Day 50 - Time for a Haircut
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We've never gotten a haircut in a country where we can't communicate with the staff. It was a fun experience, and the haircuts came out just fine if I do say so myself!
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Day 49 - Plage de l'Espiguette
/Dipping in the Mediterranean Sea was on our agenda for this gorgeous Sunday. The closest beach to us, Plage de l'Espiguette in Le Grau du Roi, is about a 45 minute drive away and costs 6 Euros per vehicle (after a 1.60 Euro toll, of course).
Knowing how hot the sun can get in these parts, I imagined we would only last for a couple hours at the beach, since we do not have an umbrella or a tent. But we got lucky, and when we arrived there was a nice overcast for a while, which prolonged our stay to 5 hours.
The pictures in the gallery below were taken before we left the beach, hence the blue sky.
The beach itself was really nowhere as gorgeous as the beaches we went to while in Ireland, since there weren't any islands, lush green hiils/mountains, or cliffs by the water. On the plus side, both the air and the water were certainly much warmer, and it was very pleasant to play on the beach without feeling chilly. It was also a very vast beach, and stretched on for a long way.
The Mediterranean Sea was very wavy (and salty), but at this beach the water was very shallow for a quite some distance from the beach.
Kian and Daddy a good distance from the beach but still in shallow waters :)
We were worried that since it was Sunday we would encounter massive crowds, but thankfully that was not the case. Surprisingly more people came in the late afternoon and evening, around the time when we were leaving.
The kids had fun burying Daddy in the nice warm sand, and later we saw a French family do the same exact thing. Doesn't matter where you are from, the games at the beach seem to be more or less universal :)
Kian followed suit and wanted to be covered with the warm sand.
Hannah also loved the sand, and since she loves mermaids so much these days, Daddy turned her into a mermaid by making her a sand mermaid tail. Hannah was so excited and she sat still and enjoyed being a mermaid for close to 10 minutes!
Thanks to my poor planning and assumptions about only staying at the beach for a couple of hours, we barely brought anything to eat. This is a prime example of why they say, "You know what happens when you assume?".
To be fair, there were these carts that sold ice cream and coffee and some other snacks. They would walk by every hour or so, but we decided to skip snacking and just eat dinner on the way home.
The kids finished up playing and laid out in the sun to dry before we headed back to the parking lot.
There was nothing especially remarkable, out of the ordinary, or phenomenal to report. Families at the beach played games, ate food, read books, and relaxed on their towels. Kids built sand castles and chased the waves, and babies tried to eat sand.
Overall it was a very nice day at the beach, and we can now officially say that we have dipped in the Mediterranean Sea!
Day 48 - 3 Reasons Why It's Good To Travel With Kids
/Last night, we arrived home from the Pont Du Gard light show close to midnight, with two extremely exhausted kids who had fallen asleep in the car.
This meant that today would be a rest and relaxation day. Since we didn't do much to write about, I thought I would take the opportunity to remind everyone, especially our parent readers, why it is good to travel with young kids, and why you should look forward to it instead of dreading it.
So, without further ado, here is our opinion on why it's good to travel with kids:
1. Resiliency & Flexibility - Children are much more resilient than adults give them credit for. They are capable of adjusting to new circumstances surprisingly quickly; it is all in the way we, as parents, handle the situation. More often than not, young children look at their parents to form opinions. Thus far we have stayed at 3 different apartments/houses, and a number of hotels, including a hostel, and we have not heard the kids complain once about where we were staying. Each location has its own good points and drawbacks, but as I said children are flexible and more than happy to take the good over the bad and move on. These qualities rub off on parents quickly, because you just want to be cool and flexible like your little traveling companions :)
Hannah painting a picture of Ariel and Prince Eric
2. It's the little things - Young children are much better than adults at appreciating the little things. Not to sound cliche, but they are all about the journey and not at all about the destination. This is why it takes FOREVER sometimes to get from point A to point B. It is not because they can't walk fast, or that they are not capable of going the distance. Rather, it's because they must stop and observe; collect rocks while hiking; practice how to hop on one foot on a wide sidewalk; or run after pigeons and "boo" them away while giggling. I have learned that I must accept this, and I am practicing every day to stop rushing the kids from place to place. Oh please don't misunderstand, I don't just sit around with endless patience while my 2 year old daughter collects fistfuls of rocks that she then asks me to carry in my bag. But I do let her check out the rocks for longer than 3 seconds, and occasionally let her collect a few in exchange for good behavior. Slowly, very slowly (I am more or less a New Yorker after all) I am enjoying these little moments and the little things along the way.
