So this is Christmas....

in France.

Yes, it's been awhile since I last posted, but I've been away for the last 2 + weeks doing various things holiday-style.

It's slightly strange being in a place with green grass and no snow, especially since the temperature is about the same as it is in Minnesota. It did hail at one point this break, however.

So, December 23rd Sid and I went to CDG airport in Paris to pick up my parents. Their flight was delayed 5 hours, but we had been forewarned thanks to text-messaging and didn't end up waiting that long. We got back to Sid's family's house in the evening, and they soon went to bed. Well, what am I saying, I did, too.

Something random from the airport: I ended up standing next to a girl from Edina who was waiting for her parents who were on the same flight as mine. I had a feelings she was American (it's kind of a game for me...spotting the people who aren't French before I hear them speak), but it was really a random coincidence that she was from Minnesota.

Christmas was spent at Sid's family with him, his parents, his two sisters, and his 3 grandparents. Mom, Dad, and I went to a Catholic church service with his grandparents on Christmas Eve at Damville, a small village about the same size as Blue Earth. There was no heat in the old stone building, and the organist played about as many wrong notes as she did right notes. It was hilarious. And the most I could do was not laugh.

We all exchanged presents on Christmas Eve. I had the idea to start the stocking tradition in the Freger family, so we (Mom, Dad, and I) gave our presents in stockings. It was very nice. Afterwards (at probably 10 o'clock, maybe later) we started the Christmas feast. Foie gras, salmon for starters. Then duck and potatoes, and 3 choices for dessert. Mom and I made pumpkin pie, so there was one American tradition present. I don't think French people like pumpkin pie, but they ate it.

After Christmas celebrations, Sid and I showed Mom and Dad Evreux and Rouen, and it was the beginning of many cathedrale tours. We hit 4 Notre Dames, I believe.

Ok, to not bore you, here's a quick list of where we went: Evreux, Rouen, Caen (WW II memorial, D-Day beaches), Rennes, Vitre, Mont Saint Michel, Honfleur (where they spent New Year's Eve while Sid and I went back to Damville to a party at his friend's), Elbeuf-Saint Aubin (my home), and ended in Paris. We were all exhausted when we hit Paris, which is too bad. But it was still a good ending to a fabulous vacation.


Oh, I don't want to forget. We trespassed. There are ruins of the castle of Robert le Diable that used to be a tourist attraction but are now shut down. Dad, however, decided to just walk around the fence the was put up and it wasn't too hard to get in. Hehe....