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A weekend in the French countryside

Um....

So, I spent the weekend in France, which isn't really something that I say very often. I wasn't really sure that I wanted to go beforehand, and was thinking there might be some way I could get out of it in order to spend the weekend with the house to myself (if only to be able to have a really long, quiet bath) - but I am glad I went and there probably wasn't much way that I could have gotten out of it. We went through the Eurotunnel (not to be confused with the Channel Tunnel...the Eurotunnel is the train that you drive your car onto, and then go under the channel. It runs parallel to the Channel Tunnel, which is what the Eurostar goes through.) so it wasn't a matter of me having a seat or anything on the train - there was however a whole separate room booked at both hotels, and if I hadn't been there, there would have been nowhere to put the kids in the second hotel. Sorry, did I say hotel? I mean luxury five-star French chateau in a beautiful provincial town. Complete with giant chessboard out on the grounds.

When I say luxury, I mean luxury. Finally I got to see what's so good about au pairing for rich English families. I honestly don't believe I would have ever seen the inside of a place this expensive if not for working with the Levis. I can hardly believe I stayed there. The place in Le Touquet was more than nice enough for me - both the rooms had a pair of queen sized beds, complete with a loft, wall to ceiling mirrors, and a lovely shiny marble bathroom. I was pretty pleased with that, especially since the last places I'd stayed in include Generator, the Globetrotter Inn, and some pretty weird hotels with Contiki. (Remember Rome, guys?) But when we got to the chateau, it was something else altogether. Not to advertise, but check out the website. http://www.chateaudemontreuil.com/ We were in Rooms 1 and 3, which are the two super special ones...they were nuts. Even nicer than the pictures in the website.

The drive was pretty unfun, as I was squished between the two kids' seats, but I'll admit I loved being back in France. I'm wondering whether maybe I'll chime in on Amit and Philippa's trip to Paris after all this. France is so damn nice, I really am glad I went, even if I didn't really get a weekend. It was a long trip into Le Touquet, both the kids were pretty ratty. We had dinner at a fish-and-chips-French-provincial-town style place, and I pretty much had to be rolled out the door after fifty million mussels. I also finally got to try snails, which weren't really that bad as long as you didn't think about it. They were smothered with garlic and butter anyway, so I kinda liked it...you can smother anything with garlic and butter and I'll probably eat it.

I slept really badly that night, I had this weird dream that I was back in Canberra but everything was completely nuts. I don't really remember, but it was strange and I slept terribly. Jake however was awake around six thirty, was jumping on my bed at seven thirty, and threatened to steal the blankets at eight thirty. I was probably unreasonably harsh with him about it, but I was really tired, and eight thirty in France is only seven thirty in England, and I really really really wanted a sleep in. It wasn't to be, I found myself in the hotel pool around half an hour later with Jake, Abbie and James. It was cold. At least that one was indoors, though.

After the swim, we headed off to Montreuil, another town a little further south. We met up with some of James and Laura's friends, whom Laura had no idea were coming. Then, at lunch, Laura's parents showed up as well. It was all pretty good for her, she hadn't suspected anything. After a rather long and French lunch, we took the kids to a toy store in town, I bought myself a giant jigsaw to do when I have four days off on the weekend (God knows how I'll get it home..I'm not leaving it behind). The afternoon in Montreuil was really pleasant, but I hadn't seen the hotel by that stage. I ended up only babysitting on Saturday night, as all the real adults had Laura's birthday dinner at the swanky restaurant.

I got lost in the restaurant, because I'm a very special girl. I ate with the kids, but needed to leave to get something of Abbie's out of the room, but I couldn't find my way out of the restaurant. The waiters, happy to try to help, weren't that great on the English, and my French is little more than "hello, how are you, the beach is not far from the bus stop" kind of stuff. Eventually they worked out that I was a dumb Anglophone who couldn't find the exit, and showed me out.

Sunday, I got a bit of a sleep in, but again there was Jake being all bright and early and stuff like that. Oh, did I mention the swim on Saturday afternoon in Montreuil? There was a pool, a very nice pool, however, a very nice OUTDOOR pool. But, since I'm the au pair, I got roped into swimming with the kids again...not only was it bad enough the first time because I haven't seen the sun in nearly three months, but this time it was absolutely freezing, both in and out of the water. I couldn't get out of there quick enough. The whole thing would have been great on a sunny day (the outdoor chess board, particularly) but considering it was only a handful of degrees warmer than London (which is to say, a few above zero) it was less than fun.

The trip back was fairly uneventful, but I have to say I am sick of I Spy...especially when Abbie is better at choosing things that don't exist than anything she can actually see.

I better leave it here, I have to go pick up Abbie and Amani from school...I bet they are both cranky and I'm going to spend the next two and half hours breaking up fights.

love you all
xoxo