Grant: We had a great week in France. Our two days in Paris with Jim and Sharyn were perfect as we stayed in Paris at a central city apartment that they had rented for the month of May. Though a bit tight for the six of us you couldn't ' t argue with the location: on the Left Bank a few blocks from the Seine.
Great lunches at French bistros and late night walks with the kids along the Seine are the thoughts that stick with me. Our one night stay in rural France at a hunting lodge (it was cheap and only allowed bow hunting) was an unexpected treat. The setting was beautiful and the couple who owned the lodge were very nice. Dillon convinced us all to try out the bow and arrows at targets after breakfast and we were surprisingly skilled.
From there we drove to the French Basque region and enjoyed magnificent weather on the beaches and no old churches. Needless to say Dillon and Brianna thought they were in paradise. Mary had booked a beautiful flat in the center of the town of Hendaye. Hendaye is a pretty Basque town with very few tourists except during July and August. We had a great couple of days there and then headed by train to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim and fly back to London. It was great to see Paris again and to get a little exposure to the fascinating Basque region. I have to admit even the beaches were nice, but not enough old abbeys.
Mary: The key to traveling with children? Ice Cream! Who wants to see Paris? But, if you can take them to THE ice cream spot in St Germain du Pres, they will walk for hours. The world famous Kew Gardens? Exotic flowers look better with soft serve. After a few days in Paris with Jim & Sharyn (thank you!) of wonderful window shopping and strolling streets, we drove south to the Atlantic coast of France to the town of Hendaye, with an overnight stop in Blois.
Blois is along the Loire and we stayed at a rabbit hunting lodge. No ice cream, but great hiking trails and archery. Hendaye had something for everyone: ice cream, wide sandy beaches, rocks to climb, and a chateau called - yes, Abbadie (sounds like abbey!). And, as the town is located on the border with Spain, many people also spoke Spanish (more practice for Mum). Lots of sun, seafood, and lounging. Back in London, we've been visited by Uncle Rob, Grandma Pat, and Siena from the Hickey clan, and Jim and Sharyn on their way back to the states. Webster families chose London in June, with the Davis' and the King's coming through
Brianna: Don't even think about trying to bribe kids with things such as ice cream (in the background “Mum, the ice cream you gave me for writing this paragraph is dripping”). It totally won't work. But moving on… we had a great time in France and it was really fun to be in the center of Paris. Then we had a nice time at the bow-and-arrow hunting lodge were we had a chance to try out the bow and arrows.
On the coast I saw some of the biggest waves I have ever seen (keeping in mind I have not seen very many). Around 8:30-9:00 PM all the surfers went out to hit the waves. Some of them were actually quiet good. Also we climbed some of the amazing rocks in Hendaye that overlooked the brilliant blue ocean. I touched the water but defiantly did not swim!! Way too cold for me. When we returned to Britain we found that on the days we were gone, they had had wonderful, sunny, warm weather. Oh well, we had a great time with good weather anyway!
Dillon: Well… I must say the trip to Hendaye ( pronounced en-dye-a) was O.K. We only went to one abbey and several beaches. I would give it a 7/10. Paris was quite good. We found a brilliant ice cream parlor thumbs up .
The Guggenheim was incredible on the outside but the inside was just a bit weird, no offence Mr. Guggenheim. Anyway, in Hendaye the water was freezing but I still went in a few times Brrrrrrrrr . There were massive rocks in Hendaye, too, so of course, knowing me I climbed them, only one problem - I was barefooted. OW ! So all in all I liked France a lot (except for the abbey).
Well ttfn Q(“Q) Dillon
