Perpignan

     Born in Bangalore, India and raised in a middle-class Seattle household, Le General did not always have her sights set on a French invasion.  As a child, her ambitions were primarily modest. 

     The seeds for the Budgerock invasion of 2011-12 were not sewn until Le General was in her late teens.  In the year 1989, at the age of 19, she traveled to the French city of Perpignan.  She stayed there for six months.  Le General lived with a French couple named Jean and Mireille Guillebaud.  During the day, she attended classes at the University of Perpignan.  At night and on weekends she studied French culture, with an acute focus on the pervading sociology inside Perpignan dance clubs between the hours of 1 a.m and 6 a.m.  After six months, she returned to the United States; bleary-eyed and fuzzy-headed, but with firm determination to one day return.

     Last weekend, Le General took us back to Perpignan and to the home of Jean and Mireille.  Jean and Mireille were outstanding hosts.  They made sure we saw every site of significance within 50 kilometers of their house.  Also, we were required to ingest a minimum of 5,000 calories per day, per capita.  Mireille's home cooking made it a pleasure to oblige.

     Here are pictures from the weekend:

Calorie Ingestion

Perpignan

Easter Peeps

Jean and Mireille and Averil

Cork Tree

The Pyrenees

This is with Their Son Patrick and Their Grandchildren Roman and Vincent

Collioure

Chateau de Salses (a Spanish fort from the time of Columbus, taken by the French in 1649 or somewhere near there)

Ruins of a Middle Ages Chateau (500 years older than Columbus!)

Pic Nique