The Grandparents.

This morning,  Michele, Chloe and I popped to the supermarket to get food for this weekend as the grandparents are here to stay. We bought a shed load of bread as her Dad eats a lot of bread. As she's not wrong, my god he must have eaten a whole baguette to himself and I'm sure we've just gone through a whole tub of butter. Anyway, back to this morning. Well we had to find various specific food stuffs as they're quite picky apparently. We picked up some mussels which I love so I was happy to be dragged around Saint-Nazaire to find a decent place that sold them. 


For lunch, Michele and I actually had something lunchy. We had a salad, cheeses, pates and bread and it was lush. We then watched an awesome daytime tv game show that I want to someone to introduce to the UK cos it's fab. Afterwards, I was left in the house alone as Michele went to visit a friend having chemotherapy in hospital. she asked if I wanted to come too but I didn't really think it was appropriate. 


This evening, when the kids came home we played the usual stuff and I occupied them whilst Michele ran around the house trying to tidy up in preparation for the parents. When they arrived it was a tad awkward. But after a while they relaxed and they're really nice people. They're easy to understand too cos they're both as deaf as a post so they speak really loudly. Even grumpy Christoph was talking to me today, maybe it was the wine, not complaining though. The mussels were immense but quite salty. For pudding we had cream with a side helping of strawberries so I feel like I need to go and do some exercise to burn of all the cream. Nonetheless it has been a lovely evening so I'm not complaining. Tomorrow we have the school show and Iola's dance show in the evening so it should be a good day. Bye people! 

Thursday 28th June

It has been sooo much more bearable weather-wise today, thank goodness. Still nice enough to be in shorts and T-shirt all day, but not so hot that you want to live in the fridge. This morning, I went to the shops for a bit of retail therapy with Michele and I bought some new dolly shoes, and Michele treated me to some trainer socks- naughty!! It was nice to see another part of Saint-Nazaire reallly, albeit the commercial side. 


We finished off the Galettes from yesterday for lunch today and I played with the baby for a bit. I skpyed miss Wales herself today for a much needed catch up (aka waffle) which was 'lush'- miss you!! After this, I went for another bike ride and to the mini supermarket in the town to pick up some bits and bobs. I saw a lizard fall off a wall too which was funny. 


The kids came home and we did the usual stuff; games, wii, crying, laughing, tele, trampoline, you get the idea. Tea time finally arrived as I was starving and much to my disappointment, we had potatoes and runner beans with a bit of sandwich ham, god I miss British food sometimes!!! It's ok though, don't worry, as I have a secret stash of crisps and cereal bars in my room in case I die of starvation. I try and sneak the occasional apple too. 


Just spoken to the father too and was really lovely to have a good catch up/ moan about food! Hope the weather isn't too much for you guys at home, I hear there has been some strange goings on today. Byeee!

Heat, heat and more heat.

It was HOT today! And humid, which means it was quite uncomfortable outside today. My sauna room is roasting as I'm in the roof and I don't feel like I've cooled down all day. Nevertheless, we still played outside until we cooked in the sun. I've been with the two little ones mostly today, whilst the others came and went from sports and activities. 


Mael and Lois have been fairly good too thank goodness, just a bit narky when meal times approached. Speaking of which, we actually had French cuisine for tea today and it was yummy. I had Galettes filled with an egg, ham and cheese. Galettes are basically very savoury pancakes made with brown flour or something. Then for pudding we had artisan crepes- which were awesome. So I basically had pancakes for tea and then pancakes for pudding, not complaining though!


Not much to report on today I'm afraid, other than that I've roasted to within inches of my life. Until tomorrow chaps.

NANTES BABY!

Today, I went to Nantes. First thing this morning, on the way to the station, we went to Natalie's house (the baby's grandma) for a coffee and she had the coolest table cloth. I don't like coffee so I just sat and admired the table cloth instead. We then set off for the the train station and I literally just made it on the train, as there are a lot of road works going on in Saint-Nazaire at the mo. 


When I arrived in Nantes, I kind of didn't know what to do with myself so I just started walking, as you do. It turns out, I had chosen the right way to start walking because I found an awesome sandwich place that gave you a free drink with your food, result. That wasn't the only reason though, I found the medieval quarter and a castle. The castle was built a long time ago by some French man (probably with a lot of money) to prove a point to someone or because he wanted to have a bigger castle than his rival. No seriously, all this is likely to be true, but it was the home of Anne of Brittany and it's now a medieval show ground and museum. It is really impressive to be fair, and the grounds too were really something. 


