Holidays galore: arrival in Australia

With heavy suitcases and light hearts, Marguax and I checked in at the Lisbon airport on Saturday, Dec 6, with our Australia-bound itineraries.

We were escorted by Thomas, who waved us off at security. Unfortunately, he had a couple more weeks of work before he joined us, but we knew he would be here well in time for Christmas so it wasn't to bad.

The first leg of the journey (8 hours from Lisbon to Dubai) wasn't so good. Margaux slept for one hour (impeccably timed to co-incide with dinner) and for the rest of it she needed attention and stimulation. I walked her up and down the isles, sang to her, soothed her, introduced her to all the air stewards, tried to stop her unravelling all the toilet paper in the toilets, fed her, entertained her, and generally distracted her until we reached our destination.

By the second leg she had exhausted herself, meaning she (and I!) slept for a very good portion of the 11-hour flight, and was a happy little thing when she was awake. Ahhhh.

We were greeted at the airport by Emily, who was looking radiant and sun-kissed. Margaux was a bit bewildered by everything, but she was happy enough to be greeted with a showering of kisses and adoration. :) Who wouldn't be??

Mum and Dad were delighted to see Margaux (and me) - as we were right back!

Poor Margaux was very jet-lagged for a few days, which meant all sorts of wakeful hours during the night, but that was to be soon cured by a trip to KL with Mum and me! (See the next post for a more detailed account...)

Maggie took a little while to warm to Grandell and Pappy Pete, becoming very upset when I left the room for more than about 10 seconds. We did loads of activities together and after a few days she began to seek out their loving arms for a cuddle. Awww.

 

 

 

Margaux and I joined Mum, Dad, and Harvey (who terrified Margaux with his boisterous personality) a few times when they went on their evening walk, which meant that she experienced some of the beauty of the bush and had more opportunities to bond with her devoted grandparents...

 

 

We were fortunate that cousin Zoë and her husband Steve, who form the group Luluc, coincidentally overlapped their stay with us. Margaux took to Zoë in particular like a house on fire. It was beautiful to watch.

They were in Perth for the promotional tour for their new album, Passerby. Margaux isn't yet ready for music performances in clubs, so we unfortunately had to sit out the concerts. I heard they were fabulous, though. Maybe next time...

Margaux's first birthday in Cascais

Thomas and I celebrated Margaux's birthday very quietly - just the two of us and our gorgeous girl. We tried to remember how we were feeling this time a year ago... It was interesting to compare what moments stood out for each of us and which we had completely forgotten or deemed as unimportant.


The next day, however, I hosted Mums and Tots... I went to all the effort of baking fancy chocolate muffins, only to get them stuck in their tins. Bit of a disaster, really. It was a relatively quiet one, which was nice. Margaux is now able to interact much more - and being able to support herself standing is a huge boon! She had loads of fun with Fen, Chloe, Bo, and Hilaria, while we parents enjoyed our coffee and cake. :)

Christmas and Margaux's first birthday in Lille

We have just returned from a very special weekend at Mammy and Pappy's place, where we celebrated a very early Christmas and Margaux's first birthday with Mammy Rita, Pappy Jean-Paul, Tante Marie, Tante Scholastie, Hippolyte, Josephine, and little Violette!

Apparently Father Christmas (Père Noël) comes to Portugal at the start of December, which is why we had gifts from him. Hippolyte and Josephine were satiated with that explanation, so all was well in the household. :)

As usual, Rita had outdone all expectations in the creation of her Christmas decorations and nativity scene - which had representations of many countries in the world!

Thomas, Margaux, and I arrived early on Friday morning, and were joined by Marie, Scholastie, and their three kids that afternoon. When Margaux and Hippolyte saw each other they were so excited! Their friendship, which had blossomed in Corsica, was firmly reaffirmed here. I love watching them together.

With Hippolyte in charge, the presents were distributed and we were all spoilt rotten - especially Margaux, because she received birthday and Christmas presents in the same sitting!

Rita and Jean-Paul endowed Thomas, Margaux, and I with gifts appropriate for our upcoming skiing holiday in France - including a reversible puffer jacket for Margaux and an incredibly cute beanie for me... as you can see below.

Jean-Paul and Thomas received something that requires a smart-phone app and, when placed between the lens of the binocular-shaped box and the outer cardboard layer, helps you see a virtual reality. Or something like that.

We four parents left our kids with Mammy and Pappy on Friday night, and headed out to the traditional North-of-France restaurant where Marie and Scholastie had their wedding reception, where we were joined by Aymeric and Charlotte.

