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This past week the kids had a week off of school and we took our tiny rental car over to the South West of France to see Carcassonne. Perhaps you have the board game? I had 'visit a castle' on my to do list for our time in France and this seemed to fit the bill. We stayed in a small, cheap apartment in a great location and spent our time there biking and exploring the castle & town. As wikipedia puts it: " Carcassonne, a hilltop town in southern France’s Languedoc area, is famous for its medieval citadel, La Cité, with numerous watchtowers and double-walled fortifications.   The first walls were built in Gallo-Roman times, with major additions made in the 13th and 14th centuries". (Gallo-Roman times was between the 1st to 5th cen turies!) Seeing this beautiful sight during the day, sunset and by night was magical. The photos don't do it justice. The kids had a blast exploring the ramparts and testing out the stinging power of the stinging nettles (Just kid...

Everywhere we go I can't stop gawking out the window at all of the natural beauty that surrounds us here. It's hard to imagine how it will look in the spring and summer with everything in bloom. I'm impatiently waiting for the amandiers and cerisiers to bloom (almond and cherry trees) along with all of the iris bulbs I see around. Is it just because I have time to take in all of the beauty that it's so breathtaking? Would I notice all of the little things as much if I were working and juggling the mass amounts of kids activities like usual? Sadly I'm not so sure I would. It makes me wonder what I am missing out on in Victoria in terms of all of the beauty that surrounds us there. Add it to the list of what to do when we get home... so far my list might include making more time for family, getting together with friends more, appreciating the beauty that surrounds us, getting out and being more active, possibly throwing out a bunch of unnecessary junk, and buying fan...

This past week has been filled with baking and biking! Last Friday it was the responsibility of H's class to do some baking and drop it off at the salle des professeurs (teachers room) at the start of the day. The baking was to be sold at the end of the day by whichever parents were available, just outside of the school gates. All proceeds went towards the school. Each week there is a different class responsible. Anywho... I ended up making some vanilla cupcakes with brown butter frosting. They were pretty tasty after I fiddled with the replacement ingredients a bit! I have yet to find baking powder or baking soda and instead have replaced it with a rising agent. Things taste a bit different but that's ok :) I ended up making a different recipe for Sunday when I dropped off some cupcakes to sell at the Vide Grenier (attic sale/garage sale) with proceeds going towards the school. Of course the internet has a zillion options for baking and what to bake when in France but a ne...