When we woke up the first morning in France the first thing I did was open the windows onto the street. The homes are similar to brownstones and all connected. The homes all have shutters which we kept open. And because the houses are all made of something like concrete blocks and then coated the window sill is very deep. All the streets and sidewalks are very narrow. As there are no parking spaces people pull their cars onto the sidewalks. So the building across from theirs is very close.
It was a beautiful morning with cars zooming down the streets, kids meeting in the alleyways on their way to school and cats lapping milk out of bowls set out. Mia had gone out before we had gotten up to get fresh croissants for breakfast. She said she saw me looking out the window as she drove away.
We spent the day at a zoo that’s about a half hour away. On the way we stopped at Phare de la Coubre lighthouse. We didn’t go into the light house but got a kick out of the sign outside which stated cautions about the ascent which included the elderly, cardiac person, several others but my favorite was drunk people.
The zoo is at de la Palmyre and it is one of the best zoos I‘ve ever seen. It is ranked as one of the best private zoos in Europe. Even before you go into the zoo there is an area filled with flamingos. They are spectacular.
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One amazing thing about this zoo is all of the animals can be fed by the visitors except for the primates. So we’ve loaded up with baguettes.
That was pretty cool as there is one spot where the elephant will stand at the edge of the moat and reach his trunk. They can reach far enough at that spot that you can put a piece of bread in the trunk. If you hold it for a few moments you can feel the elephants breath. Then their prehensile snout grabs right onto it
We fed many animals but when we came to the hippos I think they were the most spectacular. The mom and dad had their one year old between them all floating in the water. We could see their ears and their snouts and they were pretty inactive. Until Mia tossed a piece of bread into the water. They snapped to attention in an instant and all three opened their huge jaws. They are gigantic and even the little one was right there waiting for his share of the bounty.
Another unique item here are the stand up toilets for both sexes. That was quite unique but I won't go into details. You must go there yourself for this experience. Sorry, no images of that.
The next incredible thing was walking by the tiger enclosure we found the big male pacing. Until he saw Wes setting up his tripod next to the glass. He stopped pacing then started snarling and roaring as he lunging at Wes. It was very obvious that he hated Wes’ tripod as he raced around the enclosure and kept lunging towards Wes. This enclosure was glass and wire enclosed with what looked like electrical wiring on the top. But we were still scared as this tiger was going crazy. I could just imagine having our first full day in France being mauled by an escaped tiger. He finally calmed down but still was pacing and looking very angry.
The next exhibit I really liked was the wolves. There is a pack of about 7 to 9 wolves with 8 of them all the same reddish color. They are really robust and healthy looking as all the animals are here. They were running around the enclosure occasionally beating each other up as wolves do. Then Mia threw some bread over the glass wall. Boy did that set them off. They all were competing to get the bread and chasing each other.
The monkey house has so many different types of small monkeys. And they all seemed to have babies, some with two babies clinging onto their mom’s fur. Wes got one little guy that was sticking his tongue out for whatever reason. And boy, did he have a long tongue for such a little guy.
The rain had continued off and on during the whole day. During one deluge we waited under a shelter while Mia went and grabbed us some lunch. She brought back these wonderful hot dogs. The meat was put into a pocket filled with the condiments. And while we were under this shelter a group of kids on a school field trip joined us. Once they found we were from America they practiced their English on us and sang us a French song. It was just delightful. Then one of the teachers had all the kids try to blow the rain away.
It was an incredible day, nothing like going all the way to Europe to go to the zoo. But with the boys in school and Thierry working the next couple of days we are hanging close to Marennes.
Benjamin
Ethan
Lulu and Laura
Once we got back to Marennes the boys were home from school and Evelyne's youngest daughter, Laura had decided I was hers. She is the same age as Ethan, 5 and even though we can’t talk she wants to be on my lap or by my side. Mia said she is quite a handful and clamps onto anyone new. She and her sister, Lulu have these huge eyes and are very cute kids.
This first night here Evelyne cooked dinner. Mia and Evelyne trade off cooking every other night. Evelyne made pork for dinner which was very good. But what is amazing is there was dish after dish brought from the kitchen. This is their usual dinner which last for at least an hour.. Then they do dessert which is usually cheese. We had Brie & Gouda which you spread on a piece of a baguette that you tear off as it’s passed around the table.
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