Sunday, April 18th

Today is a catch up and family time day. I got up at 5:30 (trust me, 5:30 is sleeping in for me) and worked for a couple of hours on the blog. I did so much in Paris and I need to write it down while still fresh in my mind. Jean has scheduled a visit to a cereal farm (crop farm in US terms) at 10:30 and there is a lunch with most of the past teachers of the exchange program at 1:00. Again, the weather is just perfect with sunny and warm skies. We have not had rain for the ten days I've been here. This is great for tourists, but not so great for the farmers who are complaining of lack of rain.

The cereal farm visit was interesting. The farm belongs to Terry and his wife, Christine. Christine is one of the teachers involved in the Exchange Program. She is an English Teacher at the Nogent High School. Terry and his brother each have separate farms, but they share all the equipment. Terry explained that the crops they produce are very regulated by the French Government and European Union. A farm can grow anything they want, but if they want to qualify for the government subsidies, then they have to grow what the French Government specifies. They grow five basic crops on five-year rotation. The crops are wheat, barley, rape seed, corn, and beans. Barley, wheat, and rape seed are all planted the previous Fall. Beans and corn are planted in the Spring. Beans are just coming up and Terry had planted the corn last week. Terry does all of his own marketing through the computer and internet. He logs on daily to the Chicago Board of Trade and follows the markets online. He bought the farm from his father. However, his sons are not interested in farming so he and Christine don't know what the future holds.

I have never seen such neat farms as the ones I have seen here. All of the machinery is stored inside. You never see any machinery left outside when it not in use. The farmsteads are immaculate. There is no junk or clutter anywhere. Wherever you drive, at least in this area, any farm could be a postcard photo.

We had lunch with about twenty-five teachers involved, both past and present, in the Exchange Program at a wonderful restaurant located on an old restored Manor that is part of the Park System. Also, the gift shop at the restaurant specialized in selling local and regional farm products, such as wine, cider, jellies, mustards, and canned meats. It was nice to see gifts for sale not made in China. Come to find out, Nogent is located in the center of a large government park, much like Tupper Lake is located within the Adirondack Park. Building construction and renovation is regulated to maintain the authenticity of appearance. While as a homeowner you might not appreciate that regulation, remember that many of the buildings here are three hundred to seven hundred years old. I think it's great that they are being preserved.
I needed a wifi fix, so Jean took me to the local McDonalds for an hour or so. We each bought a coffee. He graded papers (teachers in France are just like us, they put off grading papers until the last day of vacation) while I uploaded so more of the travel blog. The photos take forever to upload, so I pretty much just uploaded text. I'll work on photos when I get home. A lingering concern in the background is the volcanic eruption in Iceland. Most of the airports in France have been closed for the past three days. Some may reopen on Monday. Our flight is scheduled for Thursday. It could take several days to clear out the congestion.

Monday we are off to the Normandy region and Omaha Beach, the site of the D-Day landings. It will be a long day. 8:00 in the morning until arrival back in Nogent at 9:30 PM.