Batman and Robin enjoying a burger with some fries
3. Growth - I am obviously not talking about physical growth, although inevitably that also occurs, but I am talking about personal and family developments. I am totally reminded of the Beaches Resort commercials and their slogan that says, "families that play together grow together". So far, this has been an incredible opportunity for all of us to grow, both as a family as well as individually, and having the kids be a part of it makes it that much more special.
For instance, we have all learned quite a bit about world geography. I used to think I was very good at this, but it turns out I had, and have lots more, to learn about the location of many countries. The kids are also learning a lot, and show a real interest in it. Whenever we see a big clock, Hannah immediately chimes in with "It's just like Big Ben! Remember London, and the London Eye?". The kids so far remember all sorts of details about the various places we have been, and are always asking about Spain, Vietnam, and Thailand. Today, the kids played a game where some of the My Little Pony toys that live in this house were going to walk from France to Thailand. Thanks to Google Maps, not only did we learn this would take over 100 days, but we talked about each of the countries on the way, and the ponies had to be especially careful in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Myanmar :)
Daddy reading Kian Captain Underpants while Hannah looks through her Princess Adventures book.
A friend of mine once said, "traveling is good for the soul", and I couldn't agree more. It is all too easy to be swept up into a routine that limits your exposure to new and different experiences. When that happens, as it does to us all, don't use your kids as the excuse for not going out and experiencing something new. They're more than willing to go along for the ride with you, if you'll only give them the chance.
Day 47 - Pont Du Gard & The Incredible Light Show
/When we were at Harrods in London, Kian saw a Batman Lego set that he loved. We told him he will have to wait possibly until his birthday to get it. We emphasized that the chances of him getting the Lego set in Ireland was slim to none, as we were going to stay on a farm without many toy stores nearby. In addition, we had a plane ride to catch from Ireland to France, so adding extra weight to our backpacks was really not something we wanted to do.
So he waited...and waited...and waited...and occasionally asked about whether we still remembered. "Of course we do!" is what we replied and sent him off playing.
A month and a half later, and just about 2 months before his 5th birthday, we decided to venture out to a toy store here. We explained that we had no idea whether or not the store would have what he was looking for, and he might have to wait until his birthday after all.
The toy store is in a shopping complex about 15-20 minutes from the city center. It seems very new, with lots of different shops ranging from clothing to shoes to home decorations to entertainment, and so on.
Shopping Center
The toy store, Maxi Toys, was fairly large based on the French standards we are getting used to, and had lots of different departments. The only difference between this toy store and many like it in the US were the prices! EEK! Have I mentioned how expensive everything is in Europe, especially here in France?
We didn't see the Batman Lego set that Kian had seen in London, which frankly was a good thing because that set was for kids 7-14. We did, however, find a junior Lego Batman set, which is meant for kids 4-7. After making a deal with Kian, that this is an early birthday present (I even have a video in case he needs to be reminded later) we bought the set. To be fair for Hannah, we also bought her a little Snow White plush doll.
Shortly after lunch, after the whole set was built and Kian had the chance to play with it for a little bit, we packed up and set out for Pont Du Gard.
“The Pont du Gard is an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge that crosses the Gardon River. It is part of the Nîmes aqueduct, a 50 km-long (31 mi) structure built by the Romans to carry water from a spring at Uzès to the Roman colony of Nemausus (Nîmes). Because the terrain between the two points is hilly, the aqueduct – built mostly underground – took a long, winding route that crossed the gorge of the Gardon, requiring the construction of an aqueduct bridge. Built in the 1st century AD, the Pont du Gard is the highest of all Roman aqueduct bridges and is one of the best preserved. It was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites in 1985 because of its historical importance.”
