Sprouting Roots

Our box arrived!!  7 weeks after we packed it and left it in a warehouse in South San Francisco, it arrived on our driveway. Relief, was definitely my first feeling. It’s a strange thing to narrow down all that you own into what can fit in a 200 cubic foot box (plus 5 suitcases) and trust that you will see it all again. When it arrived, it was like a gift from “home”. Unpacking each item like a melding of the old with the new.

That's everything!! Weird, right?!

In some way the crate’s arrival was our grand finale. The culmination of all that was done prior to make France our new home. With every item that is unpacked, our roots are sprouting and starting to grow. Even Lola commented to me as she climbed into her bed freshly made with her sheets and blankets from home, that she felt like she was "home" again. 

The logistics of unpacking and finding room for all these new arrivals has definitely been a chore. We’re slowly getting through each box but are admittedly living amidst boxes stacked up against the walls. We have a bit of storage available to us, thanks to Marc’s parents, but not a lot. So that has been our most recent undertaking and likely will be for the next couple weeks.

In conjunction with the arrival of all our "things" we have also been making a concerted effort to find a routine around family time. One of the ways we've done this so far is by keeping Sundays just for family. A big Sunday meal and a hike (or outing) in one of the many beautiful places around us. This is at the heart of why we moved to France. To slow down, simplify (as best we can), and spend more time together. We are definitely making an effort to do all three!

For our first Sunday hike, we headed up Mont Forchat. It's a beautiful hike, about an hour up and back. We had done it once or twice last year but decided to take the quicker, yet steeper, route. 

Teah resisted going on the hike and then ended up going faster than all of us and leading us up the rocky terrain.

This is about half way up.

And when we finally made it to the top.

The next weekend we went to "Les Gorges du Pont de Diable" (The Gorges of the Devil's Bridge). We tried to take this walk last year but showed up when it was still closed. Because of the dangerous conditions in the winter, the Gorge is only open late Spring through the Summer. We managed to get a tour in right before the end of the season. It was breath-taking!

Our guide telling us the legend of "The Devil's Bridge" from where Les Gorges got it's name.

The Devil's Bridge! I would tell you the legend but I don't want to ruin the surprise when you come to take your tour. ;-)

This was at the end of the summer. I can only imagine how full and fast the river is right after Spring! We may just have to come back next Spring!

For those of you who have been following along with our adventures you know that we moved to a new location when we returned this last August. We're only about a 5 minute drive from where we were living in Anthy but I was a bit bummed that we wouldn't be so close to the lake. We were spoiled last year with views of the lake directly from our house and in less than a 5 minute walk could be down by the lake's edge. Well, although we are a bit farther away and don't have views of the lake anymore, I was happy to discover that in only a 10-15 minute walk we could be at the lake!!

We have 2 options. One is a beautiful park just below the small village of Corzent. The park used to be a private property and was bought by the town to create public space. It's so close to us and I had no idea it was there until a friend invited me to an outdoor yoga class there one morning. It was magical! 

Another 5-minute walk, around the corner, from the park and we have Corzent Beach and direct lake access.

I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the village of Corzent as we walked home. I seriously can't get enough of these old stone buildings and water basins!!

With the shorter days we're not going to get to enjoy this much longer but one Friday after school, the sun was shining, I was longing to get by the lake, so we decided to pack up the BBQ, some dinner, and head down. We found a great spot that had grass, picnic tables, and beach. And the best part.....we were the only ones there!

Marc brought his hammock and we were all lucky enough to get a turn before the evening was done!

I mean what's an impromptu BBQ at the lake without a bottle of French wine?!

We stayed for sunset. So pretty!

Had to lighten it a bit to see our faces but Teah took this picture of us!

We had so much fun that the next weekend we went again and invited some friends to join us.

This time we stayed late enough to enjoy a fire and some roasted marshmallows!

And then some weekends it's just a shorter outing; like a walk in one of the forests right on the outskirts of town, some roller-bladeing down by the lake, or even just hanging outside in the sun and doing some coloring.

  

The important thing is that it's time together, enjoying each other's company (mostly ;-) ) and not trying to multi-task. Hoping for many more weekends like these.