Travels With Snacks: A Day With Friends in St. Etienne

Indoor soccer - Before

We had a truly wonderful day today. We are staying with Doug's friend who he met when Doug was an exchange student one summer here in France. They are extremely wonderful hosts with four kids, 3 boys and a girl, ranging in age from 16-21.

We started the day with the traditional "cherche le pain" - getting the bread. I walked with Laurent to the grocery store, because the boulangerie is closed on Saturdays. We got an assortment of pains au chocolat, apple turnovers, and baguettes which we came home and devoured. The baguettes are eaten with butter and jam, or perhaps honey if you feel like being different.

After breakfast, we picked up one of the boys' friends and went to a local indoor soccer venue to play some indoor 4v4 soccer. This soccer venue was nicer than any that we have in Northern Virginia. Clean, nice turf, not outrageously hot or loud. It was a very lively game, some blood was shed, some shoes were ripped, and I think everyone had a good time. I am astounded by the foot skills not only of the big kids, but of the little ones. They all have better foot skills than I've seen in the US. It is a different sport here.

Indoor soccer, after.

After indoor soccer everyone came back to the apartment for a quick shower and then we went to Laurent's parent's house for lunch. This is the same house Doug stayed in when he was 16 years old, only a little bit older than Elisabeth! It is in a neighborhood that is terraced on a hillside and the house has a gorgeous view.

We sat outside and had snacks and drinks before moving inside for the full multi-course delicious meal. We had tomato and cucumber salad, potatoes au gratin, pork, then a cheese course, and then I had coffee before the fruit came out.

beautiful view from Laurent's parents' house

Lunch

After lunch the kids went and played some more soccer in the yard where we learned that what we call a nutmeg (getting the ball through your opponent's legs) is called a petit pont here (little bridge) which frankly makes more sense than nutmeg - where does that come from? Charlotte has dazzled the grownups and kids with her juggling skills. Girls here don't play soccer as much as in the US.

soccer in the backyard. a form of rondos.

While the kids played soccer, the grownups looked through pictures of all the times that Doug has visited. Everyone here is so warm and friendly - and so welcoming. Even though my French is not so good.

After the kids wore themselves out to the point they needed a drink, we all took a walk on a path down the hillside to a playground. The grownups played a game called Petanque, which involves throwing weighted metal balls at a target and the team with the closest ball gets some number of points that depends on how many balls they got closest to the target. It is a bit like curling, and quite a bit of fun. The kids...... played more soccer. Honestly if I left my 2 here for another month, they'd come home ready for the World Cup. It is so fun to watch them play with these boys, language differences rapidly fall away. I think that when they look back on this trip, the highlights will certainly include the times they have spent just playing with French kids on playgrounds.

The kids decided that Petanque looked fun and so the "revenge" round - which is apparently always played after one team wins, you play again so that someone can exact revenge - included the kids. Charlotte has a natural ability to get the ball next to the target and Elisabeth is pretty good at then using her turn to knock Charlotte's ball out of position.

Doug throws the ball, very precisely.

measuring - this is serious business

Elisabeth particularly enjoys this game because the rules are precise and there is even a tape measure involved to determine who is closest to the target!

After a long and very fun day, we all came back to the apartment where we ate yet more food. Some delicious melon, ham cru, tomatoes, grilled chicken, and ratatouille. And then, of course, the cheese course followed by the dessert course.

We are all packed up and ready to head out early in the morning for Barcelona to catch our cruise ship. As a warning, this blog is about to get pretty boring for 3 days as we intend to sit our butts on the ship and rest for a couple of days (and eat all of the things, and have non-stop soft serve ice cream!). But hopefully I'll have enough interesting things and pictures to post some updates.

Au revoir, France! It has been wonderful and we look forward to our return!