As usual, I found the language especially difficult in a public, noisy setting, and, as usual, everyone was very patient with me - both explaining things as best they could and trying to understand me when I spoke Franglish.

I truly had a lovely time - and knowing Margaux was in such capable hands made it easier!


And then Margaux discovered the stairs... My goodness! She's a little Demon! And so strong, the way she crawls and pulls herself up each step. As you can see from her different outfits, she took any opportunity to practice her new skill - thankfully with a helping hand at all times.

She became entirely frustrated by the gate at the top of the stairs... too bad!

On Saturday we enjoyed a sumptuous lunch of raclette... each person is given their own grilling pan, which they fill with cheese and put under a communal grill. When the cheese is melted, they pour/ scrape it over the food on their plate - cold meats, cooked potatoes, and a garden salad were available for us. It was delicious, however we could have all done with a post-raclette run afterwards!

Lunch was followed by a birthday apple tart for Margaux. Her favourite cousin brought in the cake and then, with Josephine, helped her blow out the candle. Although she had no idea what was going on, she seemed to enjoy it all!

And, finally, here is a small compilation of Margaux and the gorgeous new arrival to the family: Violette Bouchery-D'herlincourt. She is such a treasure.

General goings-on with Margaux

I'm so aware of all the milestones and achievements Margaux is reaching, and yet none of them is significant enough to write a blog about - especially since I tend not to have photos or videos of them!



Until now, she has been taking any toys given to her during dinner (it's frequently only by distraction that she'll open her mouth for food!) and thrown them on the floor - and then wondered what's happened to them. Thomas and I aren't in the habit of picking up things she's dropped, so we go through quite a few toys each meal! By 'toys' here, I'm meaning anything I don't mind going in her mouth, like clothes pegs, jar lids, and foam dice. And they keep her just as entertained as anything else!

Recently, however, she's grasped the concept of give and take... once she has a toy that I've given her, I'll put out my hand and say, 'for me, please' and she'll put it on my palm. Then I shower her with thankyous and smiles, which seem to make it all worthwhile for her.

Eventually she'll get bored with that toy and throw it on the ground, ready for her next piece of entertainment.

Give and take has also led to putting things in and taking them out... like in the washing machine or dryer. I thought I had been pretty thorough, but yesterday I found a jar lid that had been rolling around in the dryer for the previous couple of hours...

The other photos below show Margaux with some of her friends at Mums and Tots, and her looking at me through the mirror in a new pyjama outfit I bought for her in Belfast. Sooo cute!

Maybe it's stupid, but I really get upset when people assume or ask me if Margaux is a boy. I know I shouldn't but really, I dress her in a pink dress and still get asked. Seriously, do people think I'm conducting a social experiment???

The big photo in the collage below is just one demonstration of what she wears when people compliment Margaux on being beautiful/ cute, or congratulate me on having a beautiful son.

To remedy this, while we were shopping yesterday I beelined for the headwear section and bought Margaux some very girly hair clips... hopefully this will deter the commenters!

In Portuguese, beautiful and cute are gender specific: i.e. a beautiful boy is 'lindo', while a girl is 'linda'. Same goes for cute: giro/ gira, which makes it very clear whether the person saying it is referring to my son (menino) or daughter (menina).

And here we have a mix of photos or Margaux as she gets bigger by the day! In the first photo, we were out for a coffee. Then we see what happens when Thomas comes home from work and has a nap for 20 minutes. I usually leave him alone, but sometimes Margaux can't get enough of him! The following is a photo from when Margaux and I were out and about shopping; and finally we have a selfie. Just because we can.

A girls' weekend in Ireland: shopping in Belfast

We three girls left Flynn with Jonathon again, timing our trip to accommodate feed and sleep cycles, and headed out to Belfast for a spot of shopping.

This time we were prepared for Margaux's potential grumpiness at being in the pram: we dressed her in Flynn's snowsuit (her little legs were freezing at the lights festival... they had been in a foot muff in the pram so we didn't think padded leggings were needed) and brought the front pack.

This time our planning paid off: it wasn't long before Bron was pushing a pram filled with bags and I was carting Margaux around in the front pack! You may be wondering why we don't start with the front pack and not worry about the pram... my back is still a bit delicate, so pushing a pram is far better for me than carrying almost 9kg on my person.

We went to two clothes shops (one that had a section dedicated to baby clothes and another that was entirely for babies) and I managed to steel myself from buying an entire wardrobe for Margaux. I tell you, it was hard!!

