Before I get to today I have one thing to note about last night. Sara made a fort in her bed. She took 4 little decorative pillows, and her fluffy yellow blanket, and made a cavernous one-girl fort. She was surprised and out of sorts in the morning when her fort was all messed up - I guess sleeping and forts don't mix.
Dan got up with Julia this morning, then Sara and I got up soon after. Breakfast was quick. Bread with peanut butter for Sara; banana for Julia. We were packing up my back pack to go out for the day when Dan noticed a work thing that needed doing. He telecommuted for a while while we stepped outside.
By "we stepped outside" I mean that I opened the door, which Julia was standing by, with her arm stretched up to the door knob, using all her 1 year old strength to get the door open. She had already put her shoes on (by herself) and there was no doubt that she was ready to go - probably wondering why we grownups take so long to get ready!
As soon as Sara and Julia were in the front yard it as as if a catapult sent Sara to the bike and Julia to the tricycle. I was surplus. (Though I did help Julia get a fig that had fallen off the fig tree off of the bottom of her foot.) Sara biked for a few minutes then went to check the pool temperature. Swoop! Julia dashed to the bike and seemed very proud of her self that she was now in procession of the much cooler road gear. With me looking on from 10 meters away, Julia swung her leg over the bike and sat. She gave it a confirmation wiggle. Then she pushed it forward with her legs -- she looked over at me -- and clapped -- for her own accomplishment -- "yeeeeaahh" she said - with her eyes bright. I clapped too - it was neat to see her figure out how to move the bike!
Sara reclaimed the bike, and Julia moved to the tricycle. Moments later Julia was moving it forwards and backwards with her feet on the ground. Who needs pedals that are hard to reach? Julia scooted all around the path in the morning sun as happy as could possibly be.
Dan said he was ready to go so we left the house. We followed our well worn path to the bakery, for 2 pain de chocolates. I said to Dan "I got 2" and he said, "so you decided I don't get any?" - and it was hard to save him some of those yummy things since as soon as we got into the car, Sara asked for "one, a whole one Mom" and Julia put her hand in the air -- her "please give me something to eat" sign. So moments after we began our drive 1 of the "pain de chocolates" was history. (They are like a croissant with chocolate inside.) The familiar sound of Sara and Julia chomping on French bread filled the car as we headed towards the first round-about of our drive into the hills.
Our guide book has a drive called "Drome Provencale Loop Drive" which we began yesterday - and made it to Nyons for their market. Today we went past Nyons to continue the drive. Wow. I mean wow. It was such an amazing drive. I had the camera on my lap, but I was to busy saying "that's so pretty!" so take pictures. It was a different kind of pretty than the other drives we've done. There were green, green, green mountains arching up into the sky (covered with trees) and as you looked towards the mountains your eyes wandered around a loose checkerboard of vineyards, lavender fields, olive groves, and even a few houses. That is it. Nothing other than that. It was rugged, lush, and curvy. Very curvy. The road went this way and that way - as though who ever made the road was looking at the view and forgot to make it straight.
As we went up into the hills we went to St. Jalles, where we stopped to look at the Romanesque church. Continuing on we started our climb towards Buis-les-Barronnies. It is the journey not the destination (though we liked Buis-les-Barronnies) -- the road snaked around in a constant curve, right/left/wiggle/waggle up, up, up. The view just got better. Soon we were up high, looking down at what we were looking up at. With the sun shining proudly down on it all - it was a moment just to savor - the uniqueness, the Frenchness, the unspoiledness, and just breathing.
Dan did a good job driving. The road was narrow with two way traffic and no guard rail. Thankfully the only traffic we had was two people out for a bike ride. The road hugged rock cliffs. The road shimmed along a turquoise river. The road climbed. At the top Dan got out to take pictures (as the driver he didn't get to drink in the view so it was a nice chance for him) and I stayed with our sleeping Julia and our quiet Sara. (I guess the twists and the turns lulled Sara into a quiet place.)
After the top we circled down to Buis-les-Barronnies. Arriving at a new Provencal town is fun. It is strange though, since we never know where to park? Should we take the first spot we see or drive around a bit? We usually drive a bit, which is a good choice, since you get the lay of the land quicker than we would by walking. After a minute we had driving through the town (these are pretty small places) and we parked in a lot across from a restaurant.
Sara marched into the restauarnt and picked a seat. Ha! No need to stroll around picking which restaurant to eat at - she just picks the first one she sees and finds us a table.
It was a medium sized place with probably 30 tables outside (no one ever eats inside). Dan ordered the pizza meal (pizza, salad, dessert) and I ordered the steak meal (steak, salad, french fries). Sara had the kid pizza.
