a slower pace

In the photo above, four of the five of us are sporting new shoes. This was not an indulgence. This was a result of the sad loss of one of our small backpacks in transit from Amsterdam to Marseille. Just listen to that sentence! I really have nothing to complain about!

As you can see from the serene expressions on our girls' faces above, France has had a deliberately slower pace. (And I think if they ever form a band, this would be the most awesome band photo....)

I have most purposely not blogged much, simply to get off the phone and get into the slower pace. It feels fitting! While we were hitting multiple destinations each day in London and Amsterdam, we have viewed the France leg of the trip as a slower, more relaxed portion from the beginning. 

And so much of our time has been spent wandering around our little village of Sanilhac. 

(This scene above is right outside our front door. This place feels ancient!)

We have also visted a few nearby sites. My particular favourite has been the "Pont du Gard". This is an ancient Roman aqueduct - apparently the tallest aqueduct structure preserved. It is incredible. Like my dad commented, "It's a whole lot of stonework for a little bit of water". Haha! Oh dad! 

(this is the very tippy top, where the water would have passed through)

(The landscape around the Pont du Gard)

Walking through an ancient tunnel, which can be assumed to have been used to carry materials to build the pont...?

Ryan couldn't resist a tunnel lunge. :)

This may or may not have been the state of exhaustion the girls were in after spending a bit of time at the Pont du Gard. We laid down for a relaxing rest on the lovely platforms for picnickers and tried to wait until dark when the Pont would be lit up. We failed to last that long. Well, the girls did. :) SO TIRED! The heat, the climbing up to above the Pont to see it, etc etc etc. They were pooped!

Also, Ryan stacked some rocks. Nice stack, Ryan. 

So that was the Pont, a highlight for me! Ryan's big highlight was when we went into nearby Avignon and visited Le Palais des Papes, or "The Palace of the Popes", where 9 consecutive Popes lived and reigned. It was amazing!

(Avignon feet, now a complete set of 5 new pairs of shoes...!)

Ummmm, hottie!!!

The Palais des Papes, build on rocks - it's so cool to see!

I could just add more and more photos, but you get the idea of the grandeur! Amazing! Merveilleux!!

Now, our friends back home, the Boisclair-Joly family, had mentioned to us previously that in each little town down in the south here is to be found a carousel, and that it was a bit of a special family thing they did in each town they visited. Well what do you think we encountered as we came out of the palace? You guessed it!

Yahoo! And just as the sky darkened and the thunder and lighting becan crashing, the girls had a very fun, and dry, ride. 

Very fun! And then, as if we hadn't experienced enough awesome for one day, we were caught in a CRAZY THUNDER STORM AND DOWNPOUR on our way through the winding and confusing roads back to our car!

It was hilarious! We were as wet as if we had been jumping into the river with our clothes on! Crazy rain! And so funny!

And so today, we are enjoying a nice day in, playing in the pool in our little courtyard and looking forward to dinner out here as well. We will light it up and sit here:

Yes please! And that is France so far, my friends. :)

nous sommes arrivees!

We're here! We're in France! In the South of France! It is everything and more than I imagined!

But let's go back a day....

Amsterdam - final morning. Up we got, packed up, said goodbye to our lovely, lovely host (forgot to take pictures of the place to show you.....argh!), and made for the tram stop. 

We got through the tram ride, and got our tickets at the station for the train to the airportin Eindhoven - an hour ride away. This is me, minutes before my miserable moment of the trip.

You see, I was waiting on the platform with the bags while Ryan took the girls to the Starbucks bathroom and to get himself some coffee while there. Now, I don't normally get pannicky, but after a good 20 minutes and the train having arrived with no sight of them, I started to wonder what was going on. I waited and waited. The train woul dbe leaving soon. I couldn't possibly carry all the bags myself and go look for them. But I couldn't leave them there either. The moment I got up quickly to peek down the stairs a stone's throw from where they were, people came up and started looking worried about these "abandoned bags". 

Just in the nick of time, as I had decided to actually pick them all up at once and go in search of my people, worrying that something had happened to Ryan, or one of the girls had been grabbed or something (because yes, my brain goes there sometimes), they ran up the stairs, al smiles. They had had to wait for Starbucks to open (it was quite early) and then the shop had forgotten to brew coffee.....yes, I know. Facepalm.

As I let out a huge sigh of relief, I realized I had touched something on one of the bags that was slimy. I look down at the unknown substance and can't make out what it is, until I smell it. It's puke.

My stomach nearly turns right then and there. But it's time to get on the train! So on we get, pukey hand and bag and all. 

I thank my brains for having thought in our great pack to bring hand wipes. I managed to find them and clean myself and the bag up. Then Ryan looks and says, "Where's the little black bag?"

And that was the third whammy. We realized that one of our girls had been wearing a small backpack full of each of our second pairs of shoes, and had left it on the tram. Oh mercy! 

Okay, so things could have been worse, but at that point, for the first time on this trip, I wanted to just point my face into a corner and cry. But I didn't. I was a big girl. I was a toughie. I shook it off, told our dear girl that it was no big deal, and we moved on. 

It got better, way better, from that point on!

We arrived at the airport, had a snacky poo....

...and boarded our plane!!!

And then, two hours later, we landed in Marseille!

We got our rental car (and ended up upgrading to a size that would fit us, and paying way too much for it....rental car companies are apparently the same wherever you go....) and somehow, SOMEWHOW, I ended up being named as the driver. How did I get this good fortune? haha! Who knows? 

We set off with great excitement (after I figured out some basics, like how to put the thing into reverse).

...and after riding on the country roads for a short while, we were all terrified!!

Haha - okay, so the country roads are too narrow, so it's like a game of chicken any time someone comes along. Both cars vear to the edge of the road and kind of rub the grasses on the side in order to not hit each other, but then it happens at about 80kms. Yeah. WOAH MAN.

But after a while, I was getting a bit more used to it, and not freaking out every time another car came along. And Ryan also calmed down in the passenger seat. :D

So we start going through this amazing countryside and then these amazing little medieval villages....WOW.

We even passed by a castle!

And then another one! All of us were impressed.

And then just like that, we arrived in our little village...

And our little place.

It took a bit of troubleshooting to figure out how to call the woman who would come open it up for us, but a quick run to a local restaurant and a little whipping out of my French Immersion background, and it was done. Here's our place!!

Front entryway, just inside the door.

The funky kitchen. Yes please!

The main living space - comfy and spacious!

Bathroom - important.

Toilet - also important.

Around the corner, the side room that leads to the bedrooms. (And the place I've been sent to sleep. They call me "snora"....no thanks to that horrid virus I had.)

The two big girls' room. With the little one demonstrating "getting primped". Thank you little one.

Ryan and the little one's room....sigh! (SHE doesn't snore...)

Out the back door into the private courtyard.

Outdoor eating area....

Outdoor cooking area....

And the little private pool! Aiyaiyai!!! This place couldn't be better!!!

This morning, I got up early with the little one and we walked to the Boulangerie for some baguettes, sausage rolls, and "pain au chocolat". Yum! This is going to be a wheaty week I think! Haha!!

Love to you all. We are taking it easy and considering this week a laid back time, with less sightseeing and more lounging around the pool. Pinching myself constantly. It's so amazing!

xoxo