XIIe Siècle

THE REGION OF France where we are spending the summer is perhaps most well-known as the battleground between the House of Valois and the House of Anjou in the 100 Years War. It's complicated, but the two feuding families both claimed rights to the French throne after the end of the Capetian line of the kings in the early 1300s. The Anjou, also know as the Plantagenet, also claimed rights to the crown in England and were in fact ruling England at the time so the war involved both English and French armies.

Much of this area was already quite established by the time the war began and we have seen lots of evidence of that already. Every little village in the Poitou-Charentes has a Romanesque church that dates from the 12th or 13th century and they are incredible to see. Many are very small -- with only room for 50 or 100 people -- but to know they were erected so long ago is amazing. Our village church was completed in 1189.

We've been exploring cities and villages (like we like to do) and two of our favorite so far are Angouleme and Poitier. I wouldn't call either 'spectacular' in the way Sienna or Avignon are (to pick cities of roughly the same size), but each has some very nice parts. Poitier, for example, has a gorgeous cathedral that dates from the 12th century and was the setting for one of the rounds of questioning of Joan of Arc in the mid 1400s. It also has a market right next door that has been running (almost) continuously since the 1150s. A market virtually every day since the 1150s!!

Rare family shot in Angouleme.

The Chateau in Angouleme.

As the sun is setting over the Notre Dame in Poitier. Can't see us, but can see the cathedral.

Hotel de Ville, Poitier, France

Just a Thought on Beauty

JUST A THOUGHT: There may be countries as visually and beautiful as France, but I can't imagine there is one that is more beautiful. Every year the Tour de France reminds me of this. The last two days in the Alps have been incredible.

Les Twins

I WAS GOING to put up a quick post about digging around in backed-up sewage, but decided to go with a quick video clip instead. The sewage story will have to wait -- assuming I can even bring myself to mention it again. Instead, take a look at Les Twins -- this clip is an impromptu routine that I like even better than they stuff they do more formally (on talent-type shows in France). They really are pretty good.

Top of the Class(es)

THE SCHOOL WHERE I teach received the best Bac results in our département (Alpes-Maritimes). Just saw the story in today's paper. A whopping 96% pass rate -- and it's one of the bigger schools in the region.

Well done!

Breadmakers

THE LAZY SUMMER mornings that the kids have been enjoying since school finished was interrupted this morning by a 6:30am wake-up call. After a quick piece of toast each that Kerri prepared, we hoped in the car for the 10 minute drive down to La Ferme de Chassagne in the nearby village. Our mission: to help bakers at the farm prepare the daily bread.

Last week we went to a evening market in the incredibly cute village of Verteuil-sur-Charente. While we were there we bought some bread and cheese from one of the local producers and got to talking a bit about where they were located, how they made their bread, etc. It turns out that they are only 5 km from our house and every Tuesday and Friday morning they welcome visitors to and 'help' them bake bread. As long as you are there by 7:00am you can see the whole process, including how they heat up the wood-burning oven.

The baker and her 'volunteer' -- a very nice young kid from Germany, treated us very well and not only showed us how they do their work, but let the kids have a go with their own dough.

Just a little house in the middle of the farm with a little sign in the window.

Henry has a lesson in how to knead and shape the dough.

Another family came to help and watch as well.

That's 25 kilograms of pain de campagne.

Julia's turn.

La Ferme de Chassagne bakes about 350 kilos of bread dough (and about 10 varieties) two days per week. It is not a large scale bakery so they don't bake every day. In fact, the main goods they produce and sell locally are legumes and sunflower oil. But today was bread day and it was worth getting up early on a beautiful, delightfully crisp summer morning.

USA - France Up Next

SPENT A COUPLE hours this afternoon watching...get ready...the women's World Cup. This goal by the US in added time of the extra-time session is as good (and dramatic)a goal as you will see on any level. The US went on to win in a shootout and will now play FRANCE for a spot in the final.

Fun for the whole (American) family.

TDF - Chateauroux

IT'S ONE OF those things we just do. Ever since our first family trip to France in 2003 we have made it a point to go to as many stages of the Tour de France as possible. Kerri actually saw the Tour in person long before I did (she saw a couple of stages while on a summer trip to France back when she was in high school -- and even got a Team 7-11 hat from Raul Alcala, I think), and now we drag the whole family along. Although there is usually only about 1 minute of real action, what the Tour does exceedingly well is milk that one minute for everything it is worth. How? By passing out free crap!

