Chez les Ch’tis

Next on the agenda was a weekend trip to our old stomping grounds. We stayed with our good friends, the Denués. Their two kids, Eliot and Eugenie, had changed so much and were so much fun to play with! In classic Lille style, it was pretty chilly and rained some while we were there. Oh well, c’est le nord.

Natacha planned such amazing meals for us while we were there. When we arrived we enjoyed a classic French lunch before heading out to feed some ducks and explore. Lincoln had never fed ducks before and he didn’t really get that the bread wasn’t for him to eat. Unfortunately, we got rained out before we got much further than feeding the ducks, so we went home and had a delicious dinner.

On Sunday we went to church in the morning and saw many of our old friends. It was so nice getting to catch up and to sing the hymns in French. I didn’t realize how much I liked that.

     

After lunch at the Denués we headed to the zoo and the citadel. On our way from the cars we walked by this amazing log. Apparently a homeless man came upon this fallen tree a few years ago and started whittling it. He worked on it for about two years, and now there are carvings covering the entire thing. Children come to the citadel and play with their PlayMobile toys on the log and the mayor decided to have it preserved. It was amazing.

 

Walking around the zoo. Natacha brought a package of Paille d’Or (which are sort of cookies, I guess) as a snack for the kids. Lincoln could not get enough.

                                                                   

Like I said, Lincoln loves stairs! And, apparently, Charles needed a turn in the stroller.

Eliot played a lot of DS while we were there and Eugenie would just sit and watch. He’s lucky that she doesn’t demand a turn, but she’s still a little small for that. It was so funny to hear him say “Zut!” or “Ce n’est pas juste!” when Mario didn’t do what he wanted him to.

                                      

On our last day in Lille we had lunch in the centre ville and then walked around for a while. Unfortunately a lot of shops were closed because almost everyone in France goes on vacation in August, but it was so fun just to be back in our French hometown. Thanks Natacha and Jean-Sébastian for such a fun weekend!