Oleron Island

sorry if the chronology is bit disturbed on that one...
My mum organised a 2 weeks Holiday in a friend's (Jean Pierre et Nicole: Merci beaucoup!) batch on that Island on the Atlantic coast... for her 3 kids (Melanie Charlotte and Pierre) and their partner and kids. it's not really an island as a bridge link it to the main land. however the best part is that they have developed a wide network of cycling tracks. we make the most of it and bike everywhere, kids on seats, "follower bike" or on their own, the whole crew (14 of us) is going out and about on bikes... being and island it is a flat land...thank god!
it makes our life a lot nicer as this island is a big touristic pole and the car traffic is astrocious during the summer months.
the batch 's got a large pool and all the commodities you could wish for, even an internet hotspot! heaps of rooms, even if the kids have set up a tent for themselves...

Big boys toys

a good friend, Jean-Loup, lent us his toy for the 2 weeks we are on Oleron Island on the Atlantic coast, very light little sailing toy and very reactive and unstable...

My brother Pierre, the bravest!

as he says "so light that it's easy to flip but back upright as well"

look like a pro hey?

after an hour to sep up everything he's going and looks pretty good!

I went as well but refused to go by myself, as the boat can't take 2 persons I dragged my brother as he was telling me what to do.

we purposely capsized and I managed to get back on track all by mylsef!!!! very proud Charlotte!

for the long story it ook us a whole week to find a practical boat ramp on a practical beach... plus a few bit and pieces to buy to complete the gear. we have now just a week to make the most of it.

I won't complained!

Mont Saint Michel

water play to cool down

the team on the way back

muddy muddy...

for those who don't know that place... it's in Normandy, it's classified as world heritage at the Unesco, same as the Kheops Pyramids...

it's packed with tourists most of the year.. so we went there by foot, across the bay as it shows vey clearly on that link:

http://www.decouvertebaie.com/mont-saint-michel/plan-acces-traversee-baie.html

we went from B to D and back in 1 day during low tide, had a pic nic at the foot of the mount and walked back accross, well for the older kids and adults anyway.

that big bay is totally uncovered at low tide, it goes for kms so if you time it right you have all day to get there and back. you do have to be aware of the 2 (sometimes 3) rivers to cross as their depth and strength vary each tide.

apart from that there's very little danger. However the "guides" are maintaining some legends and fear of some quicksands patches and flushes of water in the rivers, the legend and "ear say"says as well that the tide comes bak in at the speed of the horse galopping...all that is very good but untrue... they have to sustain their business I guess.

My sister Melanie has been doing that crossing each year for a while now, my parents were doing it with us when we were kids (by foot or horse back) and I have done it as well quite a few times now.

we are getting sick of paying a guide who is barely nice with us if polite and pulls a face when we start asking questions...

so off we went without a guide but with a bunch of kids from 3 to14, 8 of them and 4 adults.

we had a great time the kids were swimming , through mud, swimming again...until 30 min from the mount, when a guide on our left at about 100m with about 50 people behind him yells at us a few times to tell us that "if we carry on that way we are putting ourselves into great danger, that it's not reasonnable to take little kids and that the rescue chopper is 3000 euros per head, there will be a release from the damn in 10 min..."

Melanie walk towards him to avoid the yelling and say "Hi" and get the same contents without a She rejoins us and we talk about it while keep walking. we really think he is full of s.... but with the littles one we head towards where he advised us to. walk accross the river where his group does, pass his group and walk back towards the mount, giving our crossing an extra 30min that the kids would have spared happily.

as we were walking close to the mount we saw him and his group recrossing the river at the same place and coming towards the mount where we initially wanted to. Melanie and I looked at each other fuming against their lies of danger to pertain their business. oh and by the way there has been no release whatsoever.

apart from that we had a really great day, the kids had a ball and it was so glorious, the photos speak for themselves...

Birthdays Party

Birthday girl, Camille 3

birthday boy, Baptiste 5

uncle Philippe

treasure fishing

Martin & Marco

Melanie enjoying some peace in the pool at the end of the day.

Switzerland

dinner outside

the Leman lake and the french Alps

nice place to be, hugh?

Paris

I'm really not a big fan of Paris in the summer, it's hot, polluted and packed with tourists. but I thought the boys would keep that in mind later on, even though while doing it they couldn't see the point. My uncle Philippe drove us around (in the Paris traffic that's quite a mission) and did all that in an hour! now remember that Marco couldn't walk!!!
for both the Eiffel tower and the Notre Dame there was at least 3hrs in line to get up/in... we didn't even think about it!

no need to describe...

neither that one...

the french Beehive "Assemblee nationale".

push bike station, a green party initiative to reduce the car traffic in town. those are everywhere, you just need a credit car and you're off.

wrong park place!!!

love those perspectives with the trees.

train trip

40 degrees in Paris between trains

Paris Gare de St Lazarre (in the tiny and only air conditionned area)

Paris metropolitain

the bar in the "TGV"

Paris Gare de Lyon

school work

all was booked in advance and planned, first a car trip to Paris with uncle and great grandma, then lunch in Paris, then a quick tour to show the boys the essentials (eiffel tower, Notre dame, Assemblee Nationale...), then catch up with a friend where we stay for the night. Next morning my friend dropped us off in Gare de Lyon and we jumped into the TGV to Geneva.
well it all happened like that but with lots of little problems that made it all very interesting I would say!
1- Marco couldn't walk
2- I hurt my back loading the car the very first morning
3- my phone was running out of credit and battery
4- a big heat wave made a very hot experience...

we made it all and on time and we even enjoyed our time catching up with Ursula and Giuseppe with their , oh so welcome, outdoor 30 degrees pool... and very cool house and air conditionned car!

we caught up as well with our other swiss family, Isabelle, Gaspard and Vincent in lovely old Lausanne that we wnet for a short walk aroud the old pedestrian streets in the morning.

and finally the cherry on the cake on the way back: imagine a friday afternoon beginning of summer holidays in Paris in one of the major train station with 40 degrees in the shade... we were in it! crazy parisians!

thank god for cousin Dorothee and her Mum and sister with who we had a catch up between train in their air conditionned "salad bar" nearby Gare St Lazarre. Like Dorothee said "it's only 2 min walking from the train station". it became a 15 min walk in the heat with 2 very hot and tired little boys dragging the suicases...

by the way the suitcases took on weight in CH after aunty Ursula and uncle giuseppe gave the boys the 2 floating scooters and the water guns to play in the pool....

as I said we made it and we were very happy with our trip...

school gala

the little cousin primary school gala.
the crasy concreted play area and a slide shut because too dangerous for under 5!!! the boys were just gattered!
so Marco decided to master the ball game and did.