Our heroes in Nantes are all the members of the Boudeau family. You may recall seeing a picture of Romain, age 17, who helped us tremendously by being our tour guide several days last week. His younger sister Manon, age 15, has been equally kind and nice, and is just one of those people who make you smile. Parents Laurent and Frédérique have gone above and beyond anything we could have asked of them. Among the many things they’ve done for us, not the least is finding the house we’ll be living in beginning in August. And we’ve been living in the apartment of Annabelle, Frédérique’s sister, while she and her two children have been on vacation. The Boudeaus are the reason we chose Nantes for our French sabbatical.

Melinda’s family met Frédérique’s & Annabelle’s family (the Barons) years ago. Both women spent time living at the Shaw’s in Seattle, hence the connection. And the families have stayed close since.

Today’s photo is of the Boudeau house in Nantes, where we are staying tonight before leaving tomorrow for two weeks in Pornichet. The Boudeaus are away themselves and Annabelle gets back today, hence the move.

Note, we’ll have limited Internet access in Pornichet so blog postings etc will not be as regular unless I unexpectedly find an easy access point. If I fall behind, don’t despair, dear readers. I’ll get caught up upon our return in August.