Chateau de l'Epinay (deux)

June 22, 2012

More pictures from our stay in France. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the Chateau before heading to the wedding site for the day-before festivities.

Words

I haven't had a chance to sort through the way-too-many pictures that I've taken, but here's a quick update on the past two days, before we're off to Goerlitz. What's missing in between is the wedding in France, which was delightful. And I'll hopefully have a chance to write more when I post those pictures. Until then, tschuss!


Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Berlin adventures

The girls each had half the day to spend with each parent. Zach ended up at Legoland all morning with Clara & all afternoon with Molly. I ended up biking around our neighborhood in the morning with Molly, and riding a double decker bus with Clara in the afternoon.

The highlight of the day, though, was a visit with Nat, Maja, & Viola. I've known Nat since before he was born - his parents are close friends with mine. And Maja has been key to helping organize our Berlin stay. The girls were delighted to play with 3 year old Viola, who understands english perfectly, but speaks only in German. They worked it out.


Thursday, June 28, 2012
More Berlin

Today, threats of more cold and rainy days turned into beautiful, warm, sunshine! A perfect day for the Zoo. So off we went, debating all the way who could ride on Viola's stroller, etc. The zoo was nice, but by far the biggest hit was the playground. Wow! What a playground. Trampolines! Tire swings! Slides! Climbing things everywhere! A close second for Molly was seeing the Prewalski horse in person. And I think all of the kids also got a kick out of the petting (and feeding) zoo.

The day was capped off with a lovely, simple dinner with Nina, and sending Zach off to get a cultural experience watching soccer with Nat.

Chateau de l'Epinay

June 22, 2012

South of Rennes there is a tiny town called Pire-sur-Seiche. South of Pire-sur-Seiche is a chateau called Chateau de l'Epinay. This is where we had the luxury of staying for four nights with Nana, Pa, Uncle Seth, & the newly dubbed "Tante Kristen". It was everything you would imagine a Chateau to be in the countryside of Brittany. There were cows. There were lots and lots of flowers. There were grassy fields, trees swings, and tree forts. There was a lovely old chateau with four perfect rooms that had been updated with plumbing and electricity, but the essence of antiquity was left intact (or perhaps, recreated, but we're not particular when it comes to such things). The proprietors were a lovely couple who had four children, the youngest of which is just finishing up high school. They served an amazing breakfast spread every morning and generally made our stay incredibly comfortable.

Train Ride to Rennes

June 21, 2012


At last! We were on a train. A fast train. A big train.

The ride was lovely. We had a delightful pseudo-berth - it was our four seats, open to the walkway, but with a wall between us and the next berth. Perfect for getting comfortable, reading, crafting, and watching the scenery go by. We were on a TGV, but due to some inclement weather (water on the tracks?) it ended up going slowly for much of the ride, which was actually fine because we were really enjoying the time.

Jardin Atlantique

June 21, 2012


While we were waiting for our train to Rennes, Clara, Nana, and I explored the Jardin Atlantique, a lovely garden/park built on top of the train station. We even found tadpoles in one of the ponds!