One last time

We had to play one last time at the beach, make one last sand sculpture and go out for one last yummy seafood dinner...thank goodness it wasn't our last day with the Ames. They followed us back to Fontainebleau for a few more days of fun!

Fontaine Parfume

We thought it would be cool to see how some of that famous French parfume is concocted, maybe even pick up a bottle of eau de toilette. What started out as an early morning drive turned ugly fast. Taylor & Stuart had all of the little kids in their car. Poor guys. 20 minutes into the drive Parker threw up. We figured he was just car sick, but then a few minutes later it happened again and just before we reached our destination Schuyler got sick. Taylor doesn't do throw up. I'm surprised he didn't take a turn just from the smell in the car. Both dads were awesome and took care of that ugly business. When we finally got to the Fonaine Parfume factory Shuyler and Parker were so miserable. We found it ironic that the car should smell so disgusting on the day we were driving to the parfume factory!


The walk through the parfume factory was fine, but not quite as interesting as we had hoped. Our noses were on overload by the time we reached the gift shop and no one was interested in any more smelly stuff. We opted for a crepe lunch and then headed back to relax the rest of the afternoon.

St. Maxime

The favorite day and destination spot was St. Maxime. There was a little beach just down the hill from our villa. It had just enough sand and surf to keep everyone happy. The water was cold...I don't like cold water...my kids don't like mother's who complain about swimming in cold water...they won...I went swimming...guess what? I LOVED it! Unfortunately it took me until the end of the day after everyone had already swam out to the platform. That's ok, at least my kids know I'm not a total wimp.

Our good friends the Thomas's were vacationing in Nice. Tracie took the train with her girls and met us in St. Maxime for some beach fun. It was great to have Tracie, Alyson, Kate & Maya join us for the afternoon.

Monaco

The kids are determined to hit as many countries as they can this trip - for that reason alone Monaco was a must. We loved the drive along the mediterranean coast line. Despite it's small size Monaco has a sense of style and grace that permeates the country. We took the scenic walk along the high walls and dreamed about sailing the crystal blue waters.




The guys all dreamed about racing around in the big Grand Prix. They were setting up the course all through the city. Baracades and bleachers were everywhere. One other thing is definitely in excess in Monaco...fast cars & money! We saw so many Ferraris and Porsches...not a lot mini vans driving around.

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