After the castle, I went to the cathedral, as that is something I seem to do in every French city I visit. That too is impressive. It took about 500 years to build and due to world wars, fires and general mishaps, it was only declared finished in 1891 but still today there is scaffolding on attached to it, so even today it's undergoing some kind of work. Then I was on postcard/souvenir duty (by souvenirs, I mean biscuits), and I stumbled across a tourist train. For those of you who know me- I love these trains (land trains/noddy trains). It cost me 6 euros but I got over it as it was well worth it .It took us all over the centre town which was fab, cos it meant I didn't have to find my way around myself. The one thing I really wanted to see was the huge mechanical elephant thing. Weird right? But that is literally what it is. On my return, I went into the centre of town for a browse around the shops and bars etc, as the old town is quite Santiago-y (for those who have been there) and quaint.


By this time, it was getting on a bit so I ambled back to the train station, trying not to be killed by trams on the way (I hate trams), and bought my ticket. I had 45mins or so to spare so I casually strolled along the Loire river and had an ice cream- lush. I caught the train home and arrived back at half 5/6 ish. 


Today it has been mid 20s degrees and really muggy, and I stupidly wore trousers as it was a bit chilly and cloudy this morning. My legs were fairly toasty in my skinny jeans. Whilst Michele cooked an actual meal for tea, I played with the 4 kids in the garden for a few hours (hide and seek, water pistols, ball games etc) which was really nice as none of them fought for a change. Tea was nice too, a chorizo risotto with courgette and onion- makes a change from out the jar bolognese. I also got given money today, which was a nice surprise. I wish I could so you some pics of my adventures today but they're stuck on my phone and can't get them off without using the internet. Soz guys.


All in all, it's been a lovely day and the weather was good too so that's a bonus. I hope to go back to Nantes one day and maybe go to the artistic zone by the sea as that also looks pretty cool. Hope you're all well back at home or wherever you are. Loves. 

Monday 25th June

After eating the toughest bread known to man this morning for breakfast, in the awkward company of another one Michele's friends, I hopped on the bike and took off around France again. Was a bit drizzly but not at least it wasn't tipping it down and it was nice to spend a bit of time with myself, to get over the horrors of losing on penalties. For lunch, we had a weird crab/tomato/rice thing, which was ok but weird- much like all the food I've eaten since I've been here. One thing I do miss, is fresh vegetables. I know that sounds a bit stupid but everything we seem to eat seems to come out of a jar or the freezer. For tea, we had spaghetti and bolognese out of a jar, which I ate cos I was starving but it was still pretty minging. 

This afternoon,  I asked to go to the cinema as I was pretty bored of staying around the house like a lemon. I went to see De Rouille et D'Os (Rust and Bone) which had Marion Cortillard in it (Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in Inception). It was a really good film, but very French, and I would recommend it highly- I'm pretty sure I understood 97% of the film. 

Tomorrow I'm off to Nantes! YAY! Only downside is, my camera has lost it's charge and I forgot the charger so there won't be much in the way of photos. If disposable cameras still exist then I may purchase one of them. Don't fear though, super-mum is sending my charger over so the crisis will be averted within the next couple of days! Initially, I was hitching a ride with moody French Dad at 8am after a visit from the electrician. However, the electrician is no longer coming so I'm catching the train at 11 instead. Not sure what I'm gonna get up to yet but there's the usual stuff to go and do so I'll just take it as it comes and then tell y'all about it tomorrow. Byeeee.

Rain. Again.

It has rained ALL day today- so my plans have been pushed back a day. But, I finally had croissants today!! Grumpy Dad disappeared today (turns out he was upstairs moping around being a grumpy French man) so I was left to look after the 2 little ones whilst Michele took Iola and Ewen to a dance show or something. All was going swimmingly until Mael got angry with me because I was very good at the Wii, maybe I should practice more! We generally played games and took silly pics on my laptop. The kids can be very hot headed at times but obviously I can't really tell them off, but the parents don't really seem bothered which annoys me. 

Currently watching England play Italy, in French and I'm pretty sure the commentators want Italy to win. I, obviously, want the opposite. I won't rub it in grumpy French Dad's face too much or he may ignore me altogether. 

Adventures au bateau.

Me and Iola enjoying the sunshine.

