Last weekend we spent Sunday at Grand Anse (our local beach) with lots of friends celebrating the 66th birthday of a friend of ours, Monique. It had been planned to camp overnight but rain was forecast so the plan was changed to meet up a 9.30am for Sunday breakfast and spend the day there.
I've mentioned on the blog before that picnics are a big thing here with the grassy areas by most beaches filling up with picnickers most weekends. Last weekend was no exception, if a bit quieter in the morning due to the lack of people camping due to the overnight rain.
We arrived a bit after 9.30am and stayed until after 6.00pm, eating, swimming and chatting in the shade (my understanding of French conversations continues to improve, though my grammar is still appalling!) was the order of the day with the kids off entertaining themselves for most of the day. It was a really lovely day with friends and the family and a reminder of what is really important in life!
One thing I have yet to get used to is the habit of new arrivals at a party or event greeting everyone already there individually with a "bisou" on either cheek (or just a handshake between the men), when you are number thirty to arrive it can take a bit of time to work your way through everyone!
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| The birthday party |
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| Hammocks are always a welcome addition to any party! |
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| The view from the party |
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| Sam with his homemade "crossbow" |
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| Ela giving the birthday girl a big hug! |
Then toward the end of the day two Tibetan Monks turned up, no idea where from (besides Tibet originally I guess), they didn't speak much French or English so I have no idea why they were at a beach on Reunion, still they seemed to like the birthday cake.
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| Two Tibetan monks? |
