The FABULOUS home of Babette et Jacques ... AND ... Le Tour de France ! Wednesday, 13 Juillet

Writing today on Saturday, July 16, I want to tell you about Wednesday when we were back in Malbuisson.

Anne-Marie, my cousin's dear friend, has a sister named Babette. Babette is married to Jacques. Babette and Jacques live in Champagne-au-Mont-d'Or, a suburb of Lyon, very near Marie-Therese and her family.

BUT ... like her sister Anne-Marie, Babette also has a country home near Malbuisson in Franche-Comté.

I don't usually get terribly excited about a house. But this place...  Let me show you. Marie-Therese and I went to visit Babette and Jacques on Wednesday morning before hitting the road for Lyon.

Here are Babette and Jacques, greeting us at their front door. Well, OK, they were saying goodbye when I snapped the photo, but I want to show you the front of the house.

Here's what you see when you first enter their home:

This building is enormous! It was originally built about 200 years ago to house three different farm families and their animals. 

Each family, in the beginning, had their own barn adjacent to their living quarters so the animals could keep them warm in winter. The photo above is the view of part of the back of the house.

In the photo above, you see my cousin Marie-Therese, her friend Anne-Marie, and Babette.

Below is the same collection of people, with the addition of Jacques. They are standing in what they like to call their museum:

I'm here, too!

Now, we're inside the living quarters:

Jacques likes to bake pizza and bread in this old oven, built into the wall of the house. There were originally three of these ovens in the house; each family had their own.

Here's the view through the glass door at the back of the house:

Back in the un-reconstructed part of the house:

Jacques has a loom! Alas, he hasn't had time to work at it since he moved it here to this house. There's too much other work to be done here.

Here are some samples of the weavings Jacques made some years ago:

Jacques and Babette have traveled extensively throughout the world. Their home is filled with art. Here's a fine example from Guatemala:

Part of the house has been made into an apartment for one of their grown children. It's very modern:

Here's a kayak for the kids to use on the lake:

And here's the kitchen where Babette really does her cooking:

After we said goodbye to Babette and Jacques, and then goodbye to Anne-Marie, Marie-Therese and I set off in Marie's car for Lyon.

The drive to Lyon usually takes about two and a half hours. We managed to make it a six-hour journey.

The Tour de France will be coming through Malbuisson on Monday, so there were lots of preparations along the road. That was interesting. No photos, alas, of the welcome signs.

After our first wrong turn, we found ourselves on the road to Geneva, Switzerland. That was the beginning of our own private Tour de France !

It was great getting lost. We found ourselves in a part of France where Marie-Therese has never been. Here's a waterfall !

After another wrong turn, we discovered that our road was closed and we had to take another detour — yet another road in the direction of Geneva!

Finally, just when we got back on the road to Lyon on this rainy day, out came a rainbow, just for us!

The rainbow guided us right to the street where Marie-Therese lives in Champagne-au-Mont-d'Or !

It's great to be here!