Today, we kind of got off to a false start. I was told to be up and ready for 8am to leave for the boat, but I was stopped in my tracks saying we were gonna go later on in the morning. As I’d lost out on a few hours sleep I was quietly hacked off (as you can imagine) so instead of being hacked off, I just went back to sleep and decided to start again. This morning was kind of stressful cos the kids were grumpy and moody Dad was stressed cos no one was a sailing expert like he is. Any-who, we set off and I was quite bored to be honest cos the kids were being naggy all the time and not getting on, so the parents attention was on sorting them out whilst I just sat awkwardly in the background.

When lunch time came (finally), everyone lightened up and the day got a million times better. We moored up and did what the French do: eat bread and cheese. We then carried on further inland under 2 ginormous bridges which were pretty impressive. I was, however, spoken to by moody French Dad, and he even asked if I would like to help with rope pulling and knot tying-maybe he doesn't hate me after all. 

Mael- refusing to smile so he pulled a face instead.

After a while, we turned around as the day was getting on, and my rope pulling skills were required once more! On the way home, we played hangman and eye-spy and got a take away pizza- which was lush! It was a lot thinner than normal British pizza though, but miles more flavour- still doesn't beat a good 2-4-1 Dominoes though. 

Lois, the little joker.

At dinner, we chatted for quite a while and all the kids seemed relatively happy- which is unusual at tea time cos normally they're really tired. We exchanged photos of family and the kids when they were younger, and Iola did some of her dances for us (she likes to show off). 


I've caught the sun again today, but it's only on my face as the wind kept the temperature down to the high teens. At least it wasn't raining like it has been in sunny Wales and England. Having said this, I wish I hadn't worn sunglasses all day cos I have white eyes and red all around- hopefully that will have gone down by tomorrow!

Ewen

I think tomorrow, we're having a relatively lazy morning, playing games etc. And then in the afternoon, we're going to see Spiderman 289 or whatever the next one is. These plans aren't set in stone so I'll let you know what occurs tomorrow! Hasta luego amigos!!

Iola, Michele and Ewen.

Lizzie

I've been let loose in France!

Today, I caused havoc on the roads of the Pays de la Loire region- I went for a bike ride. It was probably about 10 miles in total but should have only been about 7 as I got quite lost and finished up in the wrong town. And, negotiating roundabouts on the WRONG side of the road with the brakes the WRONG way round on the bike was...umm...interesting.  Having said that, it was a very pretty town with a canal and quaint houses and stuff. Thankfully, this area of France is really quite flat so there wasn't much in the way of hill/actual effort required. It was still very lovely and it was nice to be out of the house alone for a change with my thoughts for a change. 


This afternoon, we had lunch, which I did not like, with a friend of Michele's, who I liked- it was basically a mustardy quiche thing with tuna, and I hate both. With that, we had a salad leaves drenched in a vinagarette. Then they gave me seconds but I ate it all anyway. They made up for it when I was given a chocolate eclair for dessert but still, I could taste the mustard for ages afterwards! I tried to get rid of the taste with mentos. Afterwards we just sat and generally chit-chatted as the baby had plans this afternoon. 


I looked after Mael, Lois and Ewen after school this evening whilst Iola was at gym practice. Mael was being a right brat and he was doing my heading in and I'm finding it hard to reason with him in French. I think because we had tea quite late he was tired and hungry- which is an awesome combination for kids to be in. Never mind, I escaped to my room after tea so that grumpy dad can deal with him! Moan over.



I've just been given news that we'll be leaving tomorrow morning at 8am for a day on the boat! Exciting times, but let's hope it's not too windy eh? Anyway, hope you're all well. A bientot!!

Rain-yippee.

Because of the rain today, my plans were kind of ruined. We went to Auchan this morning (hypermarché) to buy some bits and bobs with the baby which was nice but I've been to Auchan a gazillion times so it was nothing new. Then, this afternoon, I was planning on going for a bike ride around the village/town but as it was bucketing down, so I didn't. So instead I watched a film. 


The kids were a bit annoying this evening, it's been a pretty exciting week for them and it's coming to the end of the school year- you know how it is. We still managed to get a few jumps of the trampoline and games of Dobble (again) in. Even little Lois can pretty much name all the colours in English now, he's only 3. 


This evening, we had tea and then I watched Friends in French which just felt wrong, but I couldn't resist! I have a few 'shout outs' to do this evening; firstly to Dad- Happy Birthday!! Twas lovely chatting to you earlier. And secondly to Franny Pants (who forced me to do this), I absolutely adored our little skype date and I hope you have an awesome time at Liv and Abbi's tonight, even though the Varnsernator has chickened out.