The meal was amazing. I brought some legos and the kids just played. They sat perfectly, focused on building things! Other people looked over at Sara and Julia and smiled at how darling they were (they do look darling sometimes). Dan and I played with them - and when the food arrived we dove in. Since we don't eat out a lot - it is a treat when we do (especially if the girls are occupied by legos!). My salad was out of this world. A homemade Dijon vinaigrette, red, yellow, and green tomatoes, 3 kinds of olives (which Julia plucked off my plate and put onto her plate), hard boiled eggs seasoned with herbs/salt/pepper -- it was so tasty. The beef was good, but we in the US really do have good steaks. And the french fries were crispy and disappeared quickly with Dan reaching for some, Julia reaching for some, and me crunching them down. Tasty food, a relaxed atmosphere, and our eyes still full of all the beauty of the drive -- it made for a "this is awesome" sort of feeling.
Sara said, "I'm to full for dessert" but when our included desserts came she tasted her first creme brulee (sp?) and chocolate mousse. We had 3 carafes of tap water, and oddly Dan's meal included a drink so he had the first coke of the trip. No refills, just the one glass.
After that we strolled. The village is the "linden tree capital of France" so that was neat on the promenade. But that didn't hold a candle to what we saw on the promenade: a playground. Oh wow! It had a tall gleaming slide, a teeter-totter, a climbing rope area, and a baby slide and rocker. Sara's feet lifted off the ground she was so thrilled. It was empty. We played there for an hour with out anyone else in sight - other than a horse tied up along the sparkling adjacent river. I think the best thing about the play ground was watching Sara and Julia on the teter totter - Julia giggled uncontrolably as she went up and down holding on with all her might. Sara beamed - she *loves* making Julia laugh - probably more than she loves anything else (except perhaps ice cream). The two were adorable - going up and down - and as parents we were happy seeing them so happy.
Other fun things about the play ground was the tall slide. Julia climbed right up it (it was 10 feet tall!!!) with me spotting her from behind (she is strong and determined, and probably doesn't know that 1 year old don't climb up 10 foot tall slides!) and then at the top we had to convince her to sit (by bending her legs and forcing her to sit) and convince her she wanted to go down the slide. She didn't buy it. I went down holding her the first time - and she went right around to do it again. This time she went down with Sara holding her - and seeing our kids sliding down a big shiny slide in the late afternoon sun was something I'll not soon forget. They were glowing. We were too.
After that we strolled the town. Found a neat arcaded street (that was around when Columbus sailed) and we even found an ice cream shop. I explained to the lady that the chocolate needed to be on first, and then the strawberry on top. Dan thought I was nuts. But when I told him to ask Sara, she explained with a very serious tone that that was indeed the only way it could be.
We got a second cone, thinking that we'd never get some if we only got one and as it ends up --- we still didn't get some since Sara got her mitts on the first cone and Julia got her mitts on the second one. And once they have their hands on a cone there is NO getting it back. Dan tried once. And Julia cried like she was in pain! Thus, they ate the ice cream and we took some when they reached out their arms to give us some (which they did frequently, but they always retained possession of the cone). At times, Sara gave Julia a taste of her cone, and Julia would then give Sara some of her cone. Sara speaks to Julia as if she understands every word -- and I think she does. Before long Julia had a pink face from trying to eat a raspberry ice cream cone with less than perfect aim.
Back in the car we headed back here. Dan had to start telecommuting, and was already past when he usually starts (but he had worked earlier before we left). I gave the girls a bubble bath in the pool I bought back in Uzes (there is only a shower here) and they loved playing in the pool so much they don't realize they are getting a bath! After they were clean I gave them dinner (pasta, tomatoes, and Julia had some tapenade) and put them to bed. Sara made another fort, and is now in dream land.
So it was a great day. I liked cruising around the hills on those twisty windy roads the best - we were sharing an adventure together as a family. Simple fun. Though she is prone to using superlatives Sara said, "this is turning out to be my favorite day" as we were at the playground. I agree. It was a favorite day indeed.
Quotes of the day:
Me: "Sara, it is time to start your bedtime list."
Sara: "I will do it soon Mom. That means you don't have long to wait."
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Me: "Sara, it is Julia's 1/2 birthday tomorrow. She won't be one any more, she'll be one and a half!"
Sara: "I remember that. I will get up at 9:00. We will get ready for the party. We must have it ready before she wakes up. She will be very surprised!"
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Sara: "Mom, I love you higher than the sky and deeper than the ocean." (She said that at the breakfast table, while she hugged my arm. That is something I say to her too.)
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Me: "I sure do love my Sara." (while out with her for a walk)
Sara: "What about Julia?"
Me: "I sure do love my Sara and my Julia."
Sara: "Good Mom. Good."
End of Post.
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