Should I Trust Him with That?

While the kids were playing with styrofoam swords, the dads were taking turns learning how to fight with real swords (albeit not sharp swords); at least we had a doctor with us just in case. Us moms stayed out of the way and played photographers. We didn’t do much other sightseeing in the Loire, but Vivynne, Tony, Jimmy and I managed to dump our kids and had a day of exploring Saumur, famous for its sparkling wines and mushrooms. While the tour of the wine caves did make me thirsty, the tour of the mushroom caves just helped remind me why I don’t eat them.

Knights of the Odd Table…

Instead of visiting public chateaux this year, we opted to go to Mini Chateaux, which is a miniatures park that has 44 of the Loire Valley’s chateaux in 1:25 scale. What made this park especially cool wasn’t the models, it was the sword fighting section. The kids were so excited when they got to put on squire’s tunics and were given styrofoam swords to fight with. Here they are posed with real weapons; there was little risk of them fighting with them since they could hardly lift them. Afterwards, they were each knighted and presented with a certificate.

Goofing Around at the Chateau…

We spent much of the week hanging at the Chateau enjoying the glorious weather. Kid activities this year included: a lizard show for the parents in the empty moat, including a fantastic demonstration by Andrew of what a lizard tail looks like after it’s been grabbed off by a predator; tractor rides headed up by Jim (please note, that while we are irresponsible, this photo was posed--when Ashlynn was allowed to drive, she had a parent with her at the time); many imagination games such as Flight 29 Down at the tent we brought along, Indians under a bridge and Survivor at the remnants of a Japanese water garden; variations of hide-n-go-seek including sardines and walkie-talkie; and another great Easter Egg Hunt.

Adults Know How to Play, Too…

It's no surprise to many of you that there was a lot of vin rouge consumed over the week, but I assure you we didn’t spend all of our time just drinking. We also played a lot and sometimes even let the kids join along: a bonfire with roasted marshmallows and a crazed fiddler; night sky viewing through a computer-guided telescope (I still think Saturn looked like a cartoon, but Jimmy’s convinced it’s real); a midnight tour by candlelight complete with surprise ghosts; extreme adult bocce with a playoff round done in the dark with glow-in-the-dark bracelets as the target (fun idea as long as you don’t mind permanently losing balls); and the first Chateau du Plessis-Fortia Hash hared by Tractor and Heatseeker.

Communal Living…

Unlike staying with friends at a hotel, the Chateau is a giant home where we’re hanging out together all the time. Just like in most homes, we're usually in the kitchen but here we're most likely planning, preparing or cleaning up group meals. One night Jimmy made homemade pizza; another he made homemade quiche. Sally made artichokes and avocado appetizers for Easter happy hour on the veranda, then Vivynne made leg of lamb and Greek chicken for our Easter feast in the main dining room. Most other nights we ate either leftovers or pasta. Of course, shopping for a commune takes a lot of coordination. Luckily we managed to make much of the shopping fun. For the big grocery store run, we had teams who competed to see who could shop the fastest; the prize was not having to spend the entire afternoon at the supersized supermarket. Here you see us with Sally and John at the farmer’s market in Vendome stocking up on veggies. Commune life can be quite tasty!

Sharing with Friends…

We didn’t expect when we first started planning this trip that we’d end up with a group of friends from so many different parts of our lives. In this crowd is our old friends from Florida, new friends in Holland from the Bay Area, the family from Raleigh who’s responsible for us moving to Holland, a couple who work with Jimmy, a British family from our school in Holland, a family we used to hash with in San Diego who were passing through France, and an old San Diego hash buddy who lives in Barcelona. It’s such fun watching our friends whose paths would normally not cross getting to know each other. Amazingly, we forgot to sing “It’s a Small World.”

Back to the Chateau…

It was hard to resist the idea of having another Easter at the Chateau. Lucky for us the weather was much warmer this year and absolutely dry. This was our family’s 6^th visit and we just never grow tired of being here, as evidenced by the fact that we stayed an extra night and still didn't want to leave. As much fun as we had alone here over Christmas, there’s something very special about being able to share it with friends.