Playing in the Garden

With my older brothers Philippe and Bruno, we played a lot in the garden in Rambouillet. A garden of 2,000 m² is ideal to play hide and seek; it is not too small so there are plenty of places to hide, and it is not too large so there is still a limited number of places to seek.

I don't remember all the toys that we had. We certainly had a lot less toys than my grandchildren! We were not poor, but my parents still needed to count their money.
One big toy that I remember was a blue "cyclo-rameur" (a cyclo skiff) similar to this one:

Cyclo-Skiff
source

We would sit on the cyclo-skiff, put her feet on each side of the front wheel to steer and "row" to make it move, usually forward, but sometimes backward.
Of course, as there was only one cyclo-skiff, we had to share between the three of us, and later with our sister Monique.

For my sixth birthday, in October 1955, my uncle Gildas who was my godfather, gave me our first bicycle, known in the family as "le vélo vert" (the green bike). We all learned to ride on this green bike, that was not exactly like this one:

Green Bike
source

It was a very strong bike that resisted a long time for all sorts of abuse from our part.
The first time I succeeded in riding it without falling, I was so happy that I went all the way to the end of the garden. It is only in the last meters that I realized that I did not know how to brake or to turn and I ended in some bushes. I did not break the bike, but I hurt my hands badly. Still, I was happy that I could ride my green bike.

Starting School

Before I started going to school, my mother, Marie, started to teach me to read. I was a fast learner, so, when I started school I was rapidly put in the same class as my brother Bruno.

In Rambouilletinstitution_sainte_therese.jpg, I went to two different private catholic schools.
The first one was a pre-school. It still exists: Institution Sainte-Thérèse:

Institution Sainte-Thérèse Front Door
source: Google Maps Street View

I believe I went to this school only for a year when I was 5, in 1954-1955.

In October 1955, at the age of 6, I went to another private catholic establishment, "École Notre-Dame", an elementary school. This one does not seem to be a school anymore. On Google Maps, I can see that the buildings and the yard are still there. Also, this is still on the outside wall: