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.  

Plage de l'Espiguette

Plage de l'Espiguette

Plage de L'Espiguette

The view of the beach

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 :) 

Sand Monster

Kian sitting on daddy after covering him up with sand

Sand Monster

Sand monster breaking free....Rarrrrr

Sand Monster

Sand monster chasing the Kian and Hannah

Sand Monster

Muhahaha...sand monster captured Hannah :)

Kian followed suit and wanted to be covered with the warm sand. 

Sand Monster Jr.

Kian loved this since the sand was so nice and warm.

Sand Monster Jr.

Chasing his sister

Sand Monster Jr.

Knocking Hannah down

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! 

Hannah the Mermaid

Hannah the Mermaid

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.

Beach

Kian helped Hannah fill up her bucket

Beach

Hannah got brave enough to fill up her bucket on her own

Beach

This kid knows how to relax :) 

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.