And if my parents end up checking this, it’ll be the first time they’ve seen photos.
Some stairs coming down from Ecole Elementaire Turgot to ground level
Tulle is built around the Corrèze river and into the seven surrounding hills, so there are a lot of stairs and bridges.
The view from Emilie’s backyard in Bar
The lake the kids and I went swimming in- where I had to hide a rock from Anouk so I could keep it…
A day trip to Meymac with Meg
Trees!
At the Meymac train station
Another day trip to Pompadour. Madame Pompadour was famous for being an excellent horsewoman and a friend of Marie-Antoinette’s before she met her ugly demise.
Les Cascades de Gimel
Yes, they really are this pretty. Even prettier, actually.
Since it’s almost time for another vacation, I figured it was time I posted some of the photos from last vacation and some of the crazy stories:
- Meg and I decided to go somewhere at the beginning of the vacation. We chose Meymac by chance. Because the trains were late (but it was an awesome train ride- a guy played Coldplay songs on his guitar and we sang) we ended up only being able to spend an hour in the city. Which means we never made it to Meymac centre ville (downtown).
- On the way to Pompadour, I heard the lovely sound of wood splitting. A tree had fallen across the track. I got there 30 minutes later than I was supposed to, which didn’t really matter, as I had no real plans. However, this delayed all the trains for the rest of the day. My train back was at least 45 minutes late, and we sat at least 30 minutes at the Objat (a city between Pompadour and Brive) train station. Why? I’m not sure.
- Before the vacations, one of the teachers at Laguenne asked what I was planning to do for them. I told her that I was planning on taking a couple of day trips to places like les Cascades de Gimel, Pompadour, and Turenne. She asked how in the world I was planning to get to Gimel, because she lived there and knew there was no way there. (there’s no train station or buses, as a country region, they just expect everyone to have cars.) I said I was still trying to figure that out. The next day, I was in Marie-Christine’s office returning some teaching books to her. We started talking about lesson planning and I said I wasn’t sure what I should do in Catherine’s class. So Marie called the school. And then Catherine asked to pass the phone to me and told me she could take me to the waterfalls the Wednesday or Thursday of vacation. I knew the kids’ birthday party was on Wednesday, so I said Thursday would be great. She said she’d call me Wednesday.
It was only after I hung up that I realized I would be staying with the family Wednesday night and cell phones don’t get a signal there. I explained this to Emilie Tuesday when she picked me up from Tulle, and she said we’d call Marie to get Catherine’s number. Of course, when Emilie called Wednesday night, Marie said she didn’t have the number. But she could give Emilie an answer about the last name other than “it starts with ‘D.'” So, we found the phone number in the phone book, Emilie dialed it and handed the phone to me. Speaking French on the phone is awful, but I had to leave a message, which was worse. I hate doing that in English. I hate talking on the phone unless it’s someone I know well. Anyway, she called back and said she’d pick me up at 2:30 at my apartment. To her, it was a bit like showing me the falls of Ohio, since she’s lived there her entire life. Her 18 year old son has never seen them up close. I’m not sure he cares. Home is funny like that.
So, yeah, I usually have complicated travel adventures. But it’s always worth it.
lafeedeslivres 