French Friends Visit

During the last week of February our French friends came to visit us in Torbay for a few days; Isabelle, children Thomas and Alexandre, and mother Brigitte. It was great to catch up and spend some time with them again. Isabelle used to stay with us when we were both children, and it's wonderful that we have stayed in touch over all these years. 
They spent some time visiting the local sights and attractions with my parents, then on the last day of February I had the pleasure of taking them climbing at the superb Dartrock Climbing Centre nr Buckfastleigh. It has a really good setup for introducing novices to the wonderful world of climbing, with plenty of traverse walls, a bouldering area, some lower height roped climbs, as well as the main roped and lead climbing area, so it caters for novice, intermediates and experts alike. 
We spent a fantastic two hours there and they all did really well, progressing from the traverses, through the bouldering, to the roped climbs, and finally onto the main area where the routes climb a lot higher. Despite having never climbed before they all displayed a very natural climbing ability and good body movement skills (maybe it was all that ballet Isabelle?!?). We all enjoyed ourselves very much, and it was great to see the smiles on their faces when they reached the top of the routes. Allez, allez! Tres bien! :)
Even my parents, who didn't climb, were happy because they were able to partake of Dartrocks excellent tea and cake selection whilst they viewed all the climbing action.
Afterwards we all returned to my parents house to enjoy a delicious meal together, and spent the evening chatting and laughing late into the night. Very happy times! :)
Looking forward to meeting up with them all again soon! ;)