Well, it’s only three more weeks until Liam starts school, and we’re making sure he gets as much enjoyment out of summer as possible before then!
He’s had to tag in to work with mumma a few times this past week, so in order to give him a bit of fun, he was taken to the Monaco fun fair for an hour after the errands were done. What a great time he had! He won a few little trinket prizes in some ‘fishing for the duck’ games, but more importantly he tried his sea legs on the enormous bouncy castle and on the bungee trampoline! He’s normally so timid with these things, but he really was ready to have a bit of an adrenaline run, and I couldn’t have been more proud! Especially on the bungee trampoline when he asked the man if he could do tricks, and he was spun around in a somersault!
We’ll have to make it back there once or twice before summer is done and the fun fair is taken away.
This Thursday was a public holiday (but not for the Fergusons as we were super busy working away anyway)… but we made up for that by taking a long ‘working’ weekend up the coast.
My client has a house in Port Grimaud, which is a beautiful little fishing villages of hundreds of picturesque little fisherman houses lining the canals, a short boat ride away from Saint Tropez. It’s considered the ‘Venice of France’, and it has an extraordinarily relaxed and peaceful feel to it… neighbors cruising up and down the canals, waving greetings to their friends.
We were invited up for Friday and Saturday in order that I could get an idea of the house, the property, the parking spaces and lock boxes, etc. So that I can manage what needs doing out of season.
What was meant to be a working weekend was actually a weekend where we were all quite spoiled, and other than 2 hours at the end of the weekend, no work was done — although a lot of champagne was consumed instead!
The clients have two boys (8 & 10) who are very well behaved, and were a great influence for our little Liam. On Friday afternoon Liam and Daddy were taken out with all the boys for an hour or so of Go Karting. Liam was just old enough to be allowed in the GoKart as a passenger, with daddy piloting the car. I wish I could have seen that… but the mummies stayed behind to make sure the didn’t go to waste 😉 On their return, Liam gleefully ran over shouting ‘Mumma, I was in a Go Kart and I WASN’T SCARED AT ALL!!!”
Later that evening our hosts took us out for an enjoyable dinner in town, while the kids all stayed at the house with the nanny. When we came back, in the wee hours of the morning, Liam was fast asleep with the boys in their bedroom, and he stayed there all night long (considering that he’s coming in to our bed almost every night in the middle of the night, that was a real treat!!)
The next morning, after a fine breakfast of fresh fruits and waffles, we were treated to a boat ride around Port Grimaud, and then crossing the open water to St Tropez and the world-famous Pampelonne beach beyond.
Liam was quite afraid of the boat at first, as it was an open zodiac with two massive engines behind it… but it didn’t take long before he was perched up on the bow with the big boys, hooting with joy and asking to go faster and faster — not minding the bumps and spray in the slightest!! Mumma, of course, had an iron grip on him the entire time!
Fortunately he wasn’t quite brave enough to give the banana boat a try, but he was happy enough to watch the big boys getting knocked around behind the boat, and he cheered in support with the rest of us!
We all enjoyed a relaxed lunch at one of the beach restaurants, and Liam had a good play in the sea (daddy said he went all the way under the water, and wasn’t scared!!)… Liam was fabulous at lunch, and I think was impressive as being a good eater, sampling a little bit of everything at the table! They joked that he’s the only three year old they know who will happily eat truffle pasta, sushi and calamari… and that we’d better watch our or he’ll have expensive tastes!! 🙂
After lunch we slowly headed back to the house before any of the boys got too tired and difficult — but made a bit of time for the big boys to do a bit more play on the banana. May as well tucker everyone out! Once the boys were good and tuckered, Liam gave the ‘go faster’ signal, and we raced back to port, bouncing over the waves!
We arrived home very late last night, and Liam was quite distraught (a nasty combination of being excessively over-tired, and disappointed to leave such a fun place!!) But we’re all having a bit of a relax today, and laying low. Probably head out for ice cream later in the afternoon. His paddling pool is filled up, and we’ll put out the patio umbrella soon.
We are all so grateful for their hospitality this weekend… and what fantastic experiences for Liam.
Another work week ahead… and lets see what fun we can inject for Liam. Counting down the days for school!!!
