Month: July 2017

Mr. Bernard Bertail and Mr. Andrew Smallman are pleased to announce the marriage of their wives, Christine Bertail to Melinda Shaw, on July 30, 2017 at the Château du Coing in Saint-Fiacre-sur-Maine, France. A future of celebratory experiences is planned that include glasses of wine, working out, considering home remodeling projects, tolerating their husbands, remembering where they put their sunglasses, and being best friends.

Dear Bentsen,

I want you to know that all is fine here in Nantes with your people, Andy and Melinda. I am making sure they are being treated well by my people, Frederique and Laurent. Last night, I let them all have dinner together in my house; in fact, I allowed Daisy’s people, Christine and Bernard, to join in the fun.

Next up, I suggested they head into town to pick up tickets to see tonight’s new Royal Deluxe show, after they all head to a chateau/vineyard to taste wine. I don’t understand why people have such a fascination with wine. Water is so much better, as you can see in this picture of Daisy, who really likes her drinking water to have a fish swimming in it.

Anyway, Bentsen, I let Andy pick me up so he could take this picture to show you that he is fine. He told me that he misses you so I thought giving him a little animal time would be the nice thing to do. It was all fine for about 10 seconds. You know how it is, I’m sure.

I trust you are enjoying your vacation.

Love, Californie

For context, I invite you to go read this post from July 8, 2010, the 8th day if the sabbatical. It’s okay. I’ll wait.

As you might be able to tell from this photo, I repeated the experience earlier today for my lunch. I offered to share with Melinda, but just like she did 7 years ago, she declined. Honestly, she doesn’t know what she missed. It really is surprisingly tasty. This is especially true because there is nothing like it in the US.

I decided to post this because Melinda’s mom, Michele, got a big kick out of me eating coq au vin from a can back in 2010. I think she especially likes my rendition of the sing-song, “Coq au vin, in a can.” I made it up, in case you were wondering.

In our little kitchen at noon today it all came back to me, Michele. I dedicate this post to you. Maybe you’d join me?

So here’s a little more detail from our Friday night in Nantes.

The Bertails planned all along to take us to a fairly new burger joint, knowing how much I like hamburgers. You longtime blog readers will recall Ella’s and my search for the best cheeseburger in France during the sabbatical in 2010-11 (get a refresher here). Since then, finding a delicious burger has become much easier.

Those Melinda and I had last night at Berlin 1989 rank right there with any gourmet burger you’d find in the states.

Prior to going out last night, we had an aperitif at the Bertail home. Me, I made that delicious Aveze-Ricard combo I wrote about last year in this post. Melinda thought the color matched my glasses and snapped this photo.

I think the picture turned out really well, maybe because I’m not looking at the camera. Can you see relaxation, contentment, and appreciation in it?

I can!

That’s right, it’s Bentsen’s birthday today. One whole year, which means he is no longer a puppy, right? To commemorate the day, I took some photos at the park in Champtoceaux where we had lunch on Monday. I thought Bentsen, and those who love him, would appreciate them.

What I did on my summer vacation – Spent the entire time waiting for my beloved tram line, Ligne 2 in Nantes, to re-open. That’s right. It’s not operating this summer.

So, I’m either staging a hunger strike, praying for the return of the line, or too distraught to look at the camera. Perhaps it is all three.

I may still be there at the tram stop, waiting for Line 2 to arrive. I’m not telling.

For a little history, when I contemplated proposing marriage to Ligne 2, check out this blog entry from 2011.

Today, Bernard and Christine took us on a day trip to see the town of Champtoceaux, about a 30 minute drive from Nantes. We had a picnic lunch at a scenic park overlooking the Loire River. After lunch, we hiked to see and learn about the centuries-old ruins there. I snapped the photo above in the midst of the ruins of the citadel. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the town’s English language website.