Howdy there friends. I know I've been neglecting my blog and haven't kept you up to the second on my excursions. Fret not, it's all for good reason. For the sake of the slower crowd, I'll remind you that this past week and a half my Mom and Aunt Jacqui came to visit. I'd just like to mention quickly before I get into all those yummy details that the day before my mother and aunt arrived, Thursday March 10th, Pierre took Kevin, Killian, and I to the Geneva auto show. The spread of car's was amazing inside and out. Having spent so much time in Mia and Chicago I thought I had seen balling. Bentley's, Aston Martin's, Ferrari's, Porsche's have become kind of old hat, but the sheer amount of these luxury cars is what the really amazing part. So to all of my friends that want to marry rich you may want to take a trip to Geneva, chances of it actually happening are much higher there. I'll go more into detail about Geneva later though.
On Friday March 11th my Mom and Aunt landed in Paris and took the TGV (fast train) to Lyon, which is about an hour away. Pierre drove while I rode along to pick them up from the train station and bring them back to Aix. We're in the middle of the packed Lyon train station and Pierre's worried about how we're going to spot them because it's packed. I tell him not to worry that we'll spot them easily because they'll be the only ones dressed as if they're climbing Mt. Everest. He laughs and of course, thinks I'm just teasing them until he spots them coming down the ramp from their train. He points them out to me and immediately starts laughing because I was right. They both have on huge coats, knit hats, scarves, every piece of cold weather gear except for snow boots. I won't tell you the temperature outside so they can save some face, but just know it was definitely easy to spot them. Of course they were tired from their Atlantic crossing so we took them to Aix to meet the family and rest up.
I've mentioned before how amazing I think the Marmion's are and how grateful I am to be staying with them. Now both my Mom and Aunt witnessed their kindness and loving attitude firsthand. Throughout their entire stay we all got along very well and it was refreshing to hear from both sides how much they really liked each other and got along. I really feel like we've gained some french "cousins", if your not from Mia you probably won't understand what I mean by that. Anyway let me recap the first half of the visit. You see that, I proactively split this blog entry into two maybe three different entries because I care about all four of my readers. :D
The highlight of Friday was definitely dinner. Dinner with the Marmion's is always lively and a great time. Things were definitely kicked up a notch when three things were added. Mom + Aunt + Wine = the Charlie Sheen definition of winning. This is where everyone truly became comfortable with each other and the dynamic was really amazing. There we all were, two families who were recently acquainted but it seemed like we had known each other for years. The food, as always, was amazing. Catherine is truly a master in the kitchen. She made tartiflette which is a dish comprised of potatoes, onions, ham, and cheese. It's one my favorite dishes and is a specialty here in the Savoie region. Catherine even made my Mom a vegetarian, onion free tartiflette so she could try it too. That's love ain't it? Dinner went on and we all had a very great time.
On Saturday was the Carnaval in Chambery in which our team, Les Aigles, was marching in. The theme of the parade was countries from around the world and each group represented a different country. Of course, they picked us to represent the US of A. Pierre asked Caleb and I to carry the American flags throughout the parade route. First off, I had so much fun in that parade and I wish I could find some pictures to show you but I gave my camera to my Mom. About midway through the parade my Mom and Aunt decided that they wanted to go shopping so I don't have very much evidence to put up on my tumblr. (http://mmalachi.tumblr.com/ )Needless to say, Les Aigles put on a show for the crowd and Caleb and I were huge hits because of our exotic status as Americans, especially with the ladies. The only problem is that these girls were no older than 13 or 14. Honestly, if I were back in middle school I would've been the man with how many young girls hit on me. I even got a request at the end of parade to dance with a pair of young ladies. I had to respectfully decline this request though. I know, I know I'm a heartbreaker.
On sunday was our game against the Cannoniers. For which, a new level of excitement was in the air around the house because my Mom, Aunt, and Catherine quickly discovered they were going to be partners in crime at the game. For those of you who've ever sat near my Mom and Aunt at a game know exactly what I mean. The rest of you will soon understand. To say that they were the three loudest people at the game would be an understatement. They were complete hooligans, but it was awesome. Catherine had her trademark trumpets and was screaming in French. My Mom and Aunt on the other hand were their usual selves screaming out all types of things at everyone on the field and at one point my Aunt Jacqui even screamed out tire-bouchon, which means cork screw in English. Of course everyone was laughing at the trio of hooligans and their great quotes. My personal favorite is when it hit halftime my Aunt Jackie yelled out, "It's halftime, do they want us to do a halftime show?" The game was hard fought but unfortunately we lost 8-3. Which is a true shame because we were unable to get our first win and our OL/DL coach Phillipe donned a dread-lock wig the whole game to emphasize the "Marshall touch". Hopefully soon we can get that first W and begin our winning ways. After the game my Mom and Aunt got their first and only taste of McDonald's in France. After the game we just all chilled out at the house. In our next adventure I'll bring everyone up to speed on the second half of my Mom and Aunt's visit in France.
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