Sophie - Our New Friend!

I am happy to tell you all about our new friend, Sophie.

We met Sophie briefly in August 2008, and I ran into her again at Carrefour (the enormous grocery, etc. store) in May 2009. She stopped me at Carrefour to ask for my help to attend an event in the US.

That's how I discovered what a warm, friendly, considerate person Sophie is. Yay, we made a new friend!!

Thank you, Sophie!!
The Billats are all very grateful that we've become friends.

Since last May, Sophie has introduced us to many unique things.

• She brought us an amazing, truly "Bouzigues" meal before our summer vacation. I forget the name, but it was calamari cooked in a delicious red sauce, which is served over rice with garlic mayonnaise on the side. Ohmigosh! It was all homemade, and it was one of the best meals we have eaten in France. Amazing!
• She brought us authentic Spanish goodies, handmade by her mother. Again, I forget the names, but they were somewhat like thin calzone-style pastries filled with veggies, spinach, cheese, etc. There was a dessert version, too, which was chocolate and cinnamon. Deeeelicious.
• This week, she brought us genuine Spanish tapas (in the picture above). One version was broiled peppers, anchovies, and olive oil. The other version was tomatoes, ham, and cheese. With the tapas she brought a fig torte because she knows how much I love figs. How sweet is that? Again, it was all homemade and delicious.
• Last weekend, she took us to a local farm where you can pick your own veggies: green beans, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, flowers, grapes, strawberries, figs, and a ton more!
• She took the kids to their first French movie last June - Hannah Montana! It was dubbed in French, but the songs were in English. Sophie is absolutely terrific with kids. Our kids love her!
  

Please note that my descriptions above really don't do the meals justice! They were truly amazing.

Next weekend, to help me celebrate my birthday, she is going to take us to a village nearby where there are great things to see and beautiful scenery for walking/hiking. That will occupy our Saturday. On Sunday, she is going to make us another Bouzigaud meal - especially for me for my birthday!

One other thing I have to add about Sophie: she is a great French teacher! She uses a lot of words that we don't know (oh, like that's hard to do - ha ha!), and she can tell by our confused expressions when we don't understand. She always backs up and uses other words until we figure out what she's saying! It's terrific.

And . . . that trip she wanted my help with - the trip to the US? That's to attend the annual charity basketball game performed by the star of "One Tree Hill". It's an American TV show that is also broadcast in France. She loves it!! She wants to attend the 2010 game, so she can make a journey to America before she gets married. Her fiance does not like flying, so this is her only chance!

We are helping her do research and write a letter to the cast to try and get tickets to the game. However, if anyone has ideas of how to get her tickets to that game, please let us know! It's now my mission to make sure she gets there and has an absolutely terrific, unforgettable, magical adventure.

Love to all!!