We intentionally decided to leave later in the afternoon, since I had read something about a light show and a jazz band playing at night. The drive to Pont Du Gard is about a half hour from Nimes. The entrance fee per vehicle is 18 euros, and we had to pay a highway toll of about 2 euros each way (back to my complaints about everything being very expensive here). Regardless, I can easily justify the price considering the great time we all had, and the neat light show we were treated to at night (more on this later).
After arriving and parking the car, it was a short walk to the welcome center, and from there another short walk to the aqueduct bridge. It was definitely another amazing piece of Roman architecture that has been very well maintained, considering it's almost 2,000 years old.
To get across, you can climb and walk on top of the third tier (there's a narrow walkway surrounded on both side with walls), but we opted to skip that and headed across the lower level and towards the river, so the kids could have some time to splash around.
The river was busy, with lots of swimmers, kayakers, people diving into the water from short cliffs, and people just lounging about. The beachy area was a mixture of rocks, grass, and dirt, and there were more than enough places to go that it didn't feel too crowded. We picked a place pretty near the entrance, where it was shallow and there were lots of other kids playing. The river itself is cool, but not cold, is shallow for a while before getting deep, and has a rocky bottom that was full of little fish who were quick to swim away.
We saw a lot of families with kids young and old, but honestly I was not able to communicate with anyone. This was for a number of reasons, such as: a) the parents were in the river and their kids were playing by the river bank, b) the kids were older, which meant the parents were relaxing or chatting amongst themselves, c) the parents were too pre-occupied running after babies who were trying to eat mud :), and of course d) my French isn't exactly up to par for just striking up a conversation.
So we just enjoyed each other, and the simple world of children playing in the water.
After quite some time, everyone had enough of the river (except for Hannah, who never wants to leave anything that is fun) and was feeling hungry, so we headed up the stairs to find a place to eat.
The view of the bride around sun set.
The main restaurant was fully booked for the night, even though it looked pretty empty at the time, so we ventured a bit further to a small stand with quite a few tables and chairs, with a great view of the bridge, and which was right in front of the Jazz Band's stage!
We got two small tapas platters, which also came with two baguettes... more than we could eat! Shortly after we sat down, the band started to play (unfortunately we do not know the name of the band and I could not find it online). They were very good and played a combination of English and French songs. Slowly, as the sun began to set, more and more people gathered around the stage and dance floor. Except for two older couples who were very good at dancing (as we could tell from their coming dressed with dance shoes), and children (who don't care about what anyone else thinks), no one got on the dance floor until much much later, and even then you could probably count the number of people on your fingers.
Of course the kids, including ours, had a great time. Children are just drawn to music and dancing.
Once darkness draped the sky, some colorful lights started to appear on the bridge, so we followed the lead of some other groups of people and headed down the stairs towards the river to sit on the hills and watch the light show. There was no advertising for this light show anywhere to be found, so we had no idea what to expect or when it would start, we only knew it was supposed to be happening every night in the summer thanks to a brochure we found in our apartment. The people sitting nearby us heard us speaking English, and asked us in a somewhat surprised tone how we had heard of this. Perhaps it's some local secret? Or perhaps we just didn't know anything because of our lack of French?
Finally, at 10:25 PM (which was after more than a half hour of waiting, when we were really starting to wonder if we should expect something more than randomly changing colors), a 5 minute count down appeared on the bridge and the Jazz band stopped playing for the night. All lights went out and the show started at 10:30 PM.
Countdown complete!
The show consisted of a series of projected pictures on the bridge that were synced to music. It was wonderfully done, and not like anything we have seen before. The kids really enjoyed the show, and thanks to my hubby, who used his knee as a tripod, we have some awesome pictures to share with you.
Unfortunately, our attempted movies all came out too dark to be worth sharing, so you'll have to take our word that it was a very entertaining show. The show lasted about 20 minutes, and concluded with a hearty applause from the audience, not least of all from us, since we thoroughly enjoyed the show!
Day 46 - Evil Mosquitos and a French Pharmacy to the Rescue
/We had promised the kids, specifically Hannah, that we would go back to the fountains on Avenue Jean Jaurès so that she could play some more.
