Walls in France: A special Sunday

We spent a lovely day yesterday with our friends Emmanuelle, Gilles and Josepha Defaix. We met them at the Gare de Vaise metro station and then they drove us about an hour out of Lyon to the home of Emmanuelle's parents. It is in Veyssilieu, a little town in country with narrow streets and horses munching grass on either side. It is hilly and lush with lots of settings that look like they came straight from a postcard. The weather was chilly and rainy, but it was still lovely to look out the window during the drive.

After arriving, we had a tour of their home which they have lived in since Emmanuelle was a little girl. When they moved in, the house was in terrible shape (according to Emmanuelle), but the family re-built it and it is now a sanctuary in the hills. When I first walked in, I commented that I could now see where Emmanuelle gets her sense of style...from her mom! The rooms are elegantly appointed with unique touches that show off the creativity of Emmanuelle's parents, Odyle and Kaki - lots of cool colors, stone, natural fibers, wood, black and white photos, lampshades to die for...you get the idea. Odyle used to teach dance at a studio in the town, but has recently (in the past two years) built a dance studio at the house where she teaches children and adults expressive/modern dance. Lucy, Kathleen and Jojo took advantage of the studio and danced themselves silly before lunch!

We then saw the "gite" which is sleeping quarters for people who come to do the dance/nature program and/or the family. The sleeping room is right above the studio, but you enter it from the other side of the house. It is basically a huge, finished room with an oven to keep it warm, a dressing room and lots and lots of beds. Emmanuelle says that when her entire family is visiting (she has two brothers, one of whom has three children), they all sleep up there together! Outside of the gite, in what looks like used to be a chicken coop, is a little bathroom. It is so cute - I loved it! With chicken wire covering the window in the door, it was as quaint as you can get.

In addition to these two special rooms, Emmanuelle's dad also has a separate space that used to be his office (he was an engineer), but is a now a room for everything...there is a small kitchen, as well as, a little bathroom. The main room is totally open and airy and looks out the hill down to a pair of horses in a pasture. This is the place where Kaki plays his cello. He is a talented musician and we were fortunate enough to have him perform for us after lunch. It was a spectacular show with Odyle even dancing to the music! A wonderful experience for the Wall family!

Lunch included a delicious roasted chicken, potatoes with tomatoes, bread, cheese and a cherry cake (made by Emmanuelle with cherries from her garden!) with coffee, and of course, wine. After lunch, we sat around the table in the kitchen talking...we had a few English lessons, as well as a couple of French ones; we talked about the death of Ted Kennedy and the election of Barack Obama; and we heard stories about the French resistance. Bucky was especiallly fascinated with Kaki's knowledge of and respect for Jean Moulin. I noted how my dad would have loved to have heard all of Kaki's stories and I am sure Bucky will enjoy re-telling them in October!

When it was time to go, we kissed each other goodbye and we thanked Odyle and her husband for such a lovely day. We loved getting to know Emmanuelle's parents and spending time in their beautiful home. It was certainly a special Sunday for us all.

Their home...on the right is the office/concert room...

Enjoying an aperitif before lunch...

Kaki measuring Kathleen on their kitchen door. He measured Lucy too. It is funny because my mom does the same thing and measured Lea (Emmanuelle and Gilles' older daughter) a few years ago when she was staying with us in Charleston. At that time, she was taller than Hamer and he wanted to catch up. Since then, he has caught up and well surpassed her! I think it is cool that my children are now on Kaki's door!