Up, up and away

Lisa: One of Irie's birthday presents was a parasailing ride. Since Rick had recently been up in the glider I got to go with her. The parasailing boat left out of the port, Rick got to drive a little while the captain hooked up the parachute. He reports the little motorboat handled easier than the penichette we took last fall. Irie and I sat on the back of the boat, harnessed in and the captain let loose the winch. The wind picked us up and we were gone. The typical ride is about 20 minutes, but because we were the only customers that day and the captain and Rick got to discussing politics, Irie and I spent quite a bit of time up in the air. Plus, he knew it was Irie's birthday present. We had quite a bit of line, so were very high up, with fantastic views of the beach, downtown Fréjus, St. Raphaël, St. Aygulf, and the Esterels behind it all. As evidenced by Irie's giggles and smiles, she loved it. I was a bit motion sick, probably from handling the camera. Yet another experience in the books for our girl of many adventures.

Rick: Meanwhile, Irie has become très à l'aise (relaxed), speaking more French, talking about missing her friends here and wanting to come back to visit them, even having a bit of a springtime crush. She is sailing her own boat now in sailing class, and walking to and from school by herself. Turning 9 seems to have been a turning point of some importance for Irie! Of course, it doesn't hurt to have some cool new Converse high-tops.

Speaking of spring, the weather has been consistently nice, low 70's, regular beaching, even some swimming as the Mediterranean slowly warms up. We are feeling the time slip away (7 weeks and counting) and I know I'm wanting to get the most out of living near the Sea.

Last weekend, there was a Terroir du Vin at the Base, so went to do some wine-tasting. They had wines from all over France, as well as French food specialities such as saucissons, tapenades, viandes, etc.
While it only cost us 2 euros to get in, we left having lightened our wallets considerably. As with my wish for profiting from being 3 blocks from the beach, I plan to make the most of the gourmet smorgasbord available to me while I can, so "eat, drink, and be merry" will be my guiding principle for the next 7 weeks. Or as the French say: "bien profiter."