Transitions

Bonjour...bonjour and joyeaux anniversaire, Marc

September 2011

Beaucoups de merci (how's that for butchering the language!) to our friend Mark for inviting us to join 18 family members and friends for a week in the Rhone Alps region of southeastern France to celebrate his 40th birthday.

We flew into and out of Geneva, Switzerland where we stayed in the flat of hosts Raquel and Tsatsu...

visited a section of the city called Carouge...

where we had breakfast at the Wolfisberg Bakery...

and took in a festival...

walked through Vieux Ville (Old Town)...

strode by Lac Geneve (or Lac Leman)

and ate fondue at the oldest restaurant in the city, Cafe du Soleil- that's Susan and Raquel below...

About an hour south by car is the chateau we stayed in. Not bad digs...

It was a week of relaxation, celebration and magnificence...not to mention the most awesome food and drink we've ever had prepared by our own private French chef, Rafael.

There were French cooking lessons...

exquisite views...

a cellar (dungeon) that led to underground caves...

birthday parties (yes- plural- they continue even back in Portland- what will 50 be like, Mark!?)

and our own resident photographer, Carlos!

We visited Annecy (twice) with its quaint old town (vieux ville) and Venice-like canals...

its beautiful lake...

its markets...

and home of The Plant Nanny!

Then on to Chambury- with its ornate casino...

and art-filled parking garage...

The Rhone- Savoy Region is wine country...

and we took a tour with guide and translator Isabella ("on my right, your left...") of a family-owned vineyard and wine museum that featured vintage wine-making tools and techniques...