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.