Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien

As I lay in bed writing this blog post at the end of a very long day, I can hear the ocean waves crashing against the beach just a half a block from our bedroom window.  It is a truly magical sound to the ears of these mid-western travelers.  But let me back up...

Stefani and I woke up at 7 ready for the day.  We decided a (brief) run would be the best way to start so we headed out for a quick 20 minute run on the hilly roads surrounding the Chambres d'Hotes Les Fleurs des Champs.

 

(Shoes Only.  Sweaty Americans not pictures).  Following our run, we were treated to a lovely French breakfast by our host.

 

The "hotel" is really just three rooms, so we enjoyed our breakfast with two French couples -- the 6 of us comprising the entire clientele for the prior evening.  To my left, a nice couple who was excited to hear we lived in Minnesota.  In a six-degrees-of-separation moment, we learned their son lived in Edina, MN of all places!  We had a lovely chat.  To my right, another kind and fascinating couple heading to a resort near Bayonne for holiday.  Now retired from his career as a French diplomat, the couple explained that they tried to stay at places such as our little hotel to re-discover France after many years abroad.

Here we are in the garden before heading to Bordeaux to reunite with the girls:

We jumped in the car for another hour to find Ellie's host family.  Eric and Anne-Laure (along with their daughter Roxane) welcomed Ellie into their home during her trip and we could not be more thankful.  It was clear from the moment we saw Ellie that it had been a perfect fit and that the experience was everything we had hoped it would be.  The girl was glowing all day (and not just from the sun she collected at Dune du Pyla):

After visiting for awhile, we all headed to Stella's host family's house for lunch.  The four girls played, and laughed, and had a great time for the next 3 hours!  The adults ate and talked and generally got acquainted.  We all ate the amazing 5 course meal prepared by Stella's host mother in the garden.  It was... Amazing.

I tried to take a few pictures of the girls playing.  It is hard to explain how right this all felt.  After 6 years of hard work and dedication to their French education, seeing Ellie and Stella playing with their French host "sisters" was perfect:

 

This game involves wearing funny goggles and drawing a clue while someone else guesses the answer.

While the girls played, Stella's host family prepared our meal.  Here is their outdoor grill which I am sure will give Tom and Nick some serious grill envy:

 

Adorable picture of the girls together:

 

"Silly" picture:

After lunch, we packed up the car and headed out.  Ellie and Stella had a great time on the two hour drive picking songs to listen to in the car and telling us about a few of their adventures:

 

 

I am often skeptical of airbnb.  You really never know what you might get.  In this instance, we won the airbnb lottery.  The 2 bedroom apartment we rented near Zurriola beach in San Sebastian is fantastic.  Here is a view from the balcony and our bedroom:

 

 

While I was taking pictures, I asked the girls to hold my wine glass:

 

 

They thought it was quite funny and really embraced the moment.  Next we headed out for a walk.  It turns out the sun sets very late here so we found ourselves still on the beach at 8:45pm.  It was gorgeous:

 

 

 

We finally realized we needed some food, so stopped in at an Italian restaurant on our route home. 

 

By the end of the meal, we were all exhausted.  The house is now sleeping while I try to catch up on my blog.  I have never been to San Sebastian.  It is my first time in Spain.  But I can say that this city is, as far as I can tell, a perfect location. 

We listened to Edith Piaf sing "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" (No, I do not regret anything) on the drive here.  I could not agree more.