The kids got dressed in their bathing suits, and we got dressed in our running clothes. We took turns watching the kids at the fountains for 30 minutes, while allowing the other person to go for a run up and down Avenue Jean Jaurès, which was slightly over 3 miles.
Kian enjoying the cool splash on the hot sunny day
Hannah trying to refill her water gun
As a runner, I think there is no better way to truly see the town/city/village that you are staying at than taking a nice run/jog/power walk. First off, you look like a local, and almost feel like one too, because you are not holding a map or a camera. Secondly, you are not concerned about what sights are coming up next; whatever will be will be, and you just keep on running. I saw quite a few tourists with maps in hand, people taking pictures of the garden gates (with iPhones), and lots of little kids on a field trip holding hands and being told to stay in line :).
With the invigorating run behind me, it was my turn to watch the kids. I noticed the already horrible looking bug bites on Hannah's legs seemed to be getting even worse.
Mosquito bites all over Hannah's legs
Hannah must have some sort of allergic reaction to these bites. as her legs looked red and almost swollen. I always carry a small first aid kit with me that has all sorts of emergency items, including allergy medicine. I gave her a the proper dosage and saw and shortly saw an improvement, although not a significant one.
After being out in the sun for a while, the entire family needed a nap... especially Hannah, as I think the allergy medicine got her a bit drowsy.
Since Hannah's legs were still red and very itchy in the evening, we decided to head out to a pharmacy and see if we can find something that would alleviate the itching and swelling.
There is a pharmacy within walking distance; however due to its central location in a touristy part of town we had noticed the prices were very high when we stopped in the other day. Instead, we went for a little drive and found one a bit outside the main part of town, which did indeed have better prices. The only problem was that none of the pharmacists spoke English!
Thankfully, the mix of our French (learned in high school), a translation app on our iphone, and body language was sufficient to covey our question. We found an "after sting" cream (Apres-Piqures) for children, called Baby Apaisyl, which is apparently made by Merck in Italy. We also purchased a mosquito repellent spray to prevent future mosquito attacks.
What I found most interesting was that while we were there, two mothers walked in with their children and just went right up to the counter, showed the pharmacist the child's problem (in both cases a skin irritation of sorts) and asked what they should do. The pharmacists either recommended a product to purchase or explained what could be done resolve the issue. This was of course very helpful to see, because once we found the cream, I picked up Hannah and showed one of the pharmacists Hannah's legs and asked if the cream would help and he agreed that it would. Amazingly enough, with just one application of the cream, Hannah's bug bites improved significantly and put my mind at ease.
The way the locals asked the pharmacists for medical advice prompted me to wonder if in France, or even in all of Europe, it is generally a common practice to go the the pharmacy, instead of the doctor, for mild ailments. This was also the case in Tehran when I was a kid, but certainly isn't the case in America (probably because of all the lawsuits). A little research confirmed this is indeed very common across all of Europe.
Throughout Europe, people with a health problem go first to the pharmacy, not to their doctor. European pharmacists can diagnose and prescribe remedies for many simple problems, such as sore throats, fevers, stomach issues, sinus problems, insomnia, blisters, rashes, urinary tract infections, or muscle, joint, and back pain. Most cities have at least a few 24-hour pharmacies from which you can pick up what you need and be on the mend pronto.
So, if you are ever in Europe and need minor medical attention, visit a pharmacy first. Chances are the pharmacists can help you out, and you wan't have to go through the hassle of going to a clinic.
Day 45 - Water Guns
/A quiet start to the day, with the kids playing together - one of my absolute favorite recurring event on this "big adventure". I love hearing the two of them come up with different scenarios and playing it out. It is also definitely very nice that Kian has a lot of patience, and doesn't mind explaining the same concept to Hannah over and over again. Whether or not Hannah comprehends the explanations or just says "ok" to get back to the game is still a mystery! But she is a great sport at hearing Kian out, and at her age, that's more than we can ask for.
Kian and Hannah playing with legos
We had to get milk and just a few other items, so we decided to check out the nearby grocery store. It's within walking distance, but we decided to drive in case they didn't have what we were looking for. Thankfully, that ended up being a good choice, since the prices at this store seemed much higher than we had seen elsewhere, and with less variety, so we went back to trusty good old Lidl.
