Le fromage de Beaufort

Dean is on a mission:  try as many different kinds of cheese as he possibly can during our year in France.  And with roughly 500 different varieties available, he has his work cut out for him!

Le fromage de Beaufort was a must on the list, so Wednesday morning we loaded up in our Ford Fiesta bound for Beaufort's creamery (roughly 30 minute drive).

Beaufort, France

G and friend, "A," in Beaufort

In search of the creamery...
another rainy day

Beaufort cheese is produced from the milk of cows who only graze in the Beaufort valley.

Cheese...okay "milk makers"

Here's the "CHEESE" picture

We found the creamery and were quickly impressed by the free, self-guided museum.

Girls standing on colorful cheese wheels in a play-area

Checking out the relief map

We drove from the far left red dot (Albertville)
up and over to the other red dot (Beaufort).

Interesting statue...yep it was illustrating a cow's innards

More a game of telephone than listening to
the display's French-speaking narration

The museum is on the creamery's upper level allowing for a great view of cheese production...

Catching a glimpse

Trying to lift a "wheel" of cheese...
not an easy task as one wheel weighs 40 kg!

The toy foam cheese wedges were much easier to handle,
and some were PINK!

So, something (non-cheese-related) we have been wanting to share is Gracie's newly acquired and quickly developing writing skill...

G's very first signature in a guestbook...
at the Beaufort Creamery!

Then she added "Mommy"'s name, too!

An unexpected surprise was that Wednesday morning is market day in Beaufort.  So, after the creamery we let the girls pick out a treat (lollipops) and picked up some fresh produce, too!

Typical style for French street markets

Then we headed UP into the mountains for a picnic at Lake Roseland.

It was foggy, damp and cold but we still managed to enjoy our PB & honey sandwiches.  AND we were thankful that the fog lifted enough for us to actually catch a glimpse of the lake...

Lake Roseland

Okay, a few more proud parent pictures...

G at her "desk" doing her "school work"

Since we spend a lot of time sitting at our desks learning French, G has taken an interest in having some school-work of her own.  Her latest interest is writing "words" on her "word paper."

Practicing in her new "notebook"

Sample of her work --
sorry couldn't figure out the rotation : )

Yea, Gracie!!  Trying to read and write English at home by night while learning to hear and speak French at school by day -- quite the busy 3-year-old.  Prayer appreciated for her (and us) as we juggle all these tasks.

DDG & K5

Une sortie avec nos copains de l'ecole

Field Trip!!

Yep, we had a school-wide field trip this week...even the kids were given excuses to get out of their schools so they could go, too!

Gracie excitedly waiting to board "le bus"

The school administration coordinated our travel and selected our destinations.  They chartered 2 buses to transport all of us to a couple interesting sites nearby.

First Stop:  Jardins Secrets

What started out as one family's private home and garden in the country has turned into a beautifully landscaped work of art!

Main courtyard

Note building/display in upper left
close-up to follow...

After a brief guided tour (in French) -- basically an introduction to the garden -- we were free to meander and explore the garden's "secrets."

One of the many fountains

Beautiful flowers

Impressive wood-work and interesting collectibles

G did a great job holding our hand...
there were NO flowers for the picking!

La piscine
a beautiful indoor pool surrounded by
Indian inspired decor

One of Dianna's favorites...
the detailed wood-working combined with colorful
canned fruits and veggies
(close-up from earlier picture)

Next Stop:  Annecy, the "Venice of the Alps"

Lake Annecy

We actually passed through Annecy on our very first day in France since Annecy is situated between Geneva and Albertville.  At first sight we knew this was a place we would like to explore -- who could resist the stunning beauty of the lake (above) or...

the picturesque rivers running through the heart of the city or... 

the footbridges or...

the PLAYGROUNDS!!

After "no touch" at the gardens, we were definitely in need of some free-play-run-around time.  This is actually the first public swing set we have seen...G and her buddy "T" (that's Z's little brother...you may recall Z joining us to the sheep festival a couple weeks back) went straight for them!

Fun day with friends (the B family)

Our time in Annecy was limited, just enough to whet our appetite.  So, we will be returning...

All in all a great day!!  And it was followed by Wednesday (which is our day "off") and another adventure, so stay tuned for that post...

à bien-tôt,

DDG & K5

Les fêtes

Since our last post, we have gone to a few local "fêtes" (festivals).

Last weekend we took G and a friend, "Z," to la fête pastorale in the neighboring town, Marthod.

Can you guess the theme of this festival?

Attempt to get pic with the sign...

As the picture above suggests, it was a rainy Sunday afternoon but we braved the intermittent showers in order to experience this "sheep festival."

Looking at the sheep...this one had a bell around its neck

There were dozens of make-shift pens set up, each containing a different breed of sheep.  Some had pinkish faces, some black around nose/eyes/ears, some white and fluffy, some freshly sheered...

Gaining the courage to pet one...on the nose

You could tell this was a community-wide event that had been planned well in advance.  One section displayed "sheep" art from the local school.

G & Z enjoyed looking at the colorful sheep

The highlight for the kids was....

the Kids' Zone

Coming of the little "straw house"
(bunnies were inside)

which was a petting zoo, too!

Up close and personal with the animals in the kid zone

In addition to all the sheep, there was a small fair with traditional crafts.  Lots of local crafts -- made from wood, metal, cloth -- and foods -- cheeses, sausages and bread (of course!).  We sampled a few things and bought some cheese.  Dianna really wanted some bread but they were sold out and we didn't have time to wait around for the next batch to bake...

Baguettes lined up -- waiting to be baked

Wood-oven where these men were actively baking...
they had quite an assembly line going!

All-in-all a fun afternoon exploring local culture : )  And more beautiful vistas along the way...

Rain is becoming fairly regular here as the season changes.  

Clouds lingering on the mountainside...
taken from our dining room window

Yesterday was quite a rainy day, but when the clouds parted mid-afternoon, we were able to seek over to a nearby park for:

 "fête de la pomme"

G with friends at "la fête"

Have you non-French speakers deduced what "la pomme" is??

Checking out the bin of APPLES

Watching the men make apple juice!

The rain seemed to have dampened the festivities a bit...we almost missed it because there was such a small crowd.  But thankfully our friend caught sight of the little tent and gathering in the far corner of the park.  We left with a bag full of apples and water bottles full of fresh squeezed apple juice....YUM!!

Another fun fruit experience...

La prune
(what we consider plums)

This picture was actually taken a couple weeks ago.  When Dean went to get our car he was gifted a bag full of freshly picked plums that were sweet, ripe and ready to eat!

G excitedly sharing her plums with her friends

And one final EXCITING event from the last week was Baby K5's ultrasound!!  We are praising God for a healthy and happy-appearing baby...still a boy : )

Sweet baby feet

And hands...giving us a "thumbs up" on the right

Precious profile

We are SO excited to meet this little boy some time in the next 7-8 weeks!!

Rejoicing in HIS blessings,

DDG&K5