L'examen et Pétanque

Dear Friends,

I am sure you are all wondering who did better on the incredibly difficult and important vocabulary test.  The test was oral not written and each of us had different words unless the first person missed one in which case the other person had a chance.  So it really is impossible to say that one of us did better than the other.  Suffice it to say, that we both did very well considering what happens to one's memory as you age.  Together we got 73 correct answers and missed very few.  The test, of course, served its purpose of getting us to work on increasing our vocabulary.

When our teacher describes a new topic, it sounds so easy and understandable, but some how putting it into everyday practice is much more difficult.  Yesterday we started on the subjunctive.  The first thing we had to learn was to unlearn our consistent use of the phrase, "C'est nécessaire ...".  Apparently, that phrase, while grammatically possible, is never to be used.  You must use the phrase "Il faut que" followed by the subjunctive.  The rules for conjugating the subjunctive are also quite easy with only a few exceptions.  Nevertheless, the chances using the subjunctive appropriately any time soon are close to zero. I am, however, quite sure these lessons are really helping my brain.  Il faut que je continue écrire ce blog post.

Today is another beautiful day in Villefranche, and since it is Saturday, we were off to play pétanque this morning.  It is sadly our last Saturday here so it was particularly important that we play and play well.  Jane was in great form.

Lest you think that we do not take this game seriously, please note the extreme concentration on Jane's face and the seriousness of the other players watching.  The gentleman in the yellow sweater from Sweden was on Jane's team as was I.  The other two are on the team we were playing.  We won in a close, hard fought battle 13-9.

Please note the wonderful varieties of blues in the sky and the sea as you gaze past the walls of the citadel of Villefranche which was built in 1554 - just your everyday pétanque experience.  I should also note that while the temperature yesterday and today is about 60, we have had the french doors to our balcony open as the sun is quite warm.

There were four teams each lead by a woman.  Here are the captains of the two winning teams, and the two winning teams.

Since we are good sports (pas joueurs mauvais), here is a picture of all the players, representing France, Sweden and the United States.  Just to solidify how serious we all are about this "game", the man on the left just got his own boules.  His set which was of course chosen only after careful measurement and determining the correct weight included the cochonnet.  Since he is not very old, he chose not to buy the magnet on a string which you can use to pick up your boules rather than bending over to pick them up.  This game is one that all ages can play.

We will miss our new friends and playing pétanque, but we are making plans to have a place to play at our cabin.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal
P.S.  Just for the record, I got 38 right and Jane got 35 right.