Tarred and feathered

So Saturday morning we heard a commotion and looked out the window. A guy was being feathered by the fountain. In Switzerland when a guy gets engaged, his friend make him do odd things. For this poor guy, his friend poured syrup on him and then dumped feathers atop. He then proceeded to put on swimming flippers and peruse the town...very funny country.

Back in Switzerland

Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France

Giddy Up....whoa Nellie

Okay...so I was feeling adventurous and decided to ride a horse. In south France they have amazing wildlife and the best way to see it is on horseback. I was so nervous, but at the same time feeling brave. The ranch staff outfitted me with a helmet and we started moving. The horses are found wild in France, but ours were trained to follow each other. My horse was named "Pom Pom".

As we started out, the horse and I had a conversation...I explained to my French pony that I was a Southern girl, and Southern girls like to keep it slow. Unfortunately Pom Pom only spoke French. Just kidding...God bless him for being the slowest pony on the ranch. Pom Pom kept lagging behind the group, liked to stop to eat, and was very "slow go". Once the group leader yelled across the plain for Pom Pom to speed up. He started galloping and I let out a loud yell that would make Tarzan proud. But it was so much fun!

The terrain reminded me of the everglades. We stopped numerous times to see the wildlife. I've never seen so many flamingos...the excursion was well worth the effort. I would have taken photos, but I refused to let go of my horse...maybe next time:)

The Bull Fight

One of most exciting things we saw was a real bull fight. There were clowns, actual audience members playing games with the bull, and more entertainment than I had expected. We were close to Spain so some of the culture and food spilled out onto our ocean front village.

The first picture above is Sadie running with bulls....just kidding! They let the kids come into the arena to play soccer at intermission. She had a blast!

There were also several...actually tons....of Spanish restaurants. One night I ordered a local fish...much to my surprise, it came with all it's parts. I wasn't sure how to eat him with his eyes watching me. Bruno helped and it was an amazing meal once I got the hang of it. And paella....yum!

France

We spent a few days at the beach in the South of France. It was very nice! Lots of activities for Sadie and the ocean was fabulous! This carousel was across the street from the beach. This is Sadie's cowgirl impression...much different than the British queen impression.