This is the unbelievable girl that enabled Kelly and I to come here this summer!! All that I have this summer and all that I’m learning is because of the generosity of this girl and her incredible family. I can’t begin to thank her enough!! Who would have thought that skiing in Riksgransen three years ago would lead to a summer in the south of France!! MERCI DELPHINE!!! YOU ARE THE RADDEST GIRL ON THE PLANET! 
Monthly Archive for June, 2008
Our last task was to help the lil’ buddies out. We went through each little Merlot-guy and picked the straightest/ strongest little mini-vine… and carefully tied a few little stretchy pieces of cloth around them, then got rid of the rest so that the one little dude can grow… cool beans… 
Took us a long-ass tim though. Each row was close to three hours… and you’re bending over 6 hours a day… not easy on the back. 
But what a sense of accomplishment!
Happy Kelly-girl…
um. this is my terrace. um. really. this is like… my room… for June. (then Kelly and I are camping :) after that) However for now, this is the view from my room-with-a-view.
really?
This is where we dine…
This is what we have to look at when we dine…?
… and this is what I look like when we dine… Good talk…
Tres Cool. This was actually our first job here at Blancardy… not going to lie–it was terrifying… This machine moves fast and the system is greased… We received a 10 second explanation and SURPRISE! … the machine is up and running and Kelly and I have tasks that we don’t even understand and we have no way of asking for more explanation at this point??…. Slightly intimidating— BUT AFTER WE GOT THE HANG OF IT… our ear-to-ear grins were shining from every orpheus! This is SO COOL! (Still one of Kelly and I’s favorite work-activities) 
One afternoon after working the vine in the morning, Alain- the Father-of-the-house here at Blancardy explained to Kelly and I that he would be taking us that afternoon on a ____through the mountains?… What Kelly and I (always) lose in translation is just what _____ is?…. So… we prepare for everything = a hike, a stroll, a drive, a bike-ride, a moto ride, ______. We come downstairs with dictionaries, waterbottles, tissues, cameras, coats, hiking shoes… we had NO IDEA what Alain had told us to prepare for… and in turn we received such an incredible treat= the best day I’ve ever had in France. Alain, our incredible french tour-guide took us up a road just like this one >>and far off into the mountains of Sevenne:
There were mountain villages after mountain villages lined with schist and granite buildings, tiny protestant temples juxtaposed to mini catholic churches, thousands of small rock walls holding together tiers upon tiers of onion farms, and roads only big enough for one (small) car at a time…
When we got to the top, after passing through mountain sides drenched in incredible yellow wild-flowers and a small (but nonetheless awesome) ski resort, we could see from the plateaus of the western part of Cevenne all the way to the ocean… and on a clear fall day=the Alps and the Pyrenees? WOW. What a treat. All thanks to this man:
He even took Kelly and I “mushrooming”… It was incredible! We had purchased a couple of mushrooms (bigger than both of my fists put together) from one of the village-stores we delivered wine to and were feeling inspired…
We found nothing, however trodding through smurf-forests quietly searching for secret champignon hide-outs– uh… COOOOOOOL! 
This is the ski resort … it costs 9 euro/day? … rad. Check out the piste… you know the green grass with all the … sheep???
When we returned home and had an incredible three-hour meal that included our freshly purchased mushrooms and then we headed to a festival in the small village about 5 kilometers from Blancardy… It was incredible. 
Bonne journee!
