had to restrict those. They dragged sticks around and played with Coyotte until they were thoroughly exhausted. Then home for baths and pjs and a video before dinner, which was leftovers (for once!), again under the tree, with our freshly made ice cream and Chantilly (whipped cream) and since it was the last night for the girls to spend there, Jolie took some special time with them and I crashed with my kiddos in the other room.

On Sunday, we all packed our stuff together so that we’d be ready to go later. Jolie was going to drive them three hours West to meet up with their parents in Caen, about ½ way between their respective homes. Before departure, though, we had planned to spend the morning at a Medieval fair in nearby Lucheux, but S pinched her thumb in one of the doors and was screaming her head off (it did not look good, in all honesty), so we waited for R to return from some errands. He then stayed back with S and the rest of us left for the fair. Right away, there were monstrous furry creatures on stilts descending towards us, and there was archery practice that Meredith did well with, to the point where one of the archers put a special glove on her hand and showed her some more technique. And then there were illuminated manuscripts and tarot card readers and a blacksmith…and a calligrapher to write our names on little slips of paper, and ham to sample, and toy swords and shields to play with, and a kitten to pet, and then it was time to go back.

We all ate a wonderful Parmentier (like a shepherd’s pie, with chopped meat, and cheese and potatoes) that Jolie had put together, and another round of salad and ice cream, then the kids played a bit more before it was time for Jolie to take them to their parents. But she and R offered for me to take R’s car back to Lucheux for the afternoon! Me, driving in the French countryside! R’s car is old, and a diesel, and a manual. I am used to driving my hybrid Prius, so it was a bit leap backwards in terms of technology, but at least I know how to drive a stick! So I felt a bit like we were inside Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as we made off back to Lucheux, where there were lots of traditional games (ring tosses and balancing and other diversions), and a pig roasting on a spit (named Albert, we were told) and a guy making chain mail, and honey to sample and a puppet show and sausage to buy for dinner, The day was capped off by a joust exhibition that featured three knights on horseback and some hand-to-hand combat. Very small-town, pretty authentic. No Renaissance crap trying to anachronistically creep into the Middle Ages.

And then we headed back to the house for a rest and a shower before R drove us back to Arras for the train. We were loathe to return to the Big City, and are already planning next year’s visit!