Fete des Chatagnes - Valdeblore de la Bolline

A couple of weeks ago we were at the park, and we found some nuts laying on the ground that had fallen from a nearby tree.  We were told by the others in the park that these were "marrons".  The kids decided that these "marrons" were basically "treasures", and started to collect them.  When we got home, we looked up what a "marron" is, and learned that it is a chestnut.  Another name for a marron (in french) is a chatagne.  A few days later, Marcus and I were at the tourist office, and found a brochure for a "Fete des Chatagnes" in a villlage in the mountains called Valdeblore de la Bolline.  So.....last Sunday we headed to the "Chestnut Festival" in Valdeblore, with the Labrie family.  Another fabulous outing to remember.  The drive was beautiful, and being that we were headed up in the mountains, the temperatures were cooler, and the colors were more vibrant. Here are a few photos of our day .............

The drive to Valdeblore

One of many tunnels

Valdeblore

The men roasting chestnuts

"chestnuts roasting on an open fire...."

Live entertainment

Daryl and Mitch enjoying a ``biere de marron``

Ending our visit in Valdeblore

Beautiful colors!

New hair-dos for Marcus and Daryl

Marcus before

Marcus after

Daryl after

Stephie's "Monstre High" Birthday

Stephie's birthday cake (her new favourite,  the Tropeziene)

Freeze dance is just as much fun in France as in Canada :o)

Gift opening.....

Celebrating with new school friends

Marcus taking his turn at the 'cut the cake' game

Mathieu,  not so successful at the 'cut the cake' game

Celebrating with the family

Afternoon birthday date with mom to St. Paul

Looking for the perfect scarf to buy with birthday $ (we didn't realize this was a 'vrai renard'!)

Posing outside the macaroon shop

Enjoying her first day of being 7 :o)

Parc Phoenix, Nice

Musical fountains......

Playing hide and seek in the sunken gardens

"I got the whole world in my hands!"

The whole play park to ourselves!

Flamingos were a favourite.

Beautiful flowers, even appreciated by the kids!

Parc Phoenix is a beautiful park in Nice, located across the street from EDHEC (Daryl's school).  Marcus and I have visited it a few times, however the other kids got a chance to explore it on Saturday morning, while Daryl was at school for the morning.  We were first ones in the gate, therefore had the whole place to ourselves, and it was amazing!  I would have to say that this outing was one of my favourites so far.  The kids were free to explore the gardens and enjoy the animals, the weather was not too hot, and there were no crowds!  The park consists of a large pond full of various birds and turtles (which you can walk across on stepping stones), cages full of every type of bird imaginable, a huge turtle reserve, lemurs, very noisy and annoying parrots (the kids were surprised I let them use the word annoying....but there was no other word to describe their terrible bird sounds), kangaroos,  rabbits, free roaming peacocks, and numerous other creatures including flamingos and giant turtles in the "Green Diamond" greenhouse (which consists of flora and fauna of seven tropical climates).  The huge playpark was a huge hit with the kids as well.  We are planning another trip to Parc Phoenix on Saturday, however this time we will remember to bring a picnic as it is a perfect place for a family picnic.  This will give something for Daryl to look forward to after his Saturday morning class..  

Celebrating Daryl's birthday

Birthday flower bouquets from the kids



Lunch.....minutes before the arrival of a 'special guest'

Daryl trying to retreive the 'special guest' from the pool, after his jump

'Special guest' trying to decide what is worse, going back in the pool, or the Blouin kids trying to put him in their bug box

Deciding what to do with the 'special guest', whom mommy by now wants nothing to do with!

Singing 'bonne fete' and 'happy birthday' to a very special daddy and husband, on his 35th birthday

We celebrated Daryl's birthday on Saturday, and a great day was had by all.  Daryl decided that the best day would be one spent at home......drinking coffee, and hanging with the family.  So that is exactly what we did.  The kids were quite proud of their gifts, as they had spent hours making egg carton flower bouquets.  Daddy thought they were pretty good too :o)  Lunch started out to be a normal lunch outside, until Daryl got a glimpse of a 'special guest' peeking at him from under the table beside his plate!  Yep.....it was another gecko!  Very quickly everyone was in a hype, trying to find the net and Dad's new birthday present, the bug box (which was believed could also make a very good gecko box).  The poor little guest didn't know what to do.....as we caught him in the net and were transferring him into a shoe box, the 'special guest' took off over the edge of the balcony, and.....jumped 11 feet into the swimming pool!  You can imagine that this created an even more excited atmosphere, and cheers were coming from the kids as Daddy ran down the stairs to the pool to rescue the 'special guest'.  We didn't know that geckos could swim that fast, but he did make it to the edge.  Daryl scooped him up in the net, and then the little guy didn't know what to do!   He did end up in the pool once again, with a much slower swimming stride.  Mommy couldn't handle watching anymore.....kids thought this was awesome.....Marcus was now alongside daddy with a racket to try to retreive him once again from the pool.  It was decided that the gecko should be allowed some quiet time alongside the pool to recuperate from the excitement, and the crew all headed back up to finish lunch.  Not sure what happened to the 'special guest' after that, as he sat for a very, very long time on the pool deck.  If he has any memory at all, I am sure that he will not be back at the Blouin lunch table for a very, very long time.  The rest of the afternoon consisted of bug catching, playing Daryl's new 'jenga' game, and facetiming with friends and family.  A true birthday to remember for Daryl :o)