I have now been visiting my step brother in France for 3 days. Lots to see and do, although I am keeping sightseeing fairly constrained because of his health and covid. He has just finish two months of Radio- therapy, for colon cancer, and is doing- and feeling remarkably well!
Below are a few notes and events from the past few days.

Most foods now have this label affixed telling you how healthy the food is. Be good to have this at home. You can tell at a glance how much sugar and salt, as well as healthy grains in the package.

Outside of having to show my covid passport everywhere, and wear masks indoors, life here is pretty normal. About 30 percent of the population still saying no to vaccine. My two cousins and their families in this group. They figure this is the return of totalitarianism in government controlling our lives. Not worth arguing about!
Visit going well


Family field trip:
My cousins live in Port Saint Louis, on the Mediterranean. Christian is a Harley guy, so we have lots to talk about. These days though, he is big on e bikes, going on 30-50 km rides each day. He says he never uses more than 1/2 his battery, because he likes the exercise!

I Going to a Carmargue bullfight on Sunday. This is how my father became famous in France, being one of the top Razettours for over 10 years. Sadly, I am the white sheep of the family, being the first NOT to be a bullfighter in 4 generations!
A ribbon is tied between the bulls horns, and the men, or lady fighters, dressed in white have to remove the ribbon with a special glove, that has razors between each finger. You “comb” the fur to release the ribbon, trying to stay out of the way of the bull, that wants to gore you. You are only allowed to attack from the front. An attack from anyplace the bull can not see you is deemed cowardly, and you are disqualified!
There are 10 attackers that start in the ring for a 10 minute session. The prize starts at 200 to 1000 euros, depending on how many times the bull has previously won. Oh YA, many times the bull wins, as no one can remove the ribbon in the 15 minutes!
During the 15 minutes, depending how fierce the bull and attackers are, the amount of prize money rises, with an auctioneer calling out the increasing prize money like a hockey announcer, as well as giving a blow by blow description of the attackers style, and strategy. By the last 30 seconds the crowd and attackers are in a frenzy, similar to overtime in the Stanley Cup!

The star of the show is the bull, never the matador, with famous bulls ending up with product endorsement contracts and statues built in their honor. The breeders look for the bulls that are the most aggressive with combative temperaments for those to send to the ring. A Camargue fighting bull can live for a decade (depending on how smart he is).


Sitting on a wall built by the romans in 104 BC (that a 2125 year old wall!)
The River Rhone is behind us. On my right is Bernard, my niece Christine’s husband
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