007

Our spy gadget mad boy has reached the magical age of 007 and we had great fun marking the occasion.

Our neighbours, Paul and Mal, had organised a treasure hunt for the boating community that day and had gone out of their way to make it birthday-boy friendly.

That will teach him to use his knife properly!

We added to it by insisting that all competitors wear a pirate hat. Those that did not wear one would risk a penalty. And so sleepy Burgundy witnessed a procession of UK number-plated cars driven by pirates searching for clues in the oddest of places.

What happened in here?

It was great fun and we ended up in a cafe for birthday cake and song at the end of the hunt. Somehow, even though we did not win, the boys came away with plenty of prizes.

Auxonne Carnival

Our second visit to the walled town of Auxonne was as noisy as our first (back in September). But this time we were prepared for it. Every year in March the town goes mad for a whole weekend. It is carnival time and local people spend months preparing their floats which are decorated with paper flowers - on average 10,000 per float. The displays are imaginative and very colourful. We also reckoned that they were highly flammable, though this did not seem to worry the countless merry masqueraders who smoked as they danced onboard and alongside their floats. 

The crowds join in the fun by dressing up and bombarding anything that moves with copious amounts of confetti. Paradise for kids. We were all wearing viking helmets and the boys delighted in filling the helmets with confetti before placing them on our heads. 

Half-term happenings

The boys have taken a liking to the French school system - probably because they realised that they get two weeks holiday at half-term rather than just one! The flipside is that parents have to find double the fun to fill the time...

Notched up a bit more skiing.

Took a trip to Beaune on market day; stocked up on necessary liquid refreshment nearby...

Visited Besancon and the Citadelle perched high above the city. Somehow or other we managed to get into the Citadelle for free and were amazed to find a zoo nestled within the fortifications, an aquarium in the armoury, gibbons gurning in the gatehouse, kangaroos kipping in the keep, tigers tango dancing in the tower and made sure we took a photo of the Baileys buffooning in the bailey.