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