Bonjour!!

Wow!! What an amazing opportunity we have been given!...Our quaint, little French village, Villefranche, in all it's charm could not be more simply and intriguingly beautiful! Picturesque to say the least. Despite having blurted out, "Si Senor" (rather than "Oui Monsieur)" multiple times in the last 24 hours, the French have appeared more graceful than expected with the language barrier and more than willing to be of service when needed. We have spent our last few days exploring the city of Nice, which is about a 10 minute bus ride from our villa, as well as Villefranche, itself. Both are extremely endearing but vastly different as Nice is much more metropolitan by far. The most noticeable quality of the French culture that has been apparent to John and I is their purity of culture which comes across as simplicity. The culture, as a whole, feels easily comfortable with itself...and is possesses an abundance of beauty and quality despite not striving for it. It is quite refreshing to observe a frenchman and his wife perched fountain-side quietly savoring their single scoops of gelato...no where to rush off to, they appear content to be completely unproductive without any apparent thought for an agenda or schedule. What a challenge! My hope is that as we become more acclimated to the French language and culture, we will be willing and humble recipients of having our horizons broadened daily. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. We love and miss you all!