Maintenant, Kelly a quatorze ans! (The Trail's Our Thing)

Our little girl is now 14 years old! And she has just celebrated her fourth consecutive birthday in Europe:

11 - Yorkshire, England.
12 - Salzkammergut, Austria.
13 - Provence, France.
14 - Provence, France.

What a life she has had already! And I feel sure that next year on July 22nd we’ll be back in Europe somewhere…

Kelly’s big birthday celebration was Saturday night: a group dinner at our little café in Bonnieux, Le Terrail. We really like the environment and the staff: our waiter-friend Michel and the waitress Nathalie. This summer we brought Michel, Nathalie and the owner Patrick ball caps from the University of Tennessee. (Though I noticed no one was wearing theirs tonight!)

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Our beautiful daughter-- now 14 years old

Le Terrail has a fabulous view of the valley and the Monts de Vaucluse. This year we're continuing last summer's tradition of eating there every Saturday night. It's surely one of the best places in the Luberon to watch the sun set.

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The sunset from Le Terrail on Saturday night

We invited the two American families—the McConnells and the Hamids—to join us for dinner, so there were eleven of us at a big table on the terrace: six adults and five teenagers. The adults talked and drank wine, while the kids had fun playing cards at their end of the table. Kelly ordered her normal pasta bolognaise with the sauce “à côte.” It’s not a very French meal, but she likes it and she likes the people here. They are truly delighted to be part of her birthday.

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The birthday celebration at Le Terrail (note the card players!)

Michel had arranged for a special cake for Kelly. He lit the candles and brought it to the table while we all sang happy birthday. I hope this is the beginning of another very special year for our sweet daughter.

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The special birthday cake

Our group didn't leave until after 11 pm! Kelly was especially sad to say goodbye to her new friend from California, Olivia. The two girls really had a special time together.

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Kelly and Olivia say goodbye

Sunday was Kelly’s actual birthday, and we had a relatively quiet family day. We had breakfast at the house and she opened a couple of small gifts. She already got her big birthday present—a new digital camera.

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Happy birthday morning!

About noon we drove to the Sunday morning market in Coustellet, an easier alternative to L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue when you just need to buy a few things for dinner. Kelly used some of her birthday money to buy a new purse, and we bought chicken and some vegetables for dinner.

But the main reason we were in Coustellet was to eat at Kelly’s requested restaurant: Le Perle d’Asie, an Asian restaurant that’s another family favorite. Their lunch menu is an especially good value. After lunch we took a long route home through the beautiful countryside and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at Le Mas St. Paul: reading, swimming, napping, dinner, and a movie.