no boys allowed!

In France, teachers are usually scheduled to teach for 18 hours a week. When they don't have class, they're not required to be at school. Because they don't have their own classrooms like we do, most work at home on their days off.

G didn't have class on Friday, so he met me at the train station and we spent the afternoon in Granville. L doesn't teach on Mondays, so yesterday it was just les filles.

We started the day at the factory for the famous caramels d'Isigny. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed inside, so I don't have any way to show you how the caramels are made, but I can tell you that they are delicious! I bought a few products to help me in the kitchen back home. How do crêpes with caramel au beurre salé sound? (note to self: ask for a fancy crêpe maker for upcoming birthday). We hoped to visit a dairy farm - after all, Normandy is famous for its happy, well-fed cows and all the delicious products that result from that - but they aren't open for visits until July! As you can imagine, I was quite disappointed. Oh well, I have to leave something for the next time, right?

We stopped in the village of Carentan and took a walk through the market and the centre-ville, most of which had been destroyed in WWII. Because the anniversary of the Allied invasion was on Sunday, the town was decorated with garlands of little flags - Canadian, British, French, American, and the European Union. On to Coutances, where we had lunch in a crêperie and then a walk through the jardin des plantes.

From there, went to the Château de Gratot. It had been abandoned for many years, until someone bought it and volunteer associations began to restore it. Unusual for France, it's open to the public for virtually free -there's a donation box at the entry, and laminated guides you can borrow. I'm waiting for the owners to vacate their house next door so I can move in.

My future home in France. Plenty of room for everyone to visit!