or it’s like déjà vu all over again!
As this year’s holiday approaches Sylvia and I have been looking back at the family albums and remembering previous French holidays. Here are a few photos and some of my memories of the various places.So feel free to chip in with yours.
Jaulgonne, July 1995
This was the first time that the combined families holidayed together in two adjacent cottages by the river. Here are the girls pictured outside the cottages.
Visits to the champagne factory in Epernay ensured many happy evenings drinking and eating late into the night [for the adults of course]. The youngsters being more pre-occupied with visits to the park, to “play” with the local French boys. Here they are returning from one such trip.
I also remember the visits to the WW1 battlefields many of which were close-by, but this was balanced by a visit to Euro-Disney, as it was known back then. The girls really enjoyed this as you can see from this snap.
A really nice holiday, so much so that 12 months later we were to return.
Chamboise, Burgundy August 1996.
A little more of a remote location near Autun, near two slag-heaps that became known as “the Madonna with the big boobies”. This coupled with Naomi’s impersonation of René's Mother-in-law gave this house a real “’ello,’ello” feeling. Again food and drink played a large part of the holiday where Ellie had her first taste of Chardonnay, because Alanis Morissette had sung about it! Here we are enjoying a family meal.
Guyan – Vennes July 1997.
The third holiday in the sequence came twelve months later, this time in the French Alps near the border with Switzerland. So close in fact that regular excursions were made over the border to the town of Neuchatel.
Later in the holiday The Robbinses decided to take a trip to Italy, and as Briony had decided to study Italian at university she came too. Finding Milan was easy, parking the car was fine, a hotel was located swiftly but to move the car the 200 metres from car park to hotel took hours. I kept driving past the same places but not getting any closer. The girls enjoyed the visit and looked very sophisticated at dinner that night.
Other highlights included the village parade, the cycle race and the summer luge – a great holiday.
What do you remember???????????
I remember the Tour du Doubs passing our gite and the girls playing Alisha's Attic as loud as possible to drown out the sound of the accompanying commentators.
ReplyDeleteI remember saling off on the wrong spur of the peage and watching the Robbinsmobile keeping in the right lane. The resulting 50 mile detour seemed hilarious to everyryone but me!
I remember sitting under the vines by the side of the Marne. The pin ball machine, the antiques and the birds nest at Chamboise and walking back from the hotel in Guyan – Vennes and hearing Alisha's Attic being played at full volume from our gite by the girls who had returned earlier.
ReplyDeleteI remember dad losing his glasses somewhere, I remember shouting at a German cafeteria attendant (or was that on one of the Germna trips) for bring rude to Uncle Ken and I remember discovering that we were supposed to cook that sausage before we ate it!!
ReplyDeleteI (unfortunately) remember the cheese fondue we had. I also remember sitting under the vines overlooing the river in Jaulgonne eating rotisserie cooked chicken, salad and baguette followed by those lovely fruit flans. Most of my memories relate to food somehow! Does anyone remember the names of the boys in Jaulgonne? I remember Jean-Christophe and Eric (Popeye Junior!) but can't remember the others!
ReplyDeleteI remember the copious amounts of cheese fondue we all ate (and the after-effects). I also remember sitting under the vines overlooking the river at Jaulgonne eating rotisserie cooked chicken, salad and baguette followed by one of those delicious fruit flans. Do any of the girls remember the names of the French boys at Jaulgonne? I remember Jean-Christophe and Eric (Popeye Junior!) but that's all.
ReplyDeleteI remember Raclette cheese grills; dad sitting with us on the wall at Jaulgonne to scare off drunk french men; going to a swimming pool in a shopping centre that had mixed changing rooms; everyone spontaneously pretending to surf when the beach boys song came on and then being made to recreate it unsuccessfully for the camera; the french boys at jaulgonne - was there a Yannick and Joseph?; and all of us girls missing Naomi on the last French trip.
ReplyDeletethose are the only names i remember too, ooh i also remember Ellie's flower fairy songs 'scarlet of scarlet the wild rosehip'
ReplyDeleteI remember Ellie singing "James James you give me pains"; Paddy ordering a "room" of cheese instead of a slice (schoolboy French!!); the flies at Jaulgonne; the girls drinking pink champagne while waiting for their supper under the vines; Lorna and Paddy really enjoying Disney despite themselves!; the cowbells and the fairytale festival at Guyan Vennes; Naomi's old iron bedstead at Chamboise; oh yes and the pinball machine! Great fun was had by all!
ReplyDeleteI remember Ellie doing for The Flower Fairies what Andrew Lloyd-Webber did for Cats; You're so Vain adjusted for Eric; La Vacances de l'amore; everyone jumping off their seats when the mission impossible theme tune came on while we were playing cards....
ReplyDeleteOh yes... those raclettes! I'm amazed my gall bladder survived.
ReplyDelete