The Unofficial Start to our Vacation

Our vacation got off to an unofficial start on Sunday, when we went to pick up the Barrands, the French family with whom we are exchanging homes. Their flight was uneventful; they arrived on time but were slightly delayed through customs. Unfortunately for them they arrived on the hottest day of the year, made worse by the fact that there were some troubles at their motel (the Sandman, one of Santa Rosa's finest): First we were sent to the wrong building, then when we found the right building, the room they were given was not made up, so we had to go back to the lobby, then back to the building we had originally gone to. This required eight people carrying various and sundry bags to walk back and forth, up and down stairs, in 105 degree heat. After they got their room, we took them to Mary's Pizza Shack for a pizza dinner (which they devoured with pleasure).

Yesterday they came over in the late afternoon so we could show them the house. They are the nicest folks you would ever want to meet. Jerome is a professor in the Business school at the University of Grenoble; his wife Anne works at the Grenoble chamber of commerce. They told us all about the quirks in their house, and we told them about ours.

We also introduced them to root beer. When we were at Mary's Pizza Shack, we asked them if they were familiar with root beer, and they weren't, so we bought a six-pack before they came over, figuring they might be interested in a taste. We opened up a can and poured it over ice, then each one of the five of them took a sip. Without exception, the expressions on each of their faces said 'this is among the most noxious stuff I have ever tasted.' One of them said it tasted like bad medicine. Which just goes to show that root beer is (like beer, now that I think of it) an acquired taste.

Here's the first of many (I hope) pictures: The Barrands and the Shupes (minus me, preferring to be behind the camera). For a larger picture click here.

More when we arrive in France....