Final days in France... and on to Dubai!

Following our delightful getaway we had just a few more days in France before we headed off to our new home - Dubai!

Thomas and I hosted dinner for Julien, Magali, Alex, and Quentin, which was great fun. Alex and Quentin also brought their sons David and Arno... you can see Alex with Arno in the bottom picture.

Although a lot of the conversation was obviously lost on me not all of it was. Hooray! It was lovely to catch up with everyone and to see Thomas so happy with his friends.

Margaux had been really enjoying finding unusual places she could sit, (which I'm hoping will bode well for potty training) and I managed to capture a few of these at Thomas' parents' place:

We maximised our time with Mammy and Pappy, including a trip to the market in drizzly Lille, but before too long, as usual, it was time to bid farewell. We left a teary Rita waving to us in the driveway as Jean-Paul drove us to the Lille train station.

And here we were! Ready to jet off to Dubai - and more than ready to shrug off our winter clothes!

Four days in Hardelot

After a few days back in Lille, we three packed our bags and took off to Hardelot, a couple of hours' drive away, to spend 4 days with Marie, Scholastie, Hippolyte, Josephine, and Violette.

It was SO much fun. The kids had a ball together - going to the park, walking through sand dunes, drawing with chalk on the road, cycling or scootering around, making sand castles at the beach... heaven!

It was wonderful to see the cousins' friendships grow even stronger... It would be great to spend time with them more frequently, but alas. For the foreseeable future it isn't going to happen.

I think this post will be better expressed visually, so allow me to introduce Hardelot, April 2015:

In it we have footage of Le Jardin Pour Les Enfants (The Garden for Children), which is where we went soon after we arrived. All of the kids had a ball - playing with each other, on the equipment, and with other kids.

The following day we all went for a long walk through the sand dunes that extend from the township to the beach - where we found some relics of WW2 weaponry and barracks. I can't remember the specifics so I won't post half-truths, but apparently this spot of coast was seen as a potential battleground and entry-point to France; the concrete structures that are still standing (in parts) are a testament to it.

We walked to the ocean and then decided to return via the beachfront, which was terribly windy but great for the kids to run around on. Actually, although there's a little repetition I'm going to include a separate video called Dunes Walk. And I'm including a photo collage. Lucky you!

The next morning Scholastie, Josephine, Margaux, and I headed off to the fish market to buy some fresh sole for lunch. The girls loved spotting birds and boats, and the atmosphere was great. Margaux slept in the car and for a significant part of the shopping expedition, but what she saw of it I think she enjoyed. Marie cooked up a storm for us and we had a delicious meal.



We adults took advantage of the babysitting capacity of one of the teenagers Scholastie and Marie know who was holidaying pretty much next door, and headed out for a meal together. It was so great to spend some quality time with them, even if it was just for the length of dinner.

And, like all holidays, it was over too soon... Until next time, Hardelot!

A romantic weekend in Paris...

For three precious days in April Thomas and I left Margaux in the capable hands of Jean-Paul and Rita, and took off for a romantic sojourn to the City of Luurve... Heaven!

We did all sorts of touristy things but mostly we just enjoyed being together. Together alone. Ahhhh.

Paris has the bike-hire thing going on where you take a specifically designed bike from a bike rack and drop it off at any other rack that's close to where you're going. It kinda looks like this:















Anyway... we used that system to get around the city, which was very effective and quite fun, as long as you avoided the traffic!

I made another little video of our time there, called We'll Always Have Paris, if you're interested in a gander.

Upon entering Le Notre Dame for our obligatory tourist visit, Thomas saw a flyer for a classical concert to be held there the following night... Perfect! It was a stunning combination of 3 soloists plus the organ and a couple of other classical instruments. It was so beautiful visually and acoustically.

A Very Significant highlight though was an accidental happening upon Le Notre, an award-winning patisserie near the Opera district. The food, needless to say, was exquisite, the atmosphere tranquil, and the service second-to-none.

Speaking of Opera, we also visited Le Palais Garnier, Paris' Grand Opera House - and oh, was it grand! Not a franc was spared in making this building the most decadent of its variety, with marble throughout, chandelier-lit hallways, busts of performers or composers... there's too much to describe and I'll never do it justice. Here are a couple of photos, in case it helps...

After three whirlwind days of pure indulgence we took the TGV back to Lille and joined Margaux and her grandparents. Apparently she had been a delight... let's hope that was the truth!

Cousins time!

Margaux absolutely LOVED spending time with her three French cousins. Both before and after our romantic escape to Paris (more on that to come!) they shared some quality time together at Jean-Paul and Rita's place - with Marie and Scholastie, of course!

Incredibly, given the typical weather in the north of France, there was a spot of sunshine each time, so we all enjoyed some outdoor time together.

Hippolyte and Margaux have got along like a house on fire since they first spent time together in Corsica last year, and nothing has changed. They both have such fun in each other's company.

It was lovely, then, to see Margaux and Josephine get to know each other better. Margaux would potter around after Josephine, but often when she (Margaux) started doing something - for example going down the slide face-first or checking out the stones stuck to her foot (in the photo above) Josephine would join in. There was a really sweet dynamic between them, which continued as they spent more time together... read on for more of their adventures...

Unfortunately I have no pics of Violette but never fear, there are some to come!

The three older cousins Loved having a bath together. I'm not sure how much longer they'll all fit in the same tub though...

I'm so happy that, even though we're so far apart geographically, they are able to be together for significant stints of time, sporadic though the opportunities are.