Kes & Sarah are getting married and I'm to be a Best Man - hurray
The venue - France, near Bordeaux where Kes mum now lives - no problem
January 2010 - All flights are booked. TCI - London (Heathrow) - Paris - Bordeaux
Then 4 days before departure - BA cancel our flights due to industrial action !!!!!!!!!!
A lot of calls later (thanks Jo) and we had a revised schedule. We now flew to Miami, then to London, Heathrow. We had 22 hours until a connecting flight from Gatwick to Bordeaux. We made the most of the time by seeing my parents (who we had not seen in a year) and sister (who we had not seen in 2 years), so as they say 'every cloud has a silver lining'. We had a good old British pub meal, complete with my first pint of guiness in nearly a year. Next we stocked up on English goodies at a 'proper', stocked supermarket - marmite, salad cream, hp sauce, PG tips, branston pickle and horlicks - pure bliss.
Early next morning (somewhat jetlagged) we arrived at Gatwick airport where we indulged in a marvelous full English breakfast before flying onto Bordeaux. Kes was waiting to greet us, which was great as we had not seen each other since Kes and Sarah had left the TCI in September 2008.
We arrived at the gite (converted farmhouse)in La Renaudrie where we would be staying. We were sharing it with Kes & Sarah, Andy & Lucy, Chris & Cath, and Greg & Morgs. As we haven't seen most of these guys in over 2 years (we had barely met Lucy and had never even met Cath), then this reunion was a real bonus to the whole trip. We were met with a warm welcome and it soon felt like we have never been apart as we fell into the old banter (helped of course with beer). The farmhouse was in a beautiful location, complete with a pool (which was freezing)and surrounded by vineyards. Although the day was overcast, we just unwound from our long journey, chilled out, caught up with old friends and made new friends - a perfect start to our stay.
The following day was more of the same, enjoying the best of what France has to offer - fresh baguettes, great cheeses, pates and cheap but good red wine. We lazed around the pool, continued to catch up and just enjoyed great company.
By the next day the skies were blue and the sun was out in force. As such Kes decided that we all needed to get out and about, so organised a day trip to the seaside !! We piled into a couple of cars and headed the hour or so to the coastal town of Royan. The scenery on route was spectacular, beautiful countryside and isolated farmhouses, however, Royan itself was a bit of a shock to Jo and myself as we have been completely spoilt over the last few years with clean white beaches and crystal clear blue waters of the Turks & Caicos. The beach was a dirty brown coloured sand, liberally sprinkled with cigarette butts (the French love their fags) and the water was a similar colour. The day wasn't about the beach or sea though and we were soon relaxing on beach towels and drinking french beer. The beach games followed, with frisby and ball games, followed by an impromptu game of french cricket (bat improvised with a bread cutting board). After a couple of hours we headed back to the gite. The family and friends were spread over 3 gites and so for the first time most of us got together, where we feasted on takeaway pizzas and copious ammounts of red wine.
The day before the wedding and so there was some organising to be done !!! Firstly we had a dry run of the ceremony, then we put up some buntings, before us boys left the artistic ladies to really go to town on the deorations. Our only other job of the day was the wedding beer run and like true professionals we completed the task admirably. More relaxing followed (well not for Kes who had a number of things to do, including writing his speach !!!) We spent the remainder of the day playing a 1950's boardgame we found called 'Buckaneer' and of course sampling the french wines.
The morning on the wedding started with more chilling (Kes was still writing his speech) and laying by the pool. We eventually got dressed up, drank champagne and took photos, before Greg and I bundled the groom into the waiting car and headed for the venue. The house and gardens had been transformed, the spread of food was mouthwatering and Kes mum had made a fantastic wedding cake (see pics). The bride and entourage arrived and 'Pope Pete' performed magnificently, we had readings by Kes dad and Steph, and Jo sang before vows were exchanged. It was a wonderfully informal ceremony, devoid of religion (no mention of God)and attended by only those that Kes and Sarah had truly wanted around them on the day. The rest of the day followed in a blur of food, drink, photographs, well wishing and speeches (a bit nerve wracking when it was my turn). The evening came to a natural conclusion, there were a few more drinks back at the gite before everyone retired relaxed and content after a perfect day.
The following day was departure time with people travelling back by their various forms of transport - planes, trains and automobiles. Jo and I caught a train from Bordeaux to Paris where we spent the night before catching a plane to Heathrow and then onto Miami (where we were spending the next few days).
The whole time was far too short, we got to catch up with some great friends, make some new friends and best of all see two of our best friends get married :)
