It's us again.  We hope that you all have seen the last of the snow and are well into spring.  We are enjoying spring in the south of France, lots of Daffodils and budding trees.
 
The week of March 25th started off very quietly.  We were resting after having such a busy week with Mike and Cathy Acuna.  There were lots of naps and just playing outside.  Dave had Friday off due to Good Friday so we had planned to take an overnight trip.  However, Michael shared his cold with Mom and it was decided that taking two "sickies" on a vacation wouldn't be fun.  We went to the store on Friday and ate a special lunch out at McDonalds (Le Happy Meal, s'il vous plait).  The store, which is always exciting, was even more interesting.  I have mentioned before that you buy your birds (turkeys, ducks, chickens, etc) with the heads and feet still on, sometimes with decorative feathers.  Well, for Easter, the ducks were nicely arranged with their necks dangling over the edge of the counter and each had a pretty red bow tied around it's neck.  Very strange!!
 
Saturday we were up early and off to Albi, so that Dave could have a chance to see the beautiful cathedral de Sainte-Cecile there.  He was impressed.  It is an amazing thing to see as the entire inside of the church is painted, even the ceiling.  We couldn't get into the choir stalls because they were setting up for Easter the next day.  The flowers on the Altar gave a sign of new life in this very old church.  Very fitting for Easter.  It was the first time we had seen any sign that any of these churches are still used, but every church we saw that day was decorated for Easter.  It was very special.
 
We grabbed some sandwiches (no easy task in France) and ate our lunch in a park overlooking the Tarn.  It was very pretty and very relaxing. After lunch, the boys had fun throwing rocks in the river.
 
From Albi we headed of to Rodez.  Here we found a once beautiful cathedral, Notre-Dame, that had fallen into disrepair.  It was still very impressive, and through the restorations currently underway, you can see how beautiful it once was.  It was interesting to see the amount of work it takes to restore a building that was built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.  There was even a net above the entrance to keep pieces of the building from falling on visitors.
 
We wandered around the city, following a map from the Office de Tourisme (every town has one and they are very helpful).  We found another church, Eglise Saint Amans, which was also built in the 12th century, but had been restored in the 18th century. This church was obviously still used for mass every week.  We even met the Priest - Michael shook his hand.  It was lovely and had some of the same sculptures as Notre Dame.  What made this church different was that is had tapestries from the 16th century.  These were of Saint Amans performing the miracles that helped him to become a saint.
 
After munching on some crepes from a local vendor (yum, the French sure know desserts!), and taking in some other sights of the city, we headed home.
 
The next day was Easter.  The boys had a great time searching for hidden eggs.  Michael loved the little chocolate fish and turtle that were in one of his.  He carried them around and wouldn't eat them, although from time to time he would lick one.  Very messy.  We rested most of the day, and had a pork roast for dinner (What!!  No ham??), that Amy prepared while the boys went for a bike ride.  It was a very quiet, relaxing day.
 
Well, that's it for another week.  Love you all.