After a few more hours of sheer bliss on the couch...
...we went to "mountain" climb in the trees!
(After tapenade, here's another of our pleasures that's not for Monique!)
First of all, you need all sorts of complicated gear...
As you might notice, Malcolm and I - Henry that is - were very careful that our helmets were put on right.
Stella didn't think she looked very cool in the gear so this is about the last you'll see of her.
While Stella and I went directly to the Red courses (= hard), Mom and Malcolm started with a Blue course (= medium difficulty which Mom found plenty hard enough).
Mom resting after the first Blue course!
Malcolm then did a Red course on his own 'cause Mom couldn't even get up onto the first platform - not for lack of trying, though! That way she got some good shots of Malcolm from below.
He was WAY, WAY up there!
Thank you little Leica with the eagle eye!
After that, Stella and Malcolm did another Red course together, while I headed off to the...
...you got it: Black is black! And black means extêmement difficile so it has to be in French!
This ain't so HARD!
Well... Ummm....
Ouf, I made it!
ZOOM!
The end is near!
Was I happy to have done it? More like tired and thirsty, man!
Enough trees! We raced to the pool to get an hour's swimming in before the closing but Mom forgot the swim suits... We were NOT happy! But by the time we got home we felt better and when we were greeted by this fellow we couldn't resist snapping his portrait!
In the end, Mom and I went out to get a few last photos of the Kill Bill chapel at the entrance of the village...
...then it was one last dinner on the terrace...
...bye-bye Manas...
And back to Paris by car the next day!
We've had a great vacation! But summer is coming to an end. Mom's back to work tomorrow and we're back to school on Thursday - On THURSDAY!!! Oh, please, let's don't get Mom going on the crazy French school system! - Dad's starting rehearsals again on September 10th, so with all this business going on there might be a little less blogging! We shall see.
Great photo-blogging, Pirates (and Stella and Michelle!) It looks like it was a great trip!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen those sorts of high-flyin' maneuvers since ... since ... well, since the last time Katie the Beagle climbed on the roof.
Manas, what a wonderful place.
ReplyDeleteNow, your selection of activities is another story. What in the world were you thinking? That tree acrobatics look terrifying. And people do it voluntarily? Amazing.
Even the mountian climbing looked a bit scary to me, but at least it had the advantage of some remarkable views and unexpected treats, like the Narnia horses. But crossing rope bridges through the forest, hundreds of feet in the air? Yikes!!!
Yes, I'm afraid it is very clear that I will never be a real pontoon pirate...
Happy back-to-school preps.
Michelle, I hope you feel refreshed and ready to head back to work. i must say, you have take this blog and really made it sing. Cheers!
As someone who gets vertigo going down the basement stairs, I had to read this blog through a crack between my fingers, and I'm still out of breath from fright--but the photography and the elan of this blog REALLY take my breath away. Can hardly wait for you to go shopping in Paris, or something. It'll be a great story by the time the Pirates get all done with it!!!
ReplyDeleteIn preparation for your next two-day vacation that will no doubt include sky diving, you have done a pretty good job, Michelle. Even Henry had a slight frown on one of the photos, intense concentration surely, during his noir climb. Wow, and wow again to all of you. For Michelle, an occasion to display her newest, the photographic talent, among those many others. Great blogging and great memories!
ReplyDeleteNow back to work and back to school on terra firma.