Also, for those of you who live in the dark ages and don't have a facebook account (ahem...ahem), I found out that I'll be going to Barcelona/Catalonia for my teaching assistantship and I'm very very happy! Hope you're all well back at home, and happy longest-day-of-the-year to you!! A la prochaine.

Much a waffle about nothing.

Today has been pretty relaxing to be honest. There's no school on Wednesdays, just sport and activities, but as Mael and Lois are too young to do any kind of serious sport, it's mainly Ewen and Iola who are here, there and everywhere. So, I stayed at home with the littlens whilst Michele drove the others around the country side. We didn't have Chloe (the baby) today, it's her day off too. 


Nothing exciting occurred, we watched tele, played on the Wii, went on the trampoline, played badminton, played Dobble (a million times) and generally mooched around the house. Although, I did meet a French piano tuner today- exciting. In terms of food, I haven't really been experiencing the wonders of French cuisine which is a shame, but when I move families, I'm certain that it'll be different. For example, today we had a traditional French dish- enchiladas, which were still nice but then I can have them at home. 


I'm fairly certain that my French is improving with everyday, as is the kids' English, even though they can only string a few words together. 


Urgh, another thing, we must live next door to the worlds most annoying cockerel that obviously has no idea what time of day it is and so just guesses that it's dawn all bloody day! Glad I have double glazing.


Tomorrow, will be similar I think, we're going to Auchan in the morning and I'm defo gonna buy some after sun and mosquito bite cream cos the little buggers are everywhere and apparently I'm rather tasty. Then in the afternoon, I'm taking the bike into the town/village for a wonder and an explore. 


Just come off Skype with Mum and Jim (Happy Birthday- again) and get well soon little Mathez, it was nice to have some English contact again. Even I didn't really 'do' anything, it has been a lovely day and I've laughed a lot with the kids so I'm generally quite content. Wow, considering I haven't had a very busy day, I still managed to waffle on about something- sorry chaps!!

I found the sun!

Salut tout le monde! Yesterday was pretty chilled out to be fair, just getting to know what's what etc. We went to the supermarché to get bits and bobs and then we went for a little 'tour' of the area and it's quite a nice area I reckon. The baby, Chloe, is proper cute but doesn't do much so she's not that interesting, still a sweetie though. We picked the kids up from school at half 4 and played a few games before tea time, then it was bed time.


Today has been lush! Michele, Chloe and I went to Saint-Nazaire to he beach for a walk and then she had to go back and sort some stuff out for the baby but I decided to stay to do a bit of 'exploring'. The town centre was really quiet but I'm not sure if that's because it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday or what but it was still very pleasant. I went to the supermarket alone to stock up on snacks etc for when I'm starving but to scared to ask for more food! Then I went went back to the beach by myself and did a bit of paddling and walking out along the wall of the port thingy and I accidentally caught the sun quite bad. Saint-Nazaire is well known (apparently) for it's ship building industry and it's evident all over. Currently, a massive ocean liner/cruise ship thing is being built and it is MASSIVE and very impressive. Sadly, because of this, a lot of the town was destroyed during WWII so it's been rebuilt in a 50s/60s style- lovely. The Germans occupied the area for a while, but their biggest punishment on the French was building THE ugliest concrete block ever, in the history of the world known to man, ever. It's hideous but apparently one of Saint-Nazaire's 'attractions'. Just eww. Anyway, it was was a fairly hot day today, early to mid 20 degrees which took me by surprise, hence the lack of sun screen. I looked into going to the Airbus factory museum tour thing but for some stupid reason, you have to book 10 days in advance so that's pretty much off the cards. I still get my daily dosage of the Baluga flying overhead though (for those who don't know, the Baluga is the big whale-shaped plane thing that flies over my home-home several times a day).


At half 4, we collected the little horrors and came back. Iola, Mael, Lois and I played some weird French games on the trampoline, whilst Irwen sulked for no apparent reason, like all 12 year olds. I then introduced them to Dobble. Those of you who know what it is, you will know how much this goes down a treat with kids and it was really good to teach them a bit of English vocab too. They're all picking bits and bobs up from time to time, even 3 year old Lois keeps saying: one, two, three, GO! He's really advanced for his age and it's weird cos he looks and acts like a bit of a baby but talks like a 5 year old. We had a pasta-bacon thing for tea and then the usual cheese board for afters. 


