The French know how to live!

Could I live in France? In the South of France.....definitely! Except my French is worse then my Spanish. I loved my short period of time there and felt so relaxed. We left Scotland on the Monday after the wedding and drove down to Dover, England-yes, the white cliffs of Dover-and took a ferry the next day into Calais, France where we trading the car in for a "normal" car and driving was much easier then. We drove around Paris and could even see the Eiffel Tower and I decided I need to get back to Paris at least for a long weekend. Anyone want to meet me there?? We stayed the night in a lovely hotel along a river in a town called Olivet and had an amazing typical French meal-too much of it but was it good!

We arrived to Le Vigan which is quite near Nimes which I was told that denim for jeans was made/created.We were actually staying with friends near a small village called Mandagout which if you blinked you would miss it. There we relaxed into 2 1/2 days(not near enough time but great) where we eat outside every meal, feasted on vegetable and fruits of the garden, drank plenty of French wine and enjoyed very minute. Our hosts, Christine and David where wonderful. We had some funny times and the posted photos show Sara and David fending off very large buzzing insects. You had to have been there but believe me it was funny(sorry Sara, I just had to do it). We went to a French market and that was a real treat.


Yet........another fabulous meal out for my early birthday celebration at a fabulous restaurant nearby. I enjoyed a few runs and a great hike with my friend Anna and felt truly rejuvenated. Ready for Spain!

The Wedding

One of the main reasons I started off in Scotland was to witness my cousins, Katrina, marriage to Mike who have been together for 20 years and have two boys together; Alec and Andrew. So, why get married after being together for 20 years? Why not! I supposed they figure they have a fairly solid relationship after all that history together..

The wedding was held on August 22, 2009 in Toon, Scotland (very popular golfing area as you golfers probably know) at a place called “Hill House” This is a wonderful house with about twelve bedrooms or more and a great place for a small wedding. Everything took place on the property and most of the guests-all 26 of them-stayed right there at “Hill House” We had a fabulous day of lots of eating, drinking and socializing…….oh yes and a bit of dancing!

Contrary to what I’ve said about all the rain in Scotland we were blessed with a glorious day and were able to have the ceremony outside in the beautiful gardens. We had a luncheon prior to the ceremony then afterwards appetizers and a wonderful meal of smoked salmon, lamb chops, vegetables and an array of mouth watering desserts as well as wedding cake!

I will post a number of photos for those interested although I understand not wanting to look at all of the 233 that I took so I’ll spare you that.

Off to the south of France a couple of days after the wedding! More on that soon.

The Island of Skye

I was very excited to take a few days to drive up to the North and West of Scotland to the Island of Skye earlier this week.I had heard great things about this area of Scotland that I had never seen before. Of course what you see (or don't see) is what you get and believe me, timing is everything around here with the weather. Over all, we had decent weather, at least the first day. The drive was beautiful. We retraced quite a lot to the West Highland Way and it was fun to see the places we stayed and some of the trail along the way. The Glencoe valley was very clear and the sun was shinning brightly for much of the day. What a difference a day makes!

Along the way, we passed Elean Donan castle which you can view some photos of. We stayed in a lovely cottage of friends near Kyle of Lochalsh which is about 5 miles from the Skye bridge going over to the Island. We had a bit of a view of the Cullen hills over the bridge of which we were hoping to go see the next day via boat but unfortunately the weather called for rain and wind so the trip was cancelled. We visited an old cemetary and ruins of a chruch and the grave stones dated back to at least the mid 1800 and some you couldn't read any longer.

Before crossing over to Skye, their is a wonderful little town on the water called Plockton where Sara and I walked and took in the sights and soaked up the sun. We had an amazing dinner there one night and had our fill of wonderful local (at least most was) seafood.

We drove over to Portree on Skye and also drove further on before the weather really turned. Back to the cottage to enjoy some reading, movies and just being. It was a great relaxing time in Skye.
You can view my photos of skye at: www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/IslandOfSkye
There are also a couple of Edinburgh and Glasgow for your enjoyment!

