Ooh La La, Paris

After getting settled in our small boutique hotel and getting a good night's sleep, the four of us ( Rob, Christy, Dave and I) headed out to explore the city of Paris.  What an amazing city it is!  So spread out with buildings, statues, fountains, and gardens that are very old and massive.  We headed over to the Marais area since Rob had been to Paris three years ago and wanted to see things that he had not seen before.  Prior to that, though, we made a stop so the rest of us could see Notre Dame and to take a look at the Shakespeare  and Company Bookstore-a landmark here in Paris!  It is very old, quaint bookstore with tons of books, both new and old!  Onto the Marais area where the Revolution and the storming of the Bastille took place in 1779!  This area has some of the oldest homes in Paris and is probably the most ethnic.  There is a distinct Jewish section as well as Middle Eastern influence.  In fact for lunch, we enjoyed tabouli, stuffed grape leaves, a brick filled with meat ( actually a piece of bread!), roasted eggplant in tomato sauce and falafel.  The highlight was visiting the free Carnavalet Museum where the history of the revolution plus the rise and eventual beheading of Louis XVI was described.  On to a view of the Louvre and the pyramid within as described in The DaVinci Code, then the Tuileries Gardens.  We have been amazed at the amount of green space within Paris.  The kids treated us to dinner and then Dave and I called it a night.  Upon laying down on the bed, we saw that we had walked 26,000 steps that day!  That made up for sitting on the plane the day before!

Goodbyes and On to Paris!!

The morning of of departure day dawned sunny and warm. We were up early to head to the airport to be sure Charlie was on time for his flight. We then had some time to take in a bit of Sainte Denis. Enjoyed a short visit to the botanical garden, a stop at the cafe, and a walk down the historical Main Street. Then, off to the airport where tearful, but joyful goodbyes were said.

We are now in Paris after a eleven hour flight from Reunion.  Luckily that flight had one fifth the amount of people that could fit on the plane  allowing us to each have four sets apiece.  That helped us handle that long flight but we still were very anxious to get off the flight.  Dave arranged for a transport for Christy, Rob and Dave and I to get to our hotel which was a great idea as it allowed us to    explore our Arc De Triomphe area.  We Headed to a cafe and had a bite to eat and a beer as we enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower lit up!  We knew we had busy days ahead of us.

Touring the Island, Turtles and more

Today we toured the entire island of Reunion starting by heading north from our beautiful accommodations.  There were a troop of us on this venture.  Nine in the rented mini van, five in Julia's mother's car, and then a car with her aunt and uncle and a few cousins.  First stop a church.  The island is predominantly Catholic with some Hinduism.  This old church was definitely Catholic.  Then on to a long suspended bridge that had been used for traffic for many years but now is only used for walking.  We noticed right away that the island changed dramatically as we went over to the eastern side in it.  It became much more lush with greenery-typical of most islands.  From there we went to the Cascades.  This is why people say Reunion looks like "the Garden of Eden" - beautiful waterfalls all coming off the sides of the cliffs, beautiful large trees, the ocean waves lapping up to the shore, walkways bordered by flowers!  Everywhere you looked there was beauty!  We only wished the sun was shining.  It was cloudy that day.  After eating there ( all 20 or so of us which took quite awhile) , we headed down to walk the lava bed from the active volcano on the island.  Last stop was to see a point where the Indian Ocean comes slamming into the shoreline creating giant displays of water over the rocks.

The next day we elected to all head to one of the cities on the island to shop a bit.  Again we were with a large crowd so nothing goes quickly.  When we sat down to eat a lunch on the beachfront, again it took over an hour and a half.  Rain showed its face in the afternoon , so we headed to a turtle sanctuary. An excellent visit as we learned how the people of Reunion are helping to protect several species of endangered sea turtles.

Afterwards, we all headed to back to the "Braby house" to relax before going out to dinner. The "kids" all went out as a big group. We took Joelle and Mario out to thank them for such a wonderful
time. Pictures to follow later.

Wedding Day

 After the town hall ceremony was over and a few pictures taken, we headed back to our home away from home to relax before going to the sharing of their vows and reception. Both were held at a golf resort overlooking the Indian Ocean. Absolutely stunning landscape! The outdoor ceremony was so beautiful and very meaningful for all in attendance. The weather was picture perfect! After the ceremony was completed, no one could seem to locate the new bride and groom. Then, literally out of the blue, we saw a helicopter flying overhead and coming straight to our group! It hovered over the area where we were all waiting, touched down, and voila!! Rusty and Julia climbed out to rejoin the party. Everyone applauded as they made their way back to us. Pictures with the sun setting was next up, followed by appetizers and then a superb three course dinner with lots of dancing -mostly to Reunionese and French music with lots of line dancing- between each course. This was all done in the Island tradition. Russ and Julia surprised everyone with a choreographed version of Uptown Funk ( how do like that one,Janis!)  and then Rob and Alice (Julia's sister) joined them.  That was very entertaining for everyone.  Julia also entertained the crowd with two other gals on performing official Reunionese dancing with flowing skirts and swinging hips!  We lasted until around 12:30, but the party went on into the wee hours of the morning. Today, we following tradition, and have a second party at one of Julia's aunt's beach house.

It's official!!

This morning, everyone headed over to the town hall in La Possession for the official marriage ceremony. The deputy mayor and the town clerk presided over the ceremony. About 30 family and friends attended the ceremony. Later this afternoon the civil ceremony will be on the beach with the reception to follow. We are planning on taking a nap as we are told the reception normally goes to 3/4 in the morning! Sunday is another celebration at the beach house. Whew, we are already exhausted.
A few pictures.........