I'm currently nursing my sunburn in my room, watching an American film dubbed (interestingly) into French, whilst Michele watches some kind of awful French reality TV show- similar to Big Brother. As my room is effectively in the loft, it's like an oven so my windows will stay wide open until the very last minute. To sum up (after a shed load of waffle) I've had a great day, and I'm really getting on well with the kids. Sometimes they talk far too fast for me but I can understand them 90% of the time, sometimes with a bit of an explanation attached. Hope you're all well back at home, and let's hope the English finish top the table, above France!! A la prochaine! 

I'm here!!

Well I'm here now in Nantes and the sun is shining away as I type. I arrived yesterday at about 1ish after the flight on a plane so small that they were moving passengers around to balance the plane out. Their house is pretty cool and big and, for those of you who have seen Mon Oncle, it's a bit like that, but more 'lived in' if you know what I mean. Basically, it's really white, modern but not much in the way of character. I have my own room which is pretty big  but quite bare but it has everything you need for a bedroom- a bed. 


The family are lovely, well, except the Dad Christoph, he's a bit grumpy but he's not here during the week so I'm not that bothered. There are 4 kids, Irwen-12, Iola- 8 (nearly 9, as she keeps telling me), Mael- 6 and Lois- 3 and they are all really good kids, as in not bratty and don't make me want to shoot them, which is a good thing I suppose. They're at school at the moment and won't be home until half 4, so I basically have the days to myself. However, the house is kind of in the middle of nowhere and so if I wanted to get around, I'd have to get lifts to places which is ok but then it means that I'm not completely free to do what I want. Each day after they come home, I'm expected to play with them, which is fine as they're really easy going kids, whilst teaching them a bit of English which I've done already. To be fair though, Irwen and Iola are already quite good with the basics and Maile tries his hardest- his favourite English word so far is 'yes'. You've got to start somewhere though I suppose. 


Everyday, Michele looks after Chloe- 8 months for her friend and I think she'll be tagging along on our days out, but that's cool cos she's mega cute. Later on today, we're popping out to the supermarket to get food for the week that I like. Which, as we all know, isn't very difficult but who am I to say no to a food shop!


Weather permitting, this weekend we're going out on the boat and sleeping on it over night which will be interesting! (And yes Fran- THEY HAVE A BOAT). Then, the next weekend, we're going to some kind of show thing that Iola and Irwen are part of for their end of year performance. I was shown their dance show from the weekend and Iola is pretty talented when it comes to dance and gymnastics- Irwen though is still a novice but he's pretty good considering he's only just started out. 


Anyway, I hope England and Wales are treating you all well and I'll get some pictures up soon, when I've taken them. Ciao for now!

Not long to go now!

All packed, now and ready to go!

Hi again. All packed up now and ready to leave tomorrow morning. I take off from Manchester T3 at about 10ish and land in Nantes at lunch time, hopefully with my temporary family waiting to pick me up at the gate. 

Definitely a bit nervous but there is some excitement mixed in there too. My teabags are packed and ready to see me through the next five weeks, along with a few home comforts (Friends DVDs and Smarties!). 

To sum up: au revoir/ hasta pronto/ see you all real soon. My next 'blog' will be coming from across the channel but I will be no less corny than these last 2, don't worry. I hope I'll be gathering lots of things to tell y'all about so  I won't bore you any more with my waffle on here! Ciao for now!!

Pre-departure

Hi! I leave for Nantes on Sunday to start my Aupairing adventure and I'm getting all excited now! With the help of some friends, I've gathered goodies from Leicester and Chester to present to the two families, definitely making the most of the jubilee and the Olympics so it's been quite easy really.


Firstly, I'm briefly staying with the sister-in-law of the second family, I'll be there for 2 weeks helping out around the house with the 4 children. Then, I'll be travelling up to Landerneau, to see Isabelle and Yvon, which is near Brest for the last 3 or 4 weeks of my stay. Whilst I'm there, we'll be spending some time at the beach house in Carantec with Oscar (10) and Lucas (14). The house is right on the beach and there are a load of water sports to try and cafes to chill in.


The aim of this trip is for me to improve my French before a long stint in Spain, but then also to teach the children a bit of English. I'd also like to develop some life long friendships so that I can maybe visit in the future. I'll also have a fair bit of free time to go and explore the regions so I'll certainly be making the most of that! Hopefully the weather will be a bit better en France but then again, I'll be on the Atlantic Coast and English Channel so who knows!