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Guadeloupe 2011  -  Page 1
.    On the beach at Sainte Anne in Guadeloupe, FWI.  As you can see (by the hand gestures), tout le monde parle français ici!
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Somewhat capriciously, Nancy & I decided to take a
short trip down to Guadeloupe (where neither of us had
ever been). Because it's part of the French West Indies,
we thought it might be a good place to brush up on our
French.  We've had little opportunity to speak French in
the last 10 years, and we're anticipating spending some
time in France this summer as part of our French Canal
Boat adventure.

Online, we found a Language School in Sainte Anne and
we signed up for a week of French lessons.  They
found us a little one-bedroom apartment within walking
distance of the school.

Turns out, there are virtually no direct flights from the
USA to Guadeloupe.  I gather incredibly few Americans
ever go there.  We flew (on Air France) from Miami to
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, then on to Pointe-à-Pitre,
Guadeloupe.  On the 3-hour flight, we were served two
meals - complete with free beer and wine!  We knew
we weren't in the USA anymore!
Click on images & photos to see larger size
In case you're wondering  "where the heck is Guadeloupe?" here's a map.
Our "Ka" parked in front of our apartment.  Note view behind.
Arriving at the airport, we rented a car - actually a Ford "Ka"
which appeared to be about 2/3 of a real Kar!   But with gas at
well over $5/gal, its 3-cylinder engine  & 5-speed transmission
turned out to be just the ticket for getting around the island(s).
Our apartment in Sainte Anne.  Ours was on the ground floor.
This was the view every day from our terrace.  To get to school, I walked down a path past the church and into town - 5 minutes.
Mouse over to see night view
The view from our apartment.  It got even prettier at night.
The Christmas Lights were still in place in downtown Ste. Anne.
This is the very elaborately lit Hotel de Ville or Town Hall.
Koté Mer is Creole for  à Côté de la Mer.  You can eat here with
your "feet in the water".
Scroll down to view the full album...
The Beach at Sainte Anne - the (small) swim suits are very French!
A very Caribbean beach scene.  The water temperature  was 80°.
A French Fountaine Pajot powercat in the harbor at Ste. Anne.
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A French dinner chez nous by cuisinier extraordinaire, Nancy.
The cat is trying to subdue the dog's wagging tail!  Very funny!
.  In the apartment above ours in Ste. Anne there were
.  2 dogs & 2 cats who spent a lot of time visiting us...
Dou Dou seemed a comical
name for toilet paper...
But even funnier for a restaurant!
Nos petits chatons...