Then Arnoud's aunt, Dominique, will now address the bride and groom.

For Gaia and Arnoud's wedding

Arnoud asked me if I would write a text for the wedding... He likes to challenge his "little" aunt! But how to choose the tasty moments where his multiple talents are revealed...

The roots of my mother's side are of earth, granite, light foam, drizzle, storm, gorse and heather... from the country of legends at the end of the world located in the West of France - also called Brittany or Armorique -

- When he was two years old, at nap time, he showed his independence in the big house of his grandfather, and left his room to lock himself in another room, causing the red alert to be triggered in the village : "missing child" then "child prisoner".

When the door is hooked, thanks to the handyman neighbor ! he sleeps deeply with the key at his side...

- At the age of 10, in the wheelbarrow where for hours he had to pile up the vanilla leaves from the laurel hedge planed by his sister and mother, he slumped over with no strength left - chained as he was to this Breton penal colony.

- From exhaustion - as a teenager, he buckles his bags - the photo shows at least 4 of them! - and embarked without a tear on the sailboats of Ile d'Arz.

- Intoxicated by the sea air, back in the Netherlands, he invested in a metal motorboat to sail on the Amsterdam canals. A bit mocking, he invites his aunt to come for a ride with him...

Relieved (and his aunt too) to see Armelle, his older sister, arrive and board with them... A few meters further, the engine's backfire stops!

"All that's left to do is row!" laugh the two galley slaves, imagining themselves in Venice, and enjoying the silence at last, as the captain takes the helm among the hundreds of boats out to celebrate the Queen.

... the corsairs of Saint-Malo have fond memories of a 20-year-old globe-trotter - Arnoud, who returned from an Odyssey from Mongolia to Iran and Turkey, stopping off at his aunt's house in Rennes before returning to his native land: to sleep and sleep and heal his wounded feet...

And to do so, he goes to Saint-Malo, home to a number of astonishing travelers, to choose good, beautiful shoes. With a princely gesture, Arnoud hands over his old, musty shoes to the salesman, who puts them in a hermetically sealed bag and throws them in the garbage can - with his nose, it must be said, just a little pinched!

In 2013, Gaia's first name comes up "a little... a lot... passionately..." in the conversations and then the project of coming with her to Brittany to introduce her to the maternal family is outlined...

To prepare Gaia, a native of sunny Italy, for the trip, Arnoud showed her videos of the great winter storms combined with the high tides - with the waves jumping the dykes and high ramparts of Saint-Malo and spraying the shivering passers-by...

Sure that in August 2014, Gaia is reassured on the clemency of the climate! This first stay is in the colors of summer - of encounters and sweetness and French that she masters - Phew! The contact is simple and easy... Gaia is family!

To the wonderful smiles, to the fabulous laughter, to the tender moments that support in the hard times.

For May 27, 2023 a thousand cranes of all colors, born from the hands of Gaia and Arnoud, in Amsterdam take off and dance ... To the newlyweds and their dear children a thousand and one wishes of happiness and love ...

because in Rennes an orange origami crane made by Arnoud's little hands at 8 years of joy is dancing for them too !