Next to Lidl, we discovered a nice little discount store which must have been closed last time, and we decided to check it out. We found several good outdoor toys, including water guns for the kids, at a very reasonable price. Since we'll be just traveling by car for the next few months, getting a few extra inexpensive things which will ultimately be disposable, but which will entertain the kids in the meantime, doesn't hurt.
Once we arrived home, I sent the kids and hubby to play with their new water guns in a grassy area within our apartment complex, as I cooked dinner.
They lasted about 5 minutes out there before they rushed back to avoid being eaten alive by the crazy mosquitos here. With the exception of Kian, everyone already has a number of itchy red bites around their legs and arms thanks to these mosquitos. Hannah has it the worst, and unfortunately these extra few minutes outside resulted in a ton more bites for her, which manifested the next day :(
They continued to play out on the terrace/balcony until dinner was ready, where the mosquito situation is slightly better thanks to some lemon scented candles.
Meanwhile, I made our dinner of grilled salmon, white rice, mushrooms, peppers and a bit of spinach.
On our last night in Ireland, we discovered that the kids actually really like salmon, so we are now finally all able to enjoy some seafood as a family. It only took almost 5 years!
A lovely and relaxing day was concluded with a delicious and healthy meal. I suppose if the mosquitos here could talk, they might have had the same sentiment, referring to all the deliciousness they were served out on that grassy area (more on Hannah's itchy mosquito bites in the next post).
Day 44 - Montpellier Parc Zoologique
/Before breakfast, the kids decided to build a few puzzles that we found here at the house. Hannah and Kian did most of the numbers puzzle by themselves, and then asked daddy for help with the ballet class.
They also attempted a 100 piece mermaid puzzle, but quickly abandoned it after seeing how hard it was to fit together the tiny puzzle pieces.
After breakfast, we decided to check out the zoo in Montpellier. It was about an hour drive, which was surprising because I had thought we could make it there in 30-40 mins. The long wait at the toll booth, where we had to pay a 3 euro toll after being on the highway for a whopping 10 minutes, was definitely a contributor.
We had packed a picnic lunch, and since we arrived a little after noon we ate our food before exploring the zoo.
Parc Zoologique in Montpellier, France
The zoo is free for adults and children, which I have to say was quite impressive, given the size and the number of exotic animals.
There is an Amazon section (indoor) that requires tickets, but we decided to only go if we felt up for it after seeing all the free parts.
First up, we decided to check out the lions. However, much to our dismay after walking for a while in the hot sun, we saw not a single lion. Silly lions must have been napping somewhere!
We settled for the neat lion statues carved out of wood.
Thankfully, the lions were the only ones hiding. We were able to see a variety of animals, such as southern cassowary, Emu, red-necked wallaby, Eland antelope, and many more before arriving at the giraffes.
Hello Giraffe!
The kids were hot (it was a very hot day!) and hungry, so we decided to take a little break.
Apple eaters :)
After the giraffes, we saw the zebra family and then saw a Rhino family!
We continued our walk through the zoo, and saw many more animals before reaching the Leopard. At first, we thought he was also napping somewhere, but then we saw him! He came right up to us...Gulp! He was not behind a glass and really he was just separated from us by a ditch and very low fences.
I swear I saw him lick his chops as he stared at us...double gulp! Ok, I might be exaggerating, but he was too close for my comfort!
We also saw hyenas and red wolves before arriving at the monkeys' house, where a variety of monkeys were either napping or just resting... except for the two below, who were being very playful and silly and made the kids giggle.
Kung fu monkeys?
By the time we reached the exit it was almost 6PM, much too late for the Amazon rainforest, and we were all ready to go home. The kids fell asleep shortly after arriving in the car. The combination of walking and the hot weather totally wore them out.
Exhausted zoo goers
We decided to take the local roads back home, to see if avoiding the tolls was worth a longer drive. It wasn't. The local roads took more than twice as long, but it let the kids sleep longer at least.
Once home, we made dinner, which was followed by catching up with family in New Jersey and in North Carolina through Facetime. Thanks technology!