A girls' weekend in Ireland: The Festival of Lights

Friday night saw Bronwen, Jonathon, Flynn, Margaux, and I head off to Mount Stewart to wander through the annual Festival of Lights. The weather had been relatively OK during the day, so we had (unrealistic) hopes that the night would remain that way.

The festival itself was great: it's amazing what the effect of lights under trees can be! Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse, and our best laid plans were seriously waylaid.

Added to this, Margaux became ridiculously distressed at the fact that she couldn't see the spectacle from her usual advantaged position of the front pack! The result was that Jonathon pushed an empty pram, Bron pushed Flynn in his pram, and I carried Margaux on my hip (she wouldn't go to Jonathon, even though he offered).

The rain bucketed down, but thankfully we were prepared with big umbrellas and an appreciation of the rainfall through the lights!

A girls' weekend in Ireland: When Toot (Flynn) met Toot Sweet (Margaux - pronounced toute suite!); and giving the Mums some time off.

As much as I had been looking forward to time away from family responsibilities, it was great for Margaux to meet Flynn and Co. Apart from Margaux, I have never met such a chilled out, smiley baby. Oh, he is just SOOO cute!

There was a little bit of healthy trepidation at the start before two of them got on like a house on fire, which was great. Margaux was very clingy though, which surprised me. If I was out of sight for more than about a minute she got uncontrollably distressed.

There was one afternoon, however, when Margaux had slept and had her lunch that she was perfectly happy to spend some time with just Jonathon and Flynn. This was brilliantly timed, as Bron had organised for us to have a facial and manicure... ahhh heaven!!

It was a wonderful escape for us to natter and debrief and have in-depth conversations and catch up - the way we had planned to do initially. You know those friends who you don't see for ages and then, when you do catch up, it's like you never left? Bron is one of those special people, for me.

Having been completely blissed out, we headed back home and relieved Jonathon of his duties. What a champion!

A girls' weekend in Ireland: Adapting when plans go awry

Well, my plans for a girls' weekend with Bronwen had been in the making since the start of September, so for over 2 months I had been looking forward to spending some quality adult time with one of my best friends and her little family, while Thomas spent some quality time with Margaux (and experienced life as I do when he goes away for work or pleasure)!

The schedule was that I would take a plane on Thursday afternoon to Dublin and get a bus up to Belfast, while Maria (my helper) stayed with Margaux all day. Thomas would then take Friday off work, so he would be alone with Margaux until my plane touched down on Sunday afternoon.

All of that took an unexpected turn when Thomas woke up feeling very ill on Thursday morning and scratching all over, leading us to believe he had chickenpox. It turns out he didn't, although he was still very unwell and generally stayed in a cocoon over the weekend.

We discussed various options, including me going as planned, leaving Margaux because she would be infected now anyway, and me not going at all... and then Bron suggested I take her with me. So it was... our girls' weekend acquired another girl, and I was in fervent packing mode to get Miss Maggie organised for 4 days away!

We made it to the airport with just enough time to check in and run to our gate... only to find, once we were through security and customs checks, that the plane was delayed by over an hour. Poor Margaux! She was bored witless within about 2 minutes, so I let her run (crawl) loose as much as possible, even though I knew the floors were filthy.

Eventually, we made our way to Belfast and were warmly welcomed by Bron, Jonathon and Flynn 8 hours after we left home!

And now... a standing ovation!

The girl has got it going on now! As long as she has something to support her, she's up and at 'em everywhere she can be...

... on the beach front; in the bathroom; while I'm changing the bedsheets; in front of her highchair - and of course low tables, open cupboards, lower drawers, trying to climb into the washing machine... it's all happening! :)

A whole family visit on Sunday

We were all leaving mid-afternoon on Sunday, so we took the opportunity to have a joint exploration of our land. I decided to leave Thomas and his parents to do the whole thing in French, while I spent some quality time with Margaux.

 

Margaux went through a few failed attempts of trying to eat acorns - while I went through some more successful attempts of retrieving them from her mouth - before she realised the effort was futile, and instead contented herself to playing with the leaves. Honestly, you can throw all the designer toys and teddies at her that you want, but it was near on impossible to distract her from those leaves.

 

 

 

This is it, in all its beauty. It's ridiculous how much it reminds me of my upbringing, which I'm appreciating much more these days!

 

And here we are, in various combinations, proving that we enjoyed exploring the place together. :) As if proof were needed!

