Trip to France Summer 2008

Here are some pictures from our trip to France. We left Friday evening 30.May and came back Wednesday morning 11.June. We drove the whole way which was about 1400 kilometers or 870 miles each way so it was a little tiring but we did it over night so the kids would sleep the whole way. They handled the drive pretty well. Julien got tired of being in the car on the way back but then he calmed down and went back to sleep. Xavier woke up during the drive there and the drive back and just sat there staring for about 3 hours each time and then went back to sleep. We did stop in Strasbourg on the way back and looked around the city. It was very beautiful there and we plan on visiting it again when the kids are a little older and we can stay overnight and really explore the town. We tried to stop in Legoland on the way home as well so Xavier could stretch his legs and have some fun but it was closed. So we went to Mc Donald's instead. Not a very good trade off I know but he seemed happy. I guess we will have to go to Legoland again soon to make up for it.

We had a great time in France and managed to visit all of Thierry's grandparents as well as both Aunts and Uncles and his parents and sisters and Pierre of course. We stayed in both Bordeaux and in Il de Ré and we got to see a lot of France by car. It was really nice to drive through France and see all the beautiful countryside. We were also able to have a wonderful birthday party for Thierry with a lot of his family there so he really enjoyed that. We also visited the Palmyre Zoo in the forest of the commune of Les Mathes, near Royan. That was really nice. Xavier got to pet a baby zebra and we got to see the sea lion show and bird show. One of the sea lions even swam up and splashed Xavier during the show. It was great.

We also visited a couple of Thierry's friends from school that also had kids Xavier's age for him to play with. That was really nice. While visiting in Il de Ré Thierry's sister Isabelle discovered a baby female cat had been left by its mother and we were able to care for it. Thierry's dad even took it home with him to Bordeaux to take care of it. Hopefully it will survive OK and we can see it again the next time we come for a visit. She was only 4 or 5 weeks old but seemed to be a tough cat.

All in all it was a great trip. We are all happy to be back home safe and sound though. I think Julien missed his bedroom because he is already back to sleeping really well at night again when he woke up a lot at night during the trip. I guess he likes to feel secure in his familiar surroundings. We will visit Bordeaux again at Christmas though so we can see Aline and Pierre's new baby girl. That will be exciting.