When our kids were 3 and 5, we were stopped at a bed and breakfast in Carcasonne by a photographer and his assistant. They asked if we would mind posing for a brochure they were shooting.

They were on deadline, and the models they’d lined up had flaked.

The client was a well-known (but rather unfortunately named) British holiday company called Hoseasons, and they needed an image that captured the family-friendliness of the south of France.

We readily agreed, and the photographer and his assistant followed us around the market town of Pezenas paparazzi-style for three hours.

After some failed attempts at a stinky cheese stall and a flower stand, they finally got a shot they liked over lunch (that’s me with the glass of wine and the six chins).

To this day, my daughter remains convinced that we are famous. Never mind that the official title of the publication is the “Hoseasons Parks and Lodges in Europe 2006″.

She has brought that tattered brochure to show and tell no fewer than 3 times over the course of her short elementary school career, and is prepared at all times to sign autographs should the need arise.

Just tell her how to spell your name.

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Posing for random holiday brochures in France may not be a good idea, but staying in family friendly accommodations while you’re there is a no-brainer.