About 1 hour before the riders pedal through, a massive caravan (parade) rolls through with motorized "floats" which throw candy, hats, pens, refrigerator magnets, coffee packets, laundry detergent, key chains, more hats, and even bottled water to the spectators along the side of the road. The parade often lasts nearly 40 minutes and if you get aggressive you can end the day with a real load of things that you really don't need. [Note: to be fair, some items are actually quite useful. For example, we won't need to buy laundry detergent for a while since I think we have about 15 packets 'X-tra' that a guy in one of the cars just threw down at our feet.]

Yesterday's stage finished in Chateauroux and we made the beautiful drive from the Charente in time to place ourselves near the sprint finish. The atmosphere was great (as usual) and the riders were a bit tense after the race (also usual). As we went back to our car we passed the hotel where BMC, Liquigas, and Saxo-Bank were staying and the riders seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood (not unusual, I might add, for Cadel Evans who always seems to be ticked-off at something or someone). Quite a few of the riders had fresh road rash from the spills they had taken earlier in the day.

Yes, we got free Bic pens.

...and free stuff from Cofidis.

...and what everyone needs: a hat umbrella.

Finally, the High Road boys led out a great sprint win for Cavendish.

Not By the Sea For a While

OUR THREE WEEK temporary stay in Antibes is behind us. Now that we are away from the coast, we have only the photos to remind us of sea. That'll work for now...

Villeneuve Loubet

Henry just ran and jumped, ran and jumped, ran and jumped...

...and ran and jumped...

...and stopped to empty the rocks out of his shoes.

Then ran and jumped, and ran and jumped...

Department Charente

AFTER A RELATIVELY peaceful 12 hour drive, we arrived in the Poitou-Charentes region on Saturday evening and have begun to settle in to our home for the summer. We are in the Department Charente but are very near the border of the Deux-Sevres. We've only begun to explore the region, but for now we're just enjoying the house (a converted animal barn with massive stone walls), the weather (perfect), the yard (including the basketball hoop), the English satellite tv (Food Network!), and the rolling hills full of either vineyards, sunflowers or giant rolls of hay.

It's going to be a particularly busy summer for me (more later), but my first day on "the job" was productive so I'm off to a good start. This morning I've been sitting by the phone waiting to hear about the bac results at the CIV. Initial reports are fairly good.

That Time of Year Again

IT'S BECOME ROUTINE: pack up the house, spend a few weeks in a small apartment, load up the family car, drive somewhere, stay for 8-9 weeks.

For somewhat complicated reasons (not too complicated explanation here) we leave this region of France every year for two months. Each year we try to pick somewhere unfamiliar -- somewhere we have not been before, or at least not spent much time. Like I say often: we're not sure how long we're going to be doing "this" so we're trying to make the most of the time we have. This philosophy can lead to minor headaches and inconveniences, but it's always worth it in the end. Always.

Our last three summers have been spent in three distinctly different areas: the foothills of the the Pyrenees in South/Central France, the suburbs of Strasbourg, and a farming village in central Italy. Tomorrow morning we leave Antibes and head west -- very far west -- to the Poitou-Charentes region of France. The house we have rented for the next two months is just couple hours north of Bordeaux near a town called Ruffec. As is our custom, we've found a place that is bit removed from the normal tourist destinations and we've quite pleased about that. We get enough of that environment during the year.

Off we go!

I Wanna What?

IT'S END OF the year school program season and I missed Henry's because I was away for work. But Kerri videotaped the whole show so I got to see him dancing around in his Washington National's baseball uniform. I also got to see a couple of the other routines by other classes -- including one gem where 4th grade girls performed ballet dance moves to the song "Right Now" by R&B star Akon. As usual (and I have written posts on this before) the French don't always understand the lyrics of the songs they listen to in English. The recurring refrain in "Right Now" goes like this: "I wanna make love right now, now, now." The line is repeated at least 42,000 times in the (admittedly catchy) song -- check for yourself. [Note: You better click now because I promise this is the last time a link to an Akon video will be appear on this blog]:

If I get time to download the video of the show and Henry's school, I'll throw it up. There is something quite comical/creepy about seeing 4th graders ballet dancing to this tune.

Those of you with high cultural IQ's recognized the difference between "now, now, now" and "na, na, na", I'm sure.

Grenoble

WE'VE BEEN TO a lot of cities in France and have explored quite a few regions, but after spending 4 days in Grenoble last week I'm putting it near the top of my list of favorite 'mid-sized' cities. There are several variables that could be influencing my decision -- including having a great host while I was there who organized meals for our group at several top-flight restaurants. But beyond that I was captivated by three things about Grenoble:

1) the vibrant and very compact old village, with numerous boutiques, shops, and outdoor cafes -- including one I went to that claims to be the 2nd oldest continuously running cafe in France, Cafe de la Table Ronde. According to the sign it's been running since the mid 1700s. The old village is sort of perfect for my taste because it is obviously bigger than a city center in a small mountain village, but clearly smaller than a big city like Paris or even Nice. I just loved it.

2) the modern, up-to-date business district. I'm have always like cities that effectively mix old and new. I love quaint villages that are 500 years old as much as the next guy, but I get bored enless there is evidence of today nearby. In Grenoble you can enjoy a coffee in the old town, walk 10 minutes along the river, cross under the train station and emerge in a 21st century business park that is --by modern business park standards -- quite attractive architecturally. In this area you find universities, business schools, high-tech industries, and the school where I was based for the oral exams.

3) mountains! The scenery around Grenoble is stunning. I took the cable car up to the old Bastille and just admired the view --- including one of Mont Blanc in the distance. From the top of the fort you really get a sense of the history of Grenoble because you can see its development by observing the rooftops: first the old village near the river, then the early 20th century expansion, then the evidence of the '68 Olympic Games, then the modern construction -- including a large IKEA near the outskirts of town. Beautiful.

I don't know where I will be placed next year, but I'd be perfectly happy to go back to Grenoble. It's not the most convenient town to get to from here (evidenced by my two trains and one bus trip home yesterday), but it was worth it this time around.

Most British Headline Ever?

I'M HANGING OUT with a lot of my colleagues from the British Section of the OIB (remember, I teach in the American Section) while doing oral exams here in Grenoble, and perhaps that is why this caught my attention. Buzzfeed claims to have found the most British headline ever printed -- and it's tough to disagree. Judge for yourself:

Standing With the Intellectual Class

AS MUCH AS I hate to admit it, I'm with the French intellectuals on this one.

[Note: isn't that phrase -- French intellectuals -- so pretentious that it's almost satire all by itself?]

[Note 2 -- you see what I'm talking about by clicking the link...on the words 'on this one' above].

Dinner and Music and a Few Other Things

AFTER HAVING READ over 800 pages worth of bac papers in the last week and a half, I am glad to be finished with the marking of the written exams. The last three days have been full, full, full. But now that we are done I will spend a nice long evening enjoying a meal and the Fête de la Musique here in Paris. The 21st of June really is one of the greatest nights in France and in Paris -- as usual -- they crank it up a notch or two.

I did get a chance to have a really good meal last night as well. After a very enjoyable visit with Cécile and Emmanuelle (some of you know who they are -- I'm looking at you, Jeremy!) at a little café near Odeon, I joined the other examiners at a well-known restaurant called the Polidor. We went to the Polidor last year as well (see here), but this year it was noticeably more crowded and the line outside to get a table at about 9:00pm was approaching 25-30 people. Could that be, perhaps, because the Polidor is featured in a major scene in Woody Allen's new film "Midnight in Paris"? I'm guessing it played a role....

Off to Grenoble tomorrow for a few days of oral exams.

Meanwhile, Patrick and Julia officially finished school today and we are very proud of the work they did in what can only be called a demanding year. This French system really gets into gear when you hit middle school -- or as they call it: collége. Summer vacation has now arrived for them, and it coming for me in under two weeks. More on our plans for this summer later.

Doing What Most Americans Can't

I'M TAKING A high speed train to Paris in the morning. Most Americans can't do that. Not go to Paris, but take a high speed train. I read an article about the lack of train usage in the US and found the following among the interesting parts:

Ohio and Florida—both of which unfortunately rejected rail funding—are about as dense as France, a world leader in high-speed rail. Illinois, Virginia, and North Carolina sit one density level down, but are on par with Spain and Austria, both of which host high-speed rail.

The chart I included is hard to read, but is basically represents this: the top two panels show population density where the darker the shade of blue the more people there are per square mile. The bottom two panels reflect areas where this is a network of high speed trains.

The US is far bigger and spread out than Europe, that is for sure. But it seems clear there are regions that mirror European geography and demographics where rail could be a real solution to the transportation problems that plague many parts of the country. Of course, much of it comes down to culture and we are not train travelers anymore. Much like we do not take buses unless we absolutely have to. What a shame.

