Bugs, Bugs, EVERYWHERE!!!!!!

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:
Blog #7

Hello Everyone. Maddy here again from France on my last blog of 2009. I know especially the boys will like this one. It is about the biggest display of bugs I have ever seen.

OK. Let's start at the beginning.

Yesterday we went to a village perche` (hilltop village) called Tourette-Levens.  This village is over 2000 years old.  It had a huge chateau (castle) and inside was the biggest collection of dead bugs I have ever seen.  Over 6000 of them.  There were butterflies, ants, beetles, spiders, and all sorts of the ugliest bugs I have ever seen.  And now, I am going to give you a few fun facts that I learned:

Did you know:

1]  That there are millions of animals in the world but insects make up over 75% of them

2]  The average moustique (mosquito) has 47 teeth but it is their nose that gets your blood.

3]  An ant can lift 50 times its own weight.  But a honey bee can lift 300 times its weight.  If we humans could lift 300 times our weight, we could lift over 15 tons!

4]  There are 300,000 types of beetles which is the most of any insect in the world.

5]  The eggs of a walking stick insect are the largest insect eggs in the world and are almost 1/2 inch long.

I wish you all could have seen all these bugs.  Especially the creepy spiders.  I never knew there were so many of these creatures all over the world.

I miss you all so much and I'll see you in a few DAYS!!

-Maddy

P.S.  Remember I told you about the special ways dogs are treated here?  Take a look at the following pictures.  Can you tell which dog looks like his owner?

B-Borie

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:
Blog #6

Hello Everyone.  Maddy here again from France.

Most of you know I have a second home in France.  It is in a petite (little) historic village called Gordes in Provence France.  In this village there are very interesting little stone homes called Bories. 

What are they?
Where are they?
Who lived in them?
Why are they made from rocks?
How old are they?

Great questions but some of the answers are hard to find.  However, I will respond to most of those questions in the following paragraphs.  So, here we go!!!

What are Bories?  Bories are little stone homes that look like Igloos.  But, they are made of flat roches (rocks) instead of ice blocks. 

Where are they?  The Bories are mostly located about two miles from our house in a very old part of France where cavemen lived.  We even have one (with a well) in our back yard.  In fact, there is an entire group of them called The Village Des Bories.

Who lived in them?  This is a more difficult question.  Archeologist's think they might have been temporary shelters for shepards.

Why are they made from rocks?  Rocks are very protective and they kept them safe.  Much better than wood so they were very strong and still here today.

How old are they?  The Bories are very old.  They date back to the Neolithic Age which was over 4000 years ago.

I hope my answers inspired all of you.
Talk to you all next week for my last Blog.
-Maddy
P.S.  I miss you so much.  I am on the countdown: 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1

P.S.S.Thanks so much Mrs. Santello for the great comment on my last Blog.
I also brought you a stone from the Borie village so you can add that one to your collection too.

P.S.S.S.
A super thank-you to my sister Arial for the great comments last week and the encouragement.  I love you so much.

-M

Nazi Occupation Reminders Everywhere

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:
Blog #5

Hello again.  Maddy here from France.  This week we all took a promenade (walk) on a brand new trail along the sea that the French government just opened up this summer.  It was really cool.  It was a reminder of the Nazi occupation of our town during WWII.

Who were the Nazis?  Nazi's were the German soldiers who invaded northern France in 1940.  That was only 69 years ago.  Then in November 1942 they actually came to our ville (city) of Villefranche and occupied our port and our homes.  Lots of people died in the battles.  There are memories everywhere in our village.

The Nazi occupation set up bunkers called "pill boxes" along the opening of the port to guard our harbor from the Allies.  Today we went to those bunkers on the new trail.  I don't know how the Nazi's got here but probably from U-Boats on the water as there are rocks scattered everywhere.

As an American, it is really hard to imagine your country bombed, invaded, and trapped like mice.  But reminders like these make me remember how brave the soldiers and people of our village must have been.

I hope you like the pictures.
More to come next week.

-Maddy

P.S.
Thank-you Mrs. Santello, Mrs. Herrera and Mrs. Ross for your comments.  I think of you all when I write my blog.
P.S.S.  Mrs. Santello, I even picked up a rock from the bunker for your collection.

Answers to Class Questions:
Thank-you Mrs. Ross and Class for your comments.
P.S.  Anyone who comments I will try to write answers in my next Blog!!

1]  Yes it is crazy that there are no dogs allowed in cemeteries especially when they are treated like people here in France.  Just wait for 2 weeks and in my last BLOG will be all the strange things dogs do around here.  Complete with pictures!!

2]  Yes, I did see bones in one part of the cemetery.  It was really scarey.  It was a dirt part and I ran like crazy because I was sure someone or something was watching me.

3]  The newlywed couple is doing great.  Sugar the Rabbit just got his driving liscense.  I had to make a special car just for him with a steering wheel, brakes, and a comfortable seat.  It was really neat.

4]  It really did not freak me out visiting the cemeteries until I saw those bones.  Now I REALLY believe there are ghosts there.

I can't wait to see all of you and that is great news about the laptops! Thank-you so much for reading my Blog.  It makes me feel so much a part of our class.

-A Bientot Maddy

Cemeteries Are Different Here (....and Spookier)

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:

Blog #4

Hello Everyone.  Maddy here again from France.

This week's story is about how scary and different cemetires (cemeteries) are in France from cemeteries in America.

Very different!

