Our final day in France was of course jam-packed with experiences, because heaven forbid, we miss out on anything! Ha, I guess they call that FOMO. Anyhoo, I can’t say enough about Villages Nature and the fact that it is a truly amazing little natural enclave catered toward kids and family. They not only have numerous restaurants, shops, an escape room, bowling alley, Patisserie, grocery store and rock climbing area, they also have their very own farm, activity center and outdoor adventure forest area. I can proudly say, we explored and engaged in them all!

AM

We started our day at the Atelier Familie with Anton and Helene learning how to make our very own bread with a mere four ingredients and precise measurement. We also learned about the entire lifecycle of the bread, starting with how the wheat is grown, which parts of the wheat stalk are used to make white flour and whole wheat flour (do you know the answer to that?) and Joe impressed us all with his farming knowledge by answering the 1 million euro question: How is the wheat harvested? Hint hint, it’s a combine!

We all enjoyed using a scale to measure the flour just right and kneading the dough by making our hand into a spoon. Our most favorite part was choosing what shapes to make! I thought we would all just make baguettes, so what an awesome surprise it was! The last picture below shows what we each made:

• Wyatt & Tessa = Turtle
• Gus = Basketball (are we surprised here)
• Joe = Hedgehog (check out his scissor technique below to create it)
• Merritt = ❤

It was so much fun and we loved seeing our before and after products of our little bread creatures!

Mid-Day

Once we finished our bread and played in their French-themed massive play structure, think large wheels of Brie cheese, trampolines with balls where you can jump while attempting to throw and knock down cheese, as well as and tons of slides, we headed over to the outdoor adventure forest to partake in a Tree Trails course. Keep in mind that we had no idea what to expect but thought it sounded fun based upon the description in the activity guide. We also might have told a little white lie that Tessa was 5 so that we could all do it as a family.

We had absolutely no clue what lied ahead of us. Frankly I was nervous that we might go careening down into disaster with this activity after having avoided any catastrophic event to date once they strapped us into official gear (see below). But I refused to be fatalistic, and despite my own fear, we went headlong into it! I had the two littles and Joe stayed with Gus and off we went, to climb and zip line and crawl and challenge our fears amidst the beautiful canopy of trees surrounding our village.

Tessa and Wyatt were nothing short of amazing as we were 10-12 feet above the ground throughout the entire 19-challenge course. I had to stand upon the platform and send them each on their way before I could get to them so they had to go it alone, knowing that I would get there after them. Joe and I were both so proud of them, because God knows, I had butterflies and was challenged myself during the course. They cried their first zip line and got it out of the way!

It was exhilarating, challenging and downright awesome! We all challenged our fears and had an incredible experience to remember for years to come!

***Gus might have mentioned while we were swinging above the trees, “Mom, Mrs. Kelli would absolutely hate this!” Hahaha, Principal Knapp, even though we are hours and miles away, we are still thinking about you!

Evening

Our last night was spent at Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Adventure with Mickey & Friends at Disney Village – think Medieval Times with an American Frontier spin. It was a dinner show where we cheered on our red rough riders from Red River, Colorado, watched Annie Oakley display her superior shooting skills (which Gus observed were “totally fake”) and saw Sitting Bull and a number of other Native Americans dance and hunt for bison.

Honestly, it was a bit strange to watch a production about our own country away from our home and to think that so many people would want to watch it and learn about it. I found myself being very proud to be an American whilst hoping that our fellow spectators understood a bit more about our young nation. The food was less than spectacular but the kids were in their element and I’ve got to say, they all looked pretty darn cute in their cowboy hats!

Post script

We wrapped our first country and first leg of the trip with tummies full of delicious carbs, miles upon miles spent exploring, working on our basic French language skills (Wyatt is out ahead for sure), and learning a lot about a new culture and country as well as one another. We are on a speed train bound for Munich. . . A new country and a new language and undoubtedly new adventures!

Adieu France ❤