I'll be in Paris and Grenoble for a week marking the written Bac and examining students in the oral phase of the exam. Always a very tiring, but fun time.

Bac 2011

LE BAC...C'EST PARTI! Over 6,000 students in our part of France start the official bac today with the famous/dreaded Philosophy exam -- or as it called here, le bac philo. Almost 200 of those students are from the school where I teach. Bonne chance tout le monde!

Update: The newspaper websites are already printing the subjects from today's philosophy bac. Here they are (students choose one to write on for two hours)

• L'art est-il moins nécessaire que la science ? (Is art less necessary than science?)
• La liberté est-elle menacée par l'égalité ? (Is freedom threatened by equality?)
• La culture dénature-t-elle l'homme ? (Not really sure how to translate this one correctly, but it's something like 'Does culture misrepresent man?')
• Peut-on avoir raison contre les faits? (Can we be right about the facts?)

Students also get to comment on an extract from one philosopher they have studied (again, chose one and write for two hours). This year the extracts are from: Gay Science (Nietzsche), Thoughts (Pascal), and Benefits (Seneca).

Geez, my dad is going to love this!

Ahh...Congressional

THE U.S. OPEN Championship begins today and I'll be paying closer attention than usual because it is being held at Congressional Country Club -- just a few miles from the house we own in the DC area. I've watched professional tournaments in person at Congressional at least 5 or 6 times, including walking two rounds of the both the '95 US Senior Open (where I saw Jack Nicklaus hit a hole in one!!) and the '97 US Open. In fact, at the '97 Open my friend Kevin and I actually worked concessions on the Friday selling lemonade just off the 4th hole. If I remember correctly the largest crowds that day were for the threesome that included Tiger Woods and Nick Faldo. I took my brother to the final round on Sunday and we follwed Ernie Els for most of the back nine, but also got to see Colin Montgomery put his ball in the drink on 17. Needless to say, the crowd went wild when Monte's ball got wet.

In 2007 I took Patrick to Tiger's tournament and one of the best moments was when we paused for lunch -- a juicy burger while sitting on the 9th fairway). The 9th hold is a long par 5 where 70% of the tour players lay-up because of a huge gully just in front of the green (you can almost get the feel of it from the photo, which is taken from the 9th fairway). We sat with our lunches right at the spot where players usually put their second shot. When Adam Scott came through we turned our heads to the right to watch his approach. As soon as his club hit the ball it was clear, however, that he was not laying-up -- he was going for the green. That shot was one of the best shots I have ever seen in person. It started low, arched upward about two thirds of the way to the green, landed softly on the front fringe and rolled to about 8 feet. Scott missed the put, but what the hell, it was a great shot anyway.

Isn't this great, my thoughts on personal golf memories? The fact is, I miss golf. I havn't played since moving to France and don't watch much because of the time change. With some luck I'll watch a bit this year.

Food-Beverage Pairing

TONIGHT I PAIRED my main course with...ice cold Dr. Pepper. No real reason to mention that except to say that I love Dr. Pepper and I'm happy I can get it from time to time at the local supermarket.

Antiboises For A While

IT IS THAT time of year again -- the time when we must vacate our house and move into a small apartment for 3 weeks until the school year finishes. In the past we always chose a little place close to our house because the kids needed easy access to the local primary school. But now that the twins are with me at the CIV, we decided to branch out a bit and try something completely different. I'll explain by describing my immediate surroundings right now:

I am currently sitting on the patio of a second-floor (first floor if you're European) apartment in Antibes. The apartment sits above a bank and almost directly across the street from the Antibes Cycles bike shop. About 50 meters to my left is a small Casino (the store, not the gambling hall), a tabac, a boulangerie, and a pharmacy. To my right is a hair dresser and a couple of other small shops. Directly in front of me, just beyond a small block of houses and the train tracks that connect Nice and Cannes, is the Sea. Lots of traffic, lots of people walking around, lots of shops nearby.

Something completely different. The apartment is small, but very cute and charming and has two bedrooms -- an upgrade from previous years. The fact that I can walk to get a newspaper tomorrow morning in the less time than it takes for my coffee to brew is very exciting. It almost makes me want to go to bed right now so that morning will come quicker.

As usual, Kerri found the place, and we're quite happy to spend the next three weeks here in Antibes.