La Fin de l'Année avec AVF (the end of the year with AVF)

We have continued to enjoy our membership in AVF while in Lyon.  The end of year is always festive, and this year was no exception.

It started with a boat cruise along the Saone River the evening of June 11^th. 

Our boat awaiting us

Over 100 of us boarded the boat to be greeted with glasses of champagne and a variety of finger foods.  It wasn’t long before a four-piece jazz combo started playing a variety of “standards.”  In spite of a downpour during part of the cruise, a very fun time was had by all. 

Anna and other passengers - band is in the back on the right

It was great to greet old friends and meet new ones.  The food kept coming and the band kept playing (sometimes with people singing along).  Too soon we were back at the dock and ready to be on our separate ways home.

End of the cruise

Then on June 17^th, we celebrated the end of the year again at lunch at a restaurant in the country.  We were blessed with lovely weather.  Our friends, Roger and Dominique, gave us a ride which also gave us an opportunity to catch up and converse as we traveled to and from the restaurant.  We began with glasses of Rosé and light appetizers on a terrace by the bar.  Then we moved to the open dining area for more wine and paella. 

Looking towards the dining area from the terrace

After lunch there was time for lots of conversation and even a few games of boules before it was time to head home.

And, last was our “La Fin de l'Année” soirée at Andrée Anne’s on June 26^th.  Andrée Anne is the fearless leader of Découverte de la France, a wonderful class where we have learned so much about France, its history, its architecture, its regions, its music, its geography, etc., etc.  At the end of each year, she hosts a pot luck lunch party at her home.  This year the class included people from Brazil, China, Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, England, and, of course, the U.S.  (Could be forgetting someone.) 

Getting ready to dig into all that yummy food! (That's Andrée Anne on the left.) 

So you can imagine how interesting our lunches are!  And, the setting couldn’t be more picturesque, Andrée Anne’s lovely patio and garden at her 1^st floor (2^nd floor in the US) apartment. 

Andrée Anne’s lovely garden

This year she told us all to be prepared to sing a song from our home country.  We chose “Oh! Susannah!” and brought copies of the words to the first two verses so everyone could sing along after we sang it once.  We were amazed to find out that everyone knew the chorus of the song and was very happy to sing along.  Who would have thought that that song would be universally known and loved?


So another year with AVF ends as everyone plans vacations and other summer activities.  We have already paid our dues for next year and look forward to more events, soirées, and discoveries when, as Andrée Anne says, nous revenons comme les hirondelles (we return like the swallows).