La Grande Brière

This weekend, we went to La Grande Brière for our Sunday outting.

 

On our way there, we passed this quaint little castle.

We also stopped by my host family's old house in the country, but unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of it because there was a gigantic fence around it.  Instead, I snapped a photo of this old mail box next to their house.

La Grande Brière is a gorgeous system of canals, so on the way there we passed this little boat hut.

 

And this would be la grande Brière.

 

It was stunning.

 

My host mother asked me if I wanted my picture taken.  Being me, I said no, but I compromised by taking a picture of my shadow, so that I could prove I was there.

 

The clouds that day were completely stunning.

 

I'm afraid I took many similar shots because it was just so beautiful!

 

Unfortunately, I don't think any picture could capture the beauty of that place, so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was about twenty times more beautiful than my photos.

 

 

In each of these pictures, imagine the sky to be much bluer, the grass much greener, and a light, refreshing autumn breeze whipping your hair in your face, and you might have succesfully imagined a small part of what it was like being there.



 

But words and pictures can't adequately describe it's beauty, so just hop on a plane and go and see it.  Oh, and visit me too, of course.  :)

I wanted to stay there for an eternity.

 

On our way back, I took this quick picture, but unfortunately, the light was not my friend and this appears rather plain compared to the pretty scene that it actually was.

We aldo stopped by a little town that had this gorgeous view of the main canal. This picture captures its beauty poorly because as you looked down it, it just seemed to go on forever, like you could hop in a boat and travel for ages.

 

Here's another view of the countryside.

 

There was also a flock of ducks that passe by. Interesting fact: the French call these birds geese, but to me a goose is a totally different bird and I called them ducks. Let's just say that there may have been a great debate as to what to call said birds.

 

This has got to be one of my favorite photos I've taken here. Just saying.

Next, we strolled through the very tiny town.

The houses were so very cute and they all had these sort of thatched rooves. I'm not sure of the word in English for it though.

The houses were so very cozy and cottagey.

My favorite houses were the ones with flowers in front of them because tht made them not only adorable, but cheery too.

 

Even though the old mailboxes are a little ugly, I can't help but love them because they're old and so different from the mailboxes at home. Yes, yes, I'm very strange, but we all already knew that.

 

This was the only house in the town without the thatched roof. Appraently, this house is old because it's actually illegal to not have a thatched roof in this region. (Gotta love those European laws.)



And yet another cute cottage.

 

 

 

Now, it's time for other varoius news.

I absolutely love recieving letters in the mail, like this one.  They brighten my day so much!

 

The other day in class, there was nothing to do, so my friends and I used my squishy eraser to sculpt mustaches.  Yes, that eraser was a good investment. 

And here is a very pretty door that I pass occasionally.  No real reason for the picture, except that it's pretty.

And much to my delight, I got a package from home too!  It made me very happy.  :)

 

On Sunday, my dear, dear friend Hannah arrived!!!!  It's been many years since I've lived relatively close to her, but now she only lives five minutes away and she goes to school with me.  An added bonus is that we convinced the director to put her in our class, so I'm now not the only clueless Amrican in class!!!!  Yay!

 

And that's all.