Monday and Tuesday, 30^th and 31^st

Monday’s generally have a bad rep, because so many people have to get up and go to work every Monday, and so it became the most disliked day of the week. Poor little guy. My Monday wasn’t bad at all, it was quiet after the big camping trip, some lying around, sleeping, and making these amazing almond cookies of Ginette’s. But around 5 in the afternoon, I was alone in the house, everyone elsewhere, so I hopped on the bike and lit out of there. Napoleons square is only 2 kilometers from the house, and it seemed like a good place to start my exploration of La Roche from. However, if you know me, you will realize that if I have a book in my bag, which I usually do, then wherever I stop, I'm staying there. It was terribly brisk in the square, so I wasn’t there for long, but I do enjoy people watching in places big enough. It’s fun to see the cultures, ethnicities, and just general personalities of people when they don’t know you are watching them, and yes I know that sounds creepy, but if you are a budding photographer like me then you learn that observing can be interesting and makes it easy to spot a perfect photo opportunity.  Eventually, I got too cold and returned home.

Tuesday is the day that we pick up Bleuenn and Christell, Jean Luc and Ginettes granddaughter and daughter, respectively. I’m not sure what to expect, but I'm sure they’ll be just as wonderful as their relatives.

I failed to fully realize that it was Halloween until the doorbell rang the first time. Now, in France, it’s not as big of a holiday as in the US of course, but there were a few small kids who came trick or treating.

The main thing, the kind of “Halloween” for the French people, is on November 1^st, when they buy flowers, get in their cars, and go visit the graves of their family members. It’s not the most joyful thing, but as far as I can tell it’s a tradition that they uphold without fail, every year.

Graveyards aren’t the best places to explore, what with the visitors throwing you dirty looks, and shushing you, but its actually quite interesting, the huge tombs with the whole family, the graves with no flowers, ones covered in moss, weathered from standing so long, from years like 1880 to the turn of the century, to the time of the second world war. Stuff like that really interests me, especially WW2, history is what interests me, I guess. After visiting the house of Ginette’s sister, which included the kind of creepy child’s bedroom with the omnipresent  doll on the bed; the one that looks like it will happily murder you in your sleep, we drove home as night was falling, singing the songs on the radio.

Thursday, 2^nd November already!

As some of you who have had the utmost pleasure of meeting me know, I am not a big ‘shopper’. I greatly prefer say, a bookstore, or a second hand shop to hitting the shops or the mall. However, the girls in the Pollaileau (that is their last name) family love shopping. So away we go. Do you know how exhausting it is to traipse back and forth between the stores? After the first couple stores, I just decided screw it, I'm trying something on; so I grabbed a dress and headed to the changing room. Apparently my brain is really good at eye coordination, because it fit, and really well too. And that is how I ended up with an Italian made dress purchased in France, by a half American, half South African, living in Portugal. How’s that for a little twist in geography? By the time we left, everyone was happy with their purchases, and it was freezing outside. Already the temperature average is falling down to 14 degrees Celsius on a reasonable day. Good thing I have some warm clothes!