We headed straight from this visit to the airport for some temporary goodbyes... we'll be seeing them, plus the rest of that side of the family, in the last weekend of November!

Thomas and I enjoying exploring our land

We used Saturday to really explore the property ourselves, while Rita and Jean-Paul happily looked after Margaux.

 

 

 

Here it is! It's really hard to explain where everything is in relation to everything else, but it all goes down one slope - the photo with me in it is from the other direction! 

 

The photo in the bottom right shows the land from the bottom upwards. And yes, you can see that stunning castle from our place. :)

 

 

WELCOME TO OUR LITTLE WOODLAND!

 

 

 

Chestnuts! Like so many other things, I'd never really thought about where chestnuts actually come from... and then there they were! We have loads of chestnut trees shedding leaves and nuts in copious amounts at the moment. I never properly understood the term 'leaf litter' before coming here.

 

 

 

There is something hidden in the photos below. I didn't see it at first, I just heard a movement and looked towards it. I called for Thomas to come carefully over and I pointed out where it was. He kept repeating that he didn't know what I was pointing at until I got really quite close.

 

Try to find the animal in the first photo. If you can't see it, go to the following one. I think it's relatively obvious in the third. :)

 

 

We continued on our way and came upon a ramshackle shell of a small dwelling, for want of a better word. In the photo below, I am standing in front of a wall of it. It reminded me of The Secret Garden.

 

We also found a very basic shelter made of branches, which is in another of the photos and which I hope I can find again! I have no idea what its original purpose was, but it seems like a really lovely place for reflection.

 

 

And, at the bottom of the hill, there is some rather large and thorny shrubbery which leads onto a walking path. We carefully picked our way through it, but decided to come back a different way!

 

We have a lot more exploring to do before we can declare the place discovered, that's for sure!

Let the Project begin!

Thomas, Margaux and I set out on Thursday for our first big meeting with all the specialists in Sarlat who will be guiding us, advising us, educating us, and working with us to get our project from paper to straw, as it were.

Margaux and I meet Thomas at the airport, where we boarded the plane to Toulouse. We met Mammy and Pappy there, who were delighted to see Margaux. It was a two-and-a-half hour drive to Sarlat, which Margaux endured wonderfully well – as did the rest of us.

I had a rather nervous moment on Thursday night, full of apprehension about what our work with the specialists would involve, how I would fit in, how I see the project, and – very importantly – how I would cope with it all in French. Thomas reassured me that everything would be fine.

And then it was the Big Day! At 09:30 on Friday Helene, the architect; Moilamain, the Permaculturalist; Phillipe, the straw-bale house designer-builder; Jean-Paul; Thomas; Rita; Margaux; and I met at Helene’s office. We had a very brief hello between us all before Margaux was too agitated and Rita had to leave with her.

 

 

We key stakeholders continued, with a very interesting and involved meeting, beginning with a more detailed introduction of our specialty, our perspective of the project, and how we believe we will be able to contribute. I struggled with the French, unsurprisingly, but Thomas translated where needed and made sure I was part of the discussion.

We all visited the land and viewed it through each specialist’s eyes, which was great for some collective brainstorming. In fact, that’s what the whole day was: a collective brainstorming dump of information.

When lunchtime came I was quite relieved at the prospect of having some family time… only I suddenly found out that we were all having lunch together. All of us, including Rita and Margaux, who were inseparable. Poor Margaux wanted to get out and explore on her hands and knees, but that was impossible. I could see that she was so tired of being cooped up in the pram all day, so I carried her for a meander around the old town.

After lunch it was back to work, this time focussing on the house. We continued to brainstorm and dump, with Helene and Phillipe working to problem-solve and develop ideas for what will become our home.

By the end of the day I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and in tears. It was extremely productive and wonderful in that sense, but the continuous French from 09:30-16:30, the lack of time with Margaux, and the information overload was all a bit much in the end.

Thomas, Margaux and I enjoyed dinner that night at one of the few restaurants that offered more than one vegetarian dish (Sarlat being the capital of foie gras), which was fabulous - both the down-time for us and the food! We were having far too good a time to take photos...

A round of applause for Margaux!

Margaux has developed a couple of new talents recently, including clapping! Sometimes it’s like she’s cheering herself on. So cute. She plays games where she claps and then waits for you to respond in kind, and then continues. She also does the same thing with shaking her head.