Four Cronies who "wear" it well

When I say they "wear" it well, I mean life. I spent the afternoon in Edinburgh with these four friends walking, talking and having lunch. The two women in the center are my Aunts, Jenn and Sara, and the other two are friends, Maureen and Zandra. These women in my opinion are incredible women; they are beautiful, talented, intelligent and a lot of fun! They have accomplish much in their lifetimes and going strong in their 60's.

If it weren't for the rain....

could I live in Scotland? I've pondered that for about 1 minute...no 30 seconds...and the answer is no. Don't get me wrong; I love being here with family and experiencing a different place and there are benefits to all the rain. It's lovely and green and you breathe fresh air but....it seems to rain ALL the time. (okay, as I write this the sun is peeking through the clouds just to prove me wrong) It's the middle of August and I'm freezing half the time! I'm solar powered and I think I've realized how much so. It's hard to get motivated with the weather but especially this week I ended up getting a cold and have been a little miserable overall and I know it was better just to lay low, read a book and drink lots of tea-with milk(funny how I only tend do that when in the UK).

In spite of speaking the same language, it's quite different in many ways. First, it's debatable whether it's the same English spoken in the US. There have times that I've been in a room full of Scottish blokes(men) and lassie's(women) and only been able to decipher about 75% of what has been said. I'm getting better at it but certain accents are quite thick depending on the area of Scotland that the person is from.

Some of the other interesting differences are the English words used for the same things. To make a comparison, I'll list first the American word and then the "Scottish"(UK as well for most of them)

1. French Fries are "Chips"
2. Potato chips are "Crisps"
3. Zucchini are "Courgettes"
4. Eggplant is an "Aubergine"
5. Cookies are "Biscuits"
6. Crackers are "Water Biscuits"
7. Dinner is referred to as "tea"
8.Going to the bathroom is referred to as the "toilet" or "the Loo"
9. "wee" is a little.........something(this is mostly Scottish not British)
10. Aye" is yes
11. Windshield is a "windscreen"
12. Sidewalk is the "pavement"
13. The trunk of a car is the "boot"
14. The hood of a car is the "bonnet"

This is to just name a few...

The other major difference is that they drive on the left side of the road. Very hard to get used to that one plus you drive on the right side of the car. I've had one driving experience so far and you really have to concentrate especially when you get to the roundabouts; Americans don't seem to like roundabouts very much but they actually make a lot more sense than traffic lights.

What's confusing to me is why if they drive on the left side of the road why don't they stay consistent on trails and sidewalks(pavement)-I found this to be a challenge when running one day around the local Loch- some people would stay to the right and some to the left....shouldn't there be some consistency with driving and walking? Or maybe it has something to do with all the pubs around.

So, my Aunt and I are off to the Isle of Sky tomorrow. It is very North in Scotland and West. I've never been been to Sky and have great things about it and how beautiful and picturesque it is. Again, if the weather is clear and the forecast for the next few days............rain! Oh well, there's always the pubs!!

The West Highland Way

Last Monday, August 3rd, my cousin, Morag and I set out on a 6 day, 95 miles trek starting from Milngavie(near Glasgow) and heading north to Fort Williams. The terrain varied along with the miles everyday as did the weather. Scotland is definitely known for their rainy weather thus the beautiful green hills and valleys and lots of waterfalls, mud, etc.

While over last May, friends of my Aunt Sara (Lynn and Tom) had just finished the West Highland Way and showed photos and raved about it and I was sold.

When I emailed Morag about whether she was interested in doing this trek with me, she replied "yes, but a few things"

1. "You'll be faster then me" (which wasn't true-we were very compatible)
2. "I won't camp and prefer B&B's"
3. "I snore so you'll have to bring earplugs"

I replied that I could deal with all of those things and would she mind organizing it since it's much easier from Scotland then the states to do so. She did a fabulous job; there are companies that will carry your gear...........okay, I know what some of you may think but let me tell you that this was the best deal around. You still carried plenty for the days trek which with the weather and the distances, you need a fair amount. Well, you do have pubs along the way so you can get food, use a real toilet and have a pint......if you dare! I learned the hard way that this isn't such a great idea so I made a pact to wait until the end of the day.....much better plan.

