Language Institute

We spent a month on the French Riviera at a language institute.  Imagine no WIFI there.  The views of the Mediterranean in Villefranche sur Mer were truly breathtaking.

Classes were often held in the terraced gardens of the villa that houses the school.

We had practical sessions in the grand salon where we learned how to speak on the telephone, go to a store, dine in a restaurant, etc.

We also had a few outings as a group.  One day was spent at 3 towns including St. Paul de Vence.

Miro sculpture garden at Maeght Foundation in St Paul de Vence

Lunch at Columbe d'Or that day.  This is the restaurant that traded meals for paintings for struggling artists - Picasso, Miro, Leger, Matisse etc.  It is an art museum posing as a restaurant.  We had a sumptuous lunch with our classmates there.

We watched men playing a boule game of some kind.

Dr. Elizabeth Lewis from Wales, one of Barbara's classmates.  She has helped us plan a trip to Wales in August.  We were making crepes this particular day and had to wear little cooks caps.

Dr. Henry Kaufman, crepe maker extraordinaire.  He is a nephrologist from Boston and knows Jim Kaufman.

The school arranges houses to rent nearby.  Here is ours, complete with a lawn for Lola and views that made us linger on the outside deck.

We literally picked oranges off the tree at our house for breakfast.

Another day we spent in St. Jean Cap Ferrat

Barbara's class.  The professor is taking the selfie up front - 9 women and the solo male student in our group, Eddie, is a doctor from Sweden.  Classmates from Canada, Russia, Switzerland, England, Wales, New Zealand, and Sweden as well as USA.

Margie Kilpatrick was way too advanced for us.  She has been to the institute from San Antonio 23 times.  At 88 she still walks up and down the steep hills and terraces on the grounds.  What a treasure she is!

Barbara receiving diploma

Much to his surprise Ron received one of 10 awards given out for exceptional progress.

Ron was the only male in a class with 9 woman.  There were 7 classes of 10 students each all organized by ability determined by an orientation exam.  Here are some of his classmates.

Are we fluent in French now?  Non.  Nevertheless, we can listen to it and understand a great deal more.  8 hours a day of French for a month will do that to one.  We made some remarkable friends there.

Social Life

Our neighbors Jean Charles and Marie Christine invited us for an aperitif to get to know us better.  We were told previously when invited for an aperitif, stay only one hour and depart.

Marie Christine worked for years in fashion in Paris, and she is the by far one of the very best dressed women in this area - always in a skirted suit with complete hair and makeup.  She is a beauty.

Our hosts kept bringing out platter after platter of canapés of foie gras, gravlax, olive bread, snails and on and on. 

 We thought the polite thing to do was to leave after quite a while so as not to impose, but then they brought out cheese and then dessert.  Suffice it to say, it was a complete dinner, not "just an aperitif."  

They were so gracious and welcoming, and we were fascinated by their home.  Yes, that is a complete set of armor behind Jean Charles.  He is quite the horseman as it happens.

Then we happened to sit next to Elizabeth and Stuart Byrom at an ice cream parlor and discovered we  are all Americans living in Amboise.  We spent a delightful evening at their residence which they have transformed into a very workable charming home with all space utilized to the fullest cleverly.

Elizabeth is a marvelous cook, and Stuart is a talented photographer and handy with tools (Ron bonded instantly with him).

Next we were invited to the retirement party of our precious banker Monsieur Roquin, who helped us enormously upon our arrival in Amboise.  He was just like Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life" - a small town banker who takes a genuine interest in his clients' lives.  He guided us in so many ways.

Then Dacorette Thomas, Barbara's mother's neighbor from Michigan, moved to Amboise with her daughter Marie Antoinette.

She made a colorful flavorful lunch and keyed us into many aspects of our town, since she is fluent in French.

Lotte made a wonderful dinner one night, and we talked well into the night about history and politics.

Barbara and Lola spent the day with David in his city of Blois.  Alas, he returns to Michigan after a year in the Loire this May.  He will be missed.

We three stopped at La Pause Cupcake for a snack in Blois

Philipe and Christine invited Barbara over to an English conversation group.  For once, Barbara felt at ease with language.  These women are struggling to learn English in the same way we are hoping to learn French.

There are always plenty of appetizing items at a gathering.

Finally, before we departed for the south of France for a month, Catherine and Barbara had a pleasant lunch and afternoon together.  Catherine's husband, Patrick, is an architect and hopes to get Ron involved in a renovation project.

 

Then it was au revoir to Amboise as we headed to the French Riviera.