Agnes arrives the day after us by train from Paris. This is instant fun for Estelle.
The day after we arrive, Thomas is pounced upon by cousins to play in the village soccer tournament that just happenned to be while we were there. This was a fun occasion to see the village playing fields and discover a little playground I didn't know about.
On the same day as the soccer tournament, there also just happenned to be a large event happenning in Calvinet to honor the centennial anniversary of a historic and controversial thing that occurred that very day 100 years prior - the Mayor of Calvinet removed a cross from the top of the central fountain and replaced it with a statue of liberty (not the same as the kind in NYC). This was a huge scandal in the region and he was blackmarked as anti-clerical. A long story but very very interesting and superbly presented the the regional historical society, involving several different parts of a "day-long" celebration. I went alone with Riri and even got my photo in the local paper the next day!
Papie Guy and Estelle enjoying a family dinner on Sunday afternoon
Sunday walk at Thomas' cousin Marthe & Bruno's farm. This is Bruno's prize-winning bull. He literally weighs a ton. He is one big animal. That's Bruno leaning against him!
Here is Estelle going for a walk on Bruno and Marthe's farm, aided by 2nd cousins Lalie and Aubin.
Monday canoeing down the "Lot" river - Me and Thomas and Agnes and her friend Romain. What a glorious day we had.
After canoeing, we hooked up with the family in a nearby village called St. Projet, home to Thomas' great grandparents and the Ouillade family origins. Sylvette, Thomas' godmother and his dad's first cousin, has inherited the old family home up in the village and uses it as her summer spot. This view is from her window of the village and the Lot river below.
In St. Projet, Thomas' godmother Sylvette and her husband Gerard (who is actually quite lovely but looks scary in this photo! :-)
Wednesday was a lovely dinner at Tata Josette's, the butcher's widow. She made a traditional dish called "Aligo" - mashed potatoes mixed with famous local cheese called "Tomme". You serve it by cutting it with scissors. It should be stringy. And it was, which means it is fabulous!
Josette's entree - ham filled with a mayonnaise vegetable filling.
Playing with cousins out on the patio.
One day we stopped for a visit with Thomas' mom's cousin Nanette and her husband Jean who live in the village as well. They are 95 years old. And still driving! Yowza!
The night before we left there was a wedding in Calvinet of a young woman related to Thomas' uncle DeDe, who is married to his aunt Yvette, which is from whom Estelle got her middle name. Anyways, this bride is connected via various ways to a number of Thomas' cousins. So here they all were walking thru the village after the civil and church ceremony, on their way to the vin d'honneur and the big party after that. We lay in waiting for them on the corner in order to say hello and see them in all their finery. TaTa Yvette and Tonton Dede, us & Agnes, then Jean-Luc, Sylvie and Pascal, Joelle and Theirry, and Jean-Luc's wife Marie-Andree - all cousins on Thomas' mom's side.
Thomas and Estelle and I walking around the village.
Holding Estelle is of course Manou Andree, with her two living siblings, Yvette and Tonton Riri. Riri lives in Calvinet on the property of their parents. Yvette now lives in Salon de Provence.
Thomas' cousin Francoise lives with her family in the original family home of her grandmother which they have recently renovated, next to her father Riri. This is her daughter Annaelle, Estelle's favorite person in Calvinet.
Estelle and Annaelle in front of the fountain on the main square in the village.
Here is Ocean, the horse that is in the pasture flanking Francoise' property. He was a large source of interest.
