First off, I love the Levesques. Technically I've only stayed with them for about 11 days of my life, but I feel like they're my family from another...country. When I stay with them, I actually feel completely at home. So the Levesques are les bombes. Just wanted to put that out there.
The afternoon that we got there, Claire (the mom) and Pauline (the daughter) took the three Americaines to Pauline's uncle's farm to visit their dogs and see their pidgeonry. Inside the pidgeonry is a giant stone head of Julius Caesar. Just 'cause. After that, Pauline took us to ride her horse, Louna. I rode her last time I was there, but Rachel and Cote had never ridden before. As usual, Rachel managed to snap a picture of me struggling while I wasn't looking (I feel like there's a pattern here) but even though she was terrified of horses, she still tried riding Louna and looked like a cowgirl while she was at it. And a Mountie. And a horseback bobby.
After riding, we helped Pauline put Louna in for the night. Turns out Cote's a horse whisperer. We headed back to the house to get ready for dinner, which included champagne and cheese beforehand. Pinkies up!
The next day: EURODISNAAAY! That is how the Frenchpeople say it, and I love it. I will never say it any other way. We woke up early so we could get to the park right as it opened to pick up the free fast passes that the Levesques arranged for us. Diiiid I mention they're awesome? I was especially excited because I got to see Alan! He was one of Pauline's classmates during last year's exchange, and one of the French students I talked to the most. We went on so many rides: Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear Star Command, the teacups, It's a Small World, and then Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Indiana Jones twice. I was a little dizzy, and Rachel again faced her fears by going on the tall rides. Sooo proud of herrrr!
There are a bajillion details I could mention about this day because it was so much fun, but the highlights were: the rides, taking a million pictures of It's A Small World, not having to wait in line, the Disney character dance show in the afternoon, and the parade at night. As we left, there was a group of break dancers outside the park who put on an amazing show. The best part was when they brought this little 2 year old boy out and made him dance with them. I took a video but I can't put it up here, so hopefully one day it ends up on facebook for all to see. Overall, a beautiful day at Eurodisnaaay with my French amis:
The next day was already our last. We went to the Val d'Europe (a giant mall) in the afternoon, where I bought myself a French-ass purse, Rachel got a pair of earrings for her brother's fiancee, and Cote got a shirt. We went back to the Levesques and hung out for a little before people came for the barbecue that the family put on for us. Yet another nice thing they did for us. It was Pauline, her parents, her uncle, and some of her friends that I met last year during the exchange program: Carole, Jeanne, and Xavier. The conversation was a little awkward at first since the majority of them don't speak too much English and the majority of us don't speak too much French, but after Claire served her cocktail to everyone, everything got way less awkward and way more funny. These French people love to dance, and they had a line dance to basically every song. They taught us and we struggled, and Cote got it all on her video camera. Really really wish I could share that with everyone in the world. It was a lot of fun, and we got a picture with the whole family:
After the barbecue, we all walked down the road to the Coutevroult town sign to take funny pictures. The French girls all ganged up on Xavier and stole his shoe, then took pictures of him. We got a lot of awesome pictures, none of which I have because Claire took them on her camera. Speaking of Claire, she is just hilarious. I don't think I could actually put it into words, but she is the most ridiculous, hilarious, French woman I have ever met.
We finished off the night by playing bilingual Pictionary (that was interesting) and then heading to bed. It was so much fun, and such a great way to end our stay. We all definitely bonded, which was beautiful. The next day we got up early to take the RER train into Paris with Pauline, and it was really sad to say goodbye. Ils me manquent :-(
That horse looked a little bit too little for Rachel.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a grand ole' time in France! :)
Twas good to talk to you today, have fun being uber English with your Bobba!