donna cerca uomo Bitonto 14 Juillet (14 July) is Bastille Day in France, our equivalent of the 4th of July. Old men put on their military uniforms, the fire brigade turns out to orchestrate events, and the whole town throws an enormous barbecue in the town square. Apparently there were more than 200 people this year, which is almost a quarter of the village! The weather was beautiful and we had a great evening with friends and neighbors.

donna cerca uomo Ercolano Ready for the celebrations

coppia cerca donna Parma The whole town turned out

coppia cerca donna Venezia Well, it only took a year to finally get the kids’ play area finished off. Still, I think it was worth it.

donna cerca uomo Acerra The kids now have a space of their own

Lego has always played an important role in Papa’s childhood, and we’ve always had them around the house for the kids to play with. Only recently, though, did the kids really start to enjoy playing with them. And then today, a breakthrough: Juliette learned how to follow the instructions and make something out of the book of ideas. A fish!

She was pleased as punch with her creation.

Juliette’s first Lego creation

We were treated to a weekend of beautiful, warm, sunny weather and a visit from Juliette’s godmother, Gratiane and her daughter Ines. It was a busy weekend with dance recitals (and a very, very late night for Juliette) and the annual medieval festival in the village. Great to see old friends after so long!

The three stooges

Maman enjoying the summer sunshine

Gratiane came to visit

Playing it up for the camera

Life has been busy and Papa hasn’t had much of a chance to update the website yet, but time moves relentlessly on. And then… summer!

Celebrating the first days of summer

The beginning of summer also marks the arrival of the Medieval Festival in our village, and the kids decided to dress the part this year. It was a fantastic afternoon with displays of horse riding as well as circus acrobats, recreating the ambiance of our village in another time.

A knight and a fairy, heading down the hillside. Alexandre is long gone!

Ready for the medieval festival

Our medieval trio tuck into an afternoon snack of crepes

We patted ourselves on the back for our fine parenting, bringing up a daughter that would eat almost anything. Seems we were a little premature in handing out the congratulations, because along came our son who won’t touch anything remotely fruit-or-vegetable. Alexandre’s idea of a well-balanced meal is chicken and potatoes with a nice square of chocolate afterwards.

So imagine my surprise when he asked Papa to make a ratatouille? It goes without saying that I roped in my kitchen assistant to help me prepare it, and Alexandre ate two plates full! Papa’s ratatouille was a hit.

Papa’s kitchen helper

Every couple of weeks, we head to the library on a Saturday afternoon to pick up new books and DVDs. Juliette was pretty excited with this new addition to the kids’ reading corner.

A pretty comfy cushion

Warm spring weather was the perfect excuse for a walk in the woods to discover a “new” chateau.

The kids hanging out with Papa

There are literally three totally different emotions in this picture

Trouble comes in pairs