Retreat at la Pépinière

Yesterday morning our American team of five reloaded the Renault van with our supplies and headed out on the autoroute for our hour-long trip to the gite (vacation rental). The countryside out here is pretty nice. If you've ever used canola oil, you should know that the beautiful yellow flower fields in the area are where the stuff comes from. Here is a view of those fields from our back deck.

Yesterday was really low key and was a desperately needed time of rest for the staff and their families. They all had very little sleep as they prepared for their conference. I haven't said much about the conference yet, but rest assured that what their team put together is quite impressive. 

For the remainder of the day we mostly spent our time making the meals, eating the meals, cleaning up after the meals, and enjoying conversation around the meals.  Yes, there's a theme to be found there somewhere. 

While the parents rested , the kids made their own fun.  Some made their own perfumes from plants around the property and sold the scents for men and women for three clover flowers apiece. 

 I bought a sample. I now smell like an alpine forest. Other kids got more creative.  Emily decided to turn squirrel roadkill into a marionette puppet. Kids these days. 

Notice the American flag themed t-shirt. I kinda don't know what to say about that except that I was unable to breathe from laughing so hard. And that I hope she washed her hands before supper.

Thats all for now.

Eric