Monday (8/18) we were invited to go to a HUGE park in Lyon called Parc de la Tete d'Or in the heart of the city. We went with Florence Baratra and her kids Julian 13, Benjamin 10, and Bastien 5. For the moment, these are Brandons "potes" (buddies): they have a trampoline in their backyard, a Wii system, and they play soccer. We had a picnic, played a bit of soccer & baseball, and then walked and walked (the kids scootered). A vast lake offered peddleboating & kayaks, but this time we rented a "peddlecar" and all of us took turns driving through the zoo portion of the park. We saw giraffes, elephants, monkeys and a bear! Wow, didn't expect that!Monday evening, Derek suggested eating out, so we walked to town, only to discover that at 7:30 pm, the entire city was closed with the exception of one bistro which served pizza. Mondays (and often Sundays) are the weekend for the service industry in France, especially in smaller cities. Although I had known this, I hadn't experienced it for a while. We are appreciating French family values!
The rest of the week was a bit rainy. We did enjoy watching the Olympics every day on the French pay satellite channel EuroSports, and Derek & I worked while the kids learned some French. Heather is making amazing progress, and now often corrects Derek on his grammar and pronunciation!
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