Cannes

The day ended in Cannes. By the time we got to this point in our journey we were pooped and the city kind of looked a lot like all the rest. It is beautiful though and we understand why all of the movie stars like to come here for the big film festival in May.

Walking along the beach was relaxing except for the fact that we had to watch our step carefully so as to not step on a jelly fish. The jellies were all over the sand. Poor Schulyer got stung, but he was a really good sport & hardly complained.


We enjoyed a great feast at a seaside Italian restaurant. The mussels and fries were delicious as was the squid and gambas. Yum!

St. Tropez

St. Tropez was just across the bay from St. Maxime (where we were staying). Technically it should have been a 20 minute drive, but the beach traffic was awful and it took well over an hour. I guess that's why they say visit the south of France before summer when it's full of tourists. I can only imagine how busy it will be in July!
We picked up a picnic lunch from a local bakery and went to the beach in St. Tropez. The sun was high, the water clear and the wind was fierce. We found a place to sit with a barrier so the wind couldn't get us. When we tried to walk along the beach the sand came pelting our bodies. The kids found that being in the freezing water was the best place to hang out.



Once we had our fill of sun and sand we walked around the town of St. Tropez. The bay is full of amazing sail boats and yachts. All of the sailors were out cleaning their boats and making them shine. We just loved watching all of the action and wandering around.



As we passed "Le Bon Bon" the kids all asked if we could get a LITTLE bag of candy. How harmless could that be? Each kid put a few sweets in a bag...nothing like being a kid (or an adult) in a candy store. When I got the grand total for just our family's bag 34 Euro I just about croaked! Taylor laughed and said, "what can you do? Just pay for it and enjoy every last bite" - and that we did!





Everywhere we went the kids found some way to entertain themselves and have fun. Even the stair way doubled as a slide. We practically had to drag them away. Fun day Fun times!

Nice

Monday morning we dragged our jet lagged friends out of bed early so we could hit the big flea market in Nice (pronounced niece). The setting alone for the market is picturesque. There were tons of vendors and lots of beautiful old stuff. Monique and I sent the kids with the dads and we looked to our hearts content. We each bought a teeny tiny nativity set made from feves (little porcelain figures found in gallette cakes).

After a fabulous lunch at an outdoor cafe we climbed to the top of a big hill to see the view. It was too tempting so we ran all the way to the beach. The beaches in Nice are completely covered with big rocks. The kids threw rock after rock into the water and the ocean seemed to gobble them right up in huge waves. Parker wasn't really even standing that close to the water when a huge wave crashed up and drenched him. While the views were "nice" in Nice we were happy to get back to our villa for games and relaxation that afternoon.




Schuyler, Spencer, Lilly, Clara, Parker, Olivia & Gabrielle

"vous restez ici!" (You stay here!)

Sunday morning we drove 45 minutes to church. It was a very tiny branch, but the people were so friendly & welcoming. We kept trying to leave to go home after the meeting, but the people from the branch kept saying, "vous restez ici!" Much to the kids chagrin we were invited for dinner and felt like we would offend if we didn't stay. It was yet another great cultural experience & we left having more friends than when we arrived. The rest of the afternoon it rained so hard that we stayed in the villa and played games. Around 11pm the Ames family arrived all the way from Connecticut! They are some of our very best friends from graduate days at Wharton and we love to travel with them. It was just the beginning of our fun with Stuart, Monique, Gabrielle, Parker & Schuyler!

Sud de France (South of France)

Our rental villa in the Sud de France was like something out of a travel magazine. Taylor had been searching the Internet for weeks trying to find accommodations. He watched the rates for this particular house go down every time it came within 7 days of rental time so Taylor decided it was worth the risk to wait and save an extra 30%. We feel like we got the steal of the century. The house is up on the hill overlooking the Mediterranean with vegetation all around. There is a great but freezing swimming pool and plenty of room to spare. The kids couldn’t wait to put on their wet suits and jump in. These kids have been swimming in Norwegian fjords since they were just little & I think they didn't mind the temperatures one little bit. After unpacking and swimming Lilly sat down on a lounge chair and said, "I'm going to sit here, eat chips and just ENJOY!"

saut à l'élastique (bungee jumping)

After a long 8 hour drive we hit our final destination of St. Maxime. It is a lovely coastal village with lush green rolling hills, lots of flowers and blue green ocean. The sun was high & we were hot in our jeans and long sleeve shirts. We ate lunch at a beach-side restaurant and enjoyed a little sand between our toes. There is something so wonderful about being at the ocean and resting on the beach…to me the beach is one of the most relaxing and desirable places to be. The kids enjoyed saut à l'élastique alongside the pier. It was hilarious to watch all four of them boinging up in the air and doing flips. It was a fabulous way to let them release some of that energy from the car ride.

Buthiers Camp Report

It's been a while since I've written and there is sooo much to catch up...I'm going to start at the beginning of our last school vacation....

It was great to add Olivia to our family scene once again as we picked her up from Buthier camp. She was all smiles & had lots of fun stories to share about her experience. They provided croissants & drinks for a little social hour while the kids showed the parents around the place & said their final “good-byes” to the counselors & friends. Every day the kids woke at 7am, had a little breakfast and then attended different classes related to theater. Her favorite was painting and designing scenery for the class play. They took explorations through the forest & did course orientation, went mountain biking, rock climbing, rode go-carts, & played lots of different tag games. Surprisingly she said the food was pretty good…cordon bleu, pastas, fresh salads, fruits and puddings. She was afraid it would be too much like canteen at school, so it was a nice surprise that everything was edible.

I think her favorite thing was sharing a room with 10 other girls: Claire, Zoe, Tess, Anna, Clara, Sasha, Rebecca, Marta & Flora. Everyone got along fabulously. These girls have very clever senses of humor which kept them all from any homesickness. They talked and talked and laughed until the counselors said “lights out & mouths shut” every night!