The first and biggest difference is that French cemeteries are above ground in huge stone tombs and not in graves in the ground.  There is no grass at all...just stone and cement.  The reason is that the ground here is hard and solid rock and it is impossible to blast the stone for graves.  So all the tombs are above ground.   Gross!!! But they are REALLY cool.  Some are so old.  Some over 300 years from the 17th century.  And some are even broken.  I sometimes think that ghosts can escape and that is very scary especially when I am in the cemeteries tout seul (alone) as my bus stop for school is at the door to our cemetery in Villefranche.

Another strange thing about French cemeteries is that chiens (dogs) are not allowed.  That is really funny as dogs are allowed everywhere else, even in schools and restaurants.

Finally, French cemeteries are part of the life of everyone in each of the small villages.  The old people all go to every funeral even if they don't know the person.  And, it is so hilly here that the coffins have to be carried by hand as the voitures (cars) can't go up the stairs to the cemeteries which are always high in the towns with the very best views.

I hope you like the pictures and don't get too scared.  It really is very different here and very spooky.

Talk to you all next week.

-Maddy

There Is No Publix In France

Dear Mrs. Ross and Class:
Week #3

Hello Class.  Maddy here again.  Thank-you all so much for the comments and questions.  Read on and I will get to those in a minute.  First, this week's story:

Getting your food is VERY different in France than in Florida.  Very different.  People here shop for their food every day and not at big stores like Publix.  Every day we have a huge outside Marche (market) where thousands of people come to buy everything they need.  There is great fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and even over 1/2 mile of fresh flowers.  It is really neat.  Plus we buy our du pain (bread) every day too.  Did you know it is a law in France that every town has to have a bakery open every day?  The French love their fresh bread.  We also grow most of our own vegetables in our humongous jardin (garden).

The best part of the market is when it is over at about 1:00 pm every day.  Then the local firemen take giant hoses and wash everything away.  There is tons of garbage.  The worst part is the really stinky poissen (fish). After they are done, the market then turns into hundreds of restaurants for lunch and dinner. 

I hope you like the pictures.  Especially the pig and the smelly swordfish head.
More next week and thanks again for the GREAT questions and comments.

A bientot
-Maddy

Answers To Your Questions

Mrs. Herrera:  Thanks so much for reading my blog every week.  It means so much to me.  You are the Best!!

Katie:  I miss you so much too.

Bridgette and Lila:  Thanks so much for all your support.  I hope to see you in New York soon.  Miss u 2.

Sam:  I agree, French is so hard.  Keep trying though, you will get better just like me.  See you at Halloween!

Mrs. Ross and Class Answers from Blog #1:  Thank-you so much for the questions and comments.  It just makes me a bit sad as I miss you all so much.  Thanks again for making me smile.  Here are your answers:

1]  I love to pick the grapes because it is really fun.  The vines are so tall, just like soldiers in a row.
2]  Yes, I do eat the grapes while we pick them because they are awesome when they are fresh.
3]  We got our vineyard when my mom, dad, and I planted each vine when I was young in 2001.
4]  Yes, the grapes would turn to raisens if we did not pick them at just the right time.  Great question whoever asked!

Mrs. Ross and Class Answers from Blog #2:  The Big Wedding

1]  My dog Snoopy was the official at the wedding but he was not the best as he kept squirming to get away.
2]  There were no rings exchanged but they did exchange lettuce and carrots.  :-)
3]  Yes we had a beautiful cake.  It was a carrot cake with seeds and nuts on top.  It went very quick!
4]  No they did not rub noses but they did hop away very happily together.  They really love each other.

That's all for now.  Have a GREAT week.

-M

I Have The Weirdest Animals In France

Dear Mrs. Ross and Classmates:
Week #2

Most of you readers that have been with me for a while, know that I have two cute dogs.  But did you know I also have a lapin (rabbit) named Sugar and a Couchon D'Inde (Gunnea Pig) named Lillian.? They also live with me in our house in France.  However, these two characters are the weirdest animals in France.

First of all, rabbits and Guinnea Pigs get along very well together in the same cage.  They get along so well that I actually had to have a wedding for them as they both wanted to get married.  What a couple!  (See the above picture of Lillian's bridal gown.)

Secondly, these animals just love to go to go for walks with the dogs.  I even have a leash for each of them.  They look so silly walking down the street together.

Thirdly, these two love to be daredevils.  I actually had to make a Disneyworld for them including rides and rollercoasters.  I even trained them to jump in and out of their cages.

Finaly, and the really weirdest and worst thing is that Lillian especially loves apples.  She only eats the Royal Gala kind though. And she loves them so much, that she sqeeks early every morning so loud, when my mom cuts them on the counter, that she wakes me up from my sleep.

I hope you all can meet them somne day as they really are a very weird pair.

A bientot and see you next week.
-Maddy

Back Again In France 2009

Bonjour Mrs. Ross and My New Classmates:

Maddy here again writing to you from our house in France. 

Yesterday I flew in from New York and it took over 18 hours!!  It was VERY long.  So, to cheer me up my family and I picked our grapes (vendange) in our very own vineyard.  Since it was very hot and I had very little sleep I started to feel dizzy so I drank 5 cans of peach ice tea.  To my surprise it made me feel much better.

We picked and picked for hours.  Finally, after over 1000 pounds of grapes (raisens) we were OK to stop.  So I am sure you are now wondering why we picked all these grapes.  Well, our family makes our own wine (vin).  About 100 cases a year.  I do not like wine so much yet.  But our friends say it is the best wine they ever had.  My sisters really like it too.  We even get to put the labels on the bottles in 2 years when the 2009 is ready to drink.

I look forward to writing all of you every week with my new French adventures.  I LOVE COMMENTS and questions so please ask me a million and let me know you are reading my blog.

Tu me monque (I miss you all)
-Maddy