 

Margaux is so desperate to stand up these days! She’s got the crawling thing down pat… already I’m running around after her and having to make the house as free from low-standing moveable items as possible. Now she’ll grab any sturdy object and use both hands plus her mouth to try to get hold of it and use it to pull herself up. Oh, the frustration for her! And the gutter immunity…

Unfortunately, if I happen to be standing still and within crawling distance, often means my legs. Then she pokes her head through the hole and sees her landscape from this new perspective. Great fun for her; not so great for me when I'm trying to do the wash-up! Of course there have been falls forwards, backwards, and twisting sideways from this, but she literally keeps getting back on her feet and trying again. What a champion!

 

 

(When I get some photos I'll amend this post...)

Latest Margaux Montage Continues...

The last post was terribly short, so I'm trying to redeem myself and Margaux...

 

Margaux enjoyed some of the last days of summer out on the lawn with a bunch of her toys. She was really starting to get mobile with crawling at this point!

 

 

Some mornings see Thomas taking Maggie out for a walk... I just love this hat on her.
She's so proud of being able to crawl, and she's been demonstrating it endlessly. Look at those teeth!
There is an absolutely gorgeous old fashioned merry-go-round near where we live, which she really enjoys. I haven't got her onto the moving toys yet, but we'll get there. I think it's more my hesitation than hers...
We were at a farewell afternoon tea for a fellow Mum when Margaux pulled this ripper of a face.

Margaux Montage... and about time, too!

Our little girl is growing right before our eyes, so I'm taking as many photos as I can to try to keep these precious moments alive...


But first, though, I found this little treasure from July that managed to escape previous posts... Margaux even manages to look cute and sad at the same time.

 

 

Going from Left-Right, Top-Bottom:

Margaux and Thomas outside the complex where she has swimming lessons; going for a walk on the beachfront with Mel and her daughter, Lilliana; a colour co-ordinated father-daughter team, who crashed at the end of a clearly busy day; Margaux working on her commando crawl; enjoying her new play pen; posing with Pappy and a jester teddy; our little girl, growing right before our eyes.

I'll do another photo update soon...

All roads lead to Rome

The colosseum was the main architectural highlight for me .

I found a tour that included delving into the underground of the stadium, where we learnt all about how the inner sanctum of the arena operated. Fascinating stuff.

Did you know that the colosseum had the same capacity as a modern Olympic stadium and yet, in case of an emergency, could be emptied in about half an hour?

Margaux tried very hard to be captivated, but after a brief teary episode she fell asleep in her baby carrier and slept for the rest of the tour.

Following this, we headed up to Palatine Hill, which was home to all the then dignitaries, and where Thomas got very excited about some fossilised earth.

Margaux, now awake, returned to her extremely photogenic self.

From there it was on to the Roman Forum, however we didn't give this the attention it deserved as we were rather dead on our feet. Still, the majesty, history, and significance of it all held me in awe.

All too soon it was Sunday morning, where we enjoyed (yet more) pizza for breakfast at a local café. We visited the Fountain of Trevi... unfortunately it is undergoing restoration so all we saw was a lot of scaffolding.

We also did a *spot* of shopping for me... we went into a boutique looking at a skirt and I came out with essentially a new wardrobe of Italian-made clothes! I've been finding all sorts of excuses to wear them now that I'm back, because they are just oh-so-gorgeous.

It was an amazing weekend, which I hope to continue some day... we still have so much to explore!

And then I fell out of bed...

It seems that falling out of bed is a four-step process, starting with establishing the height difference between the mattress and the top of the bedrail, an ability and desire to stand up, and the tipping point of the would-be faller...

On Monday Margaux went from commando crawling to standing very unsteadily and with a lot of support. We were all absolutely shocked when she managed to tip herself out of bed - no-one more than Maria, who had lightly tucked her into bed about 30 minutes beforehand.

I hear Margaux screaming, as she often does when she wakes up to find nobody there, and as I entered her bedroom I was staggered to find that I almost trod on her near the doorway. Poor Popette.


Very kindly, she re-enacted the stages for us - leaving the tipping bit for our imagination!

Unfortunately I had to have the flash on and Margaux suffered from the light, hence the closed eyes.

 

As you can imagine, we promptly adjusted the mattress to its lowest rung... hopefully it will be a while before she reaches the height to fall out of there - and that we're more aware that it's bound to happen! 

When in Rome...

We have just come back from the most wonder-full holiday in Rome, which was so awe-inspiring with its history and culture.

We ate, drank, visited colossal monuments, and delved into the wonders of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

But first, I must include the following photo. This was on the train from the airport to the city... what a cutie!