The first couple of days, we had some rain but more drizzly then anything and the weather was quite warm. Days 3, 4, and 5 were relatively rain free and we had some amazing views especially coming into Glencoe where many of the peaks were visible. The miles varied from 12 miles a day to 21 miles. We did a lot of climbing up and down and especially around Loch Lomond and had a lot of rocks to scramble over and streams of water to hop over. We had some great laughs and lots of stories to share and many miles/hours to do so. A common phase that was said is "Nearly there!" Which was often at the beginning of the day. "Is it time for a pint?" "I can't believe I'm hungry...again!" We always maintained a sense of humor even when the trail was "never ending" and we were wary to the bones.

On the last day we left from Kinochleven and had "only" 14 miles to go. Alas, our clear weather didn't hold out for us and it rained much of the day. There was a trail run going on that day called "Devil 'O The Highlands" and it was a 43 mile run along the Way from Tundrum to Fort Williams. I couldn't imagine that distance running over the steep and rocky terrains we encountered but it did make me think about some of the great Colorado trail runs I've done over the years. I don't think I'll be adding this one to my list!

At the end of the trek in Fort Williams is "Ben Nevis" which is the highest peak in the UK at approximately 4,400 ft. Nothing compared to Colorado's peaks but when you consider you start at nearly sea level it's a long way up. There are 289 peaks over 3,000 feet and are referred to as the Monroes. Many people end the 95 miles of the Way to conquer Ben Nevis the following day and if your lucky you can see the top which from what I heard doesn't happen often as it's often it clouds. We didn't get to see it nor did we hike it..........this time! There is a annual race up to the top of the Ben which is in September. That's now on my list for a couple of years from now.

Since I can't figure out how to do a complete slide show on this blog, I'll send you to the picasa website and you can view them all there. Enjoy! We certainly did. I can say this was one of the most fantastic hikes and achievements that I've had the pleasure of doing in my life so far.

the link to the picasa website is:
www.picasaweb.google.com/tonibodeau/TheWestHighlandWay

A Tribute to Romeo

My sweet kitty, Romeo, left the world on July 3rd. It was determined after a 24 hour period and many tests that my boy was in heart failure. My heart broke having to say goodbye at such an early age of 4 years old. I had Romeo for 3 1/2 years and he was a wonderful cat with so much personality and was quite the charmer.

He was a Balinese breed with blue point markings(gray face and paws, blue eyes) and a very handsome cat. He loved people, dogs and most cats. I called him my dog/cat because he acted much like a dog. He fetched from early on and loved running down the steep set of stairs after a straw and would continuously bring it back for more. He never minded going for a car ride and would sit on my lap, looking out the window at the view or stare at people in cars at traffic lights. 9 times out of 10 he would greet me when I drove up and was always be happy to see me.

He was quite the hunter, to my dismay, and would bring home garter snakes, birds(sometime alive) and baby bunnies. One day when I was working on my friend, Jeanne, he came in the room and unbeknown to us had a bird in his mouth and jumped onto the massage table and dropped it by Jeanne's side. He was just bringing her a present!

A few months ago I went to put some washing into the dryer and I saw Romeo napping happily in the sun as I went by. I put the clothes in, shut the door and turned it on. Something went kur-plunking in the drying and I instantly opened it up to find out what was making the noise and low and behold, my crazy cat jumped out a bit wobbly but not harmed! He always followed me around the house but I did not even see him that time. He never went in the dryer after that.

He was a bit of a trouble maker; he would always push things off tables and shelfs and I had to clean up and replace many items in my household. It got a little better as he matured and once I caved and let him outside. He had to be outside-he had way too much energy! He was very affectionate and loved being held and/or carried around. He was a joy to have around and I am so grateful to have had him in my life.

Romeo, you will be missed!