Meeting our second Exchangers!

We got up and were out the door by 8:30 am to head towards Bordeaux.  We promised the kids that we could have breakfast at Macdonalds, of all places, because... well, just because it's familiar and they need a break from croissants and baguettes.  GASP!! :-)

waiting for our ride at Bordeaux airport

So anyway, we finally located Macdonalds, went to open the door and found out it doesn't open until 10:00 a.m.  What??  That's crazy... and disappointing.  We ended up getting back into the car and driving for an hour until we stopped at a large rest area. We grabbed some muffins and yogurt to tide us over for awhile.  We didn't want to get off the highway because everytime you do, you end up stopping at a toll booth... you pay/stop all the time in France, to pay for driving on the highways.  What a nuisance.  Anyway, we ended up stopping for lunch at a Macdonalds (we promised, after all) which made the kids very happy.   (This reminds me of when Rodger and I were in Rome in 1998 for our motorbike trip.... I insisted that we eat breakfast at Macdonalds, just around the corner from the ancient Colosseum.  It just seemed so wrong and Rodger was horrified I would even suggest it... but I just needed a "normal" breakfast... something other than a baguette and nutella.)

Next stop, Bordeaux airport to drop off our car and meet up with Jean-Pierre and Francoise, our home exchangers.  They were kind enough to pick us up with two cars, even though they live 30 minutes from the airport.

We had a lovely visit with them and managed to communicate enough with our language barrier.  They served us homemade plum cake, apple cider and ice cream for the kids.  They were so welcoming!  After a couple of hours, they left us to make ourselves at home, while they went down the road to stay with Jean-Pierre's mother tonight.  So kind of them to give up their home the evening before they leave for our house.  They fly out bright and early to Vancouver.

They left us a bottle of wine, that is produced at their family's vineyard just down the road from here.  It was very good and we have plans to stop by for a visit this week, before they close down for holidays.