Sunday - drove to Montpellier
My day started at 7:09 AM. Julia's day started at 7:05 AM. Sara's day started at 7:50 AM. Dan's day started at 9:55 AM!
That is to say, I got up with the girls this morning. Normally Dan does it. But today Julia was standing and calling to be gotten up for several minutes -- and Dan didn't budge. He was sleeping. Snoring in fact. So I got Julia up. Then I closed the door and let Dan sleep in.
Thankfully, I noticed a chest in the corner of one of the bedrooms. It had a bugs bunny on it. I opened it up. Toys! A whole lot of toys. Julia walked over. Her excitement was palpable. She dove in and I actually left the room to make coffee since she was so enthralled with the toys she didn't notice I left.
As the coffee perked, I got ready for the day. I checked on Julia - though I didn't need to. She was glued to those toys. Nothing beats "new" toys, even if they looked like several generations had already played with them.
Soon Sara was up too. I invited her in to play with the toys, but she stayed in her cozy bed for a while to wake up. Then she joined us. Soon Julia's quiet play time was loud sister play time, since Sara discovered some of the toys were musical instruments - and songs erupted from the play room.
Meanwhile I drank 3 cups of coffee. Every other morning I wondered why there was so little coffee left when I got up. Know I know! The kids go from 0 to 60 in the morning, while we adults go from 0 to 10 in the morning -- after one cup of coffee. It takes more coffee to make it all the way to 60, and even then, an adult 60 is slower than a kid's 60.
When Julia walked over to the refrigerator and leaned on it I knew it was time for breakfast. I made oatmeal, which Sara said it was the "best oatmeal I've ever tasted."
I peeked in on Dan. He was out. Snoring. I didn't have the heart to wake him with our morning noises, so I took the kids out. Uzes has a Sunday flea market. On the streets wear just yesterday there were linens, wood things, pottery, etc, the streets today had all sorts of "trash or treasure" type things. Old shoes. Old clothes. Old magazines. Old coffee grinders. Old china. Old toys. Old sewing things. Old furniture. Old books. Old anything. It was a true flea market - you could have found anything there.
We walked to the main square, where Sara danced. Then we wandered around. Things were not on tables. Things were laid out on blankets. If you wanted to see some shoes, you just walked over to the lady selling shoes - and looked down at her display on her blanket.
As we wandered I looked at stuff. When I spotted something I liked. It was a kid pool, still new in the wrapper. Our afternoons are so sunny - there have been times I wished the kids could have a swim on the veranda. But how do I bargain for this pool? I don't speak French! Nothing had price tags. Not one thing. Anywhere. Bargaining was the way to buy things.
I held up the pool. "How much?" I asked. "blah blah blah" she answered in French. I held up some fingers, then she held up 4 fingers. She only wanted 4 Euros for the pool! Done. I handed her the money and the kids now have a pool.
Sara, Julia and I enjoyed the market - on all the side streets - till we returned - to find Dan still sleeping! When he got up he had the last dribble of coffee that was left in the pot and we headed out to Montpellier. An hours drive away.
It is a city, with wide open spaces, gardens, monuments, cafe's, statues, some flea markets on some of the streets, grand vistas, ice cream shops, and plenty of sunshine. We saw it all. I quick stop at the tourist information booth gave us a walking route and some tips on where to eat. Our first walk lead us along a pretty boulevard that was car-free. It was lined with grass and flowers. We then went to the bathroom in the Opera house.
Then we walked to the Arc de Triomphe (a copy of the one in Paris) which lead us to an area with more trees, a vista, and some tears from a tired Julia. (That is out of character for her, normally she is so happy.) I carried her in my arms for a while as we walked around the city. Thankfully, the whole part we were exploring was car free - I just love pedestrian friendly cities! She put her head on my shoulder and held on to me with both arms. I sang to her. I stopped looking around at the sites and focused on our sweet baby - trying to do anything to help her be happy. Soon she was happy. Very happy. Dan stopped for ice cream and she livened up in a snap. Sara had a strawberry cone and Dan had a melon and pear flavor. Sara immediately shared with Julia (with out being asked) and soon Julia was smiling. Sitting there sharing those ice cream cones was my favorite part of the day. The city swirled around us - people walking to and fro, but we were stationed right by a cafe, just enjoying our sweet treat.
After that we went to the "oldest botanical garden in France" which was an enjoyable walk through the city. It was mostly down hill. It is notable when we walk down hill since the stroller slips and slides on the cobblestones. (There isn't much pavement around here - it is all cobble stones.) We came across a gorgeous church on the way. With a huge bell tower. The botanical garden had some tall bamboo, several towering trees, a pond with HUGE lilly pads and flowers, sprawling lanes, pathways that lead around corners into flowered nooks, and some sun flowers in peak bloom. Sara liked picking which path for us to walk on. She was our leader and loved it. The sun was warm and hot. I put her hair up into a bun and she enjoyed flitting around the flowers in her sun dress.
Soon I change Julia's clothes (she always gets a lot of France on her!) and she was happy and sweet. Then we got a late lunch (we had picniced earlier) at a sidewalk cafe, though we ate inside by the first and only air conditioner I've seen on this whole trip! What a novelty! We had a ham/cheese baguette and an apple pastry along with an espresso and an orange soda. (The girls had water, the other things were for us!).
After a bit more exploring - and walking back up hill, we drove back here to the apartment. Dan made dinner (one person makes dinner while the other person watches Sara/Julia and I'll let you guess as to which activity is more relaxing) and we sat outside to eat it. It is such a pleasure to dine outside - by our very own Fig tree and on our sunny verandah!
Bellies full, Sara and Julia played in the new pool while Dan and I relaxed a moment.
Then I put Julia to bed (it took 1 minute) and played with SAra a bit. When Sara went to bed she wanted to look at the stars. So she stood in the door way, looking up into the heavens, seeing the twinkling stars. I picked her up. I had her cheek to cheek. She said, "I want to make a wish. I wish I may, I wish I might, I wish upon the first star I see tonight." Then she was quiet. I said, "I hope your wish comes true" as I set her down and took her to her room.
Dan and I are planning what we'll do tomorrow. It is labor day so he has the day off - then on Tuesday he'll telecommute.
Quote of the day:
Dan: "do you want some bread Sara?"
Sara: "no thank you, I won't be hungry for 30 hours."
Dan: "okay"
Sara: "but in 10 minutes I'll be starved."
End of Post.
No comments:
Post a Comment