We arrived at chez Rizo Saturday evening and were greeted by Marlene and Jenny. Mary Anne stayed with M. Rizo and his wife (she passed away several years ago) in 1980 when she studied in France. Marlene is one of their daughters and Jenny a grand daughter. We’re staying at M. Rizo’s apartment and the photo below is from the balcony of his apartment where we have breakfast every morning.
One of the dates we planned our trip around was the Fete du Pied Noir which is an annual party hosted by the Algerian French. M. Rizo lived (and I think was born in) Algeria. It is a wonderful party and it an all day affair. This visit marks our third time attending the festival.
Here are Jenny and Marlene, left and right respectively.
Here are Babette and Audette (left and right). I believe Babette is the sister of M. Rizo and Audette is M. Rizo’s oldest daughter.
Here are Patrick (husband of Marlene) and Bernard (husband of Audette), left to right.
The festival is spread out so it is hard to get a photo of it. The one below is typical of the set up, there are many tables with friends and family with several games for children and adults going on as well as live music. Lots of wine, of course, and delicious food. I missed taking a photo of the huge pans of paella being cooked but there is a photo of the paella in the 2008 entry on this blog. I love this party. Afterwards we went back to chez Rizo and ended the day with a swim in the Mediterranean Sea.
No wonders the Romans Conquer the place! Beautiful.
Hi Peggy, M. Rizo and family are simply wonderful people. Bittersweet memories because I think of Mary Anne often while I’m here but she would be thrilled that we’re maintaining our relationship with them. Thanks for the comments and the boys say Hi. Take care, Rich