I was so happy none of us is gluten-intolerant, as we focussed on pizza and pasta in a big way! And it tastes so much better in Italy...

St Peter's was so majestic and fantastic. Oh, the splendour of the place! We were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time: we managed to get inside a mass being held... and, as we were some of the first to enter, found seats in the plushy third row! Since neither of us is Catholic it wasn't too worrisome that we didn't understand a word of what was being said; I was loving the ambience of the place.

Margaux, however, was not a contented little Poppette. It was getting on for feeding time, which was hardly appropriate in the Basilica! After much fussing on her part and trying to keep it discreet on mine, we left the mass early and found the feeding area in the ladies' toilets.

It was just sooo cute though, to see her adored by everyone - other tourists, the guards and staff in the Basilica, even the roaming priests would stop and coo at her!

(The bottom left photo is actually a carving by Michelangelo in a little church.) 

 

 

We were eventually joined by Thomas, who also left the mass early, having fallen asleep!

 

 

It was a wonderful start to an unforgettable weekend escape...



A teeth and hair update!

It seems that Little Miss Cuteness has become even cuter! She's now in a competition to see who has the largest teeth and is coming a close third. She's even started grinding hers, which is a particular achievement since she only has four...

Over the weekend she went from one tooth to four. A couple of rough days and nights for Margaux were involved, but the result is spectacular:

When you're busy being as effortlessly gorgeous as Margaux, it's important to take care of those locks as well. Maggie had her very first haircut this week, much to her Daddy's disapproval... he likes long hair, but I like hair that isn't straggly and fine. It was the first of perhaps many (or equally likely not) mother-daughter trips to the salon...

 

Look at that last photo again, would you?

 

Now we're really going to have to dress her in pink so that people don't think she's a boy!!

 

The Long Crawl to Freedom

Margaux is getting to be quite the little wriggler these days! She'll clamber over any obstacle in order to reach her goal, which is usually a wide-open door. For a commando crawler, she's doing very well!

I usually manage to snatch her up before she can venture outside, but it's becoming more difficult to get her in time. And whoever decided that white is the best colour for children's clothes obviously never had kids... I can see now why we were never allowed white clothes when we were young!

A couple of times now I've stepped out of a room and she's managed to get as far as the door... and then close it in front of herself! It's a rather stressful situation all round: Margaux gets upset because she's stuck inside and can't open the door, and I get stressed because if I try to open the door I'll most likely hurt her. Nothing has happened that will cause permanent psychological damage, so fingers crossed...

No wonder everyone calls her a cutie!

The Visconde La Luz Carousel

Through Mums and Tots there is now a weekly happy hour at the carousel just down the road from where we live. It really looks like something from a picture book - and was installed, initially, as an art project and continued to live on long after the project was finished.

 

Margaux wasn't sure what to make of it at first... no tears, but she was examining everything very seriously and taking it all in. By the third spin (first an elephant that didn't move, followed by a carriage that rocked gently back and forth, then onto a spinning thing) she seemed more confident.

There were about 5 other Mums there - plus Gio, one of the newer members to Mums and Tots, but who is a stay-at-home Dad! Valeria and Julie were in attendance with their daughters, as you can see in the top right-hand photo.

When Mammy and Pappy came to visit: Sunday to Wednesday

Sunday:

What a wonderful lunch we had at Monte del Mar! This time it was Jean-Paul and Rita giving us our birthday treat, and it was fantastic.

Poor Margaux was still having teething issues and was upset a lot until she completely crashed in Daddy's arms... such an angel.

 

Monday:

Monday morning I took Margaux with me to training and then we spent the afternoon with Maria Rosa. We met up with Jean-Paul and Rita at dinner, however, where Rita cooked us a sumptuous meal.


Tuesday:

Rita and Jean-Paul joined Margaux and me at Mums and Tots on Tuesday morning. Unfortunately I was in charge of directions so it took us a much longer time than expected to reach our destination. It was nice to spend some time with them in a different environment, although I think Jean-Paul was a bit at a loss for where to put himself!

Tuesday night was a special one for all of us. I headed out with most of the Mums I know here for dinner at Pateo de Petisco, which was great!

The rest of the family spent some precious, purely French-speaking time with our star attraction for Jean-Paul and Rita's last night with us.


Wednesday:

And all too soon it was over! By the time Mammy and Pappy's trip had ended my French had improved dramatically (relatively speaking) as had their English. We all had a thoroughly wonderful time.

Au revoir... until the next visit!