Carriage ride

Our town, Louisville, offers free horse-carriage rides during the holiday season. We went with my college friend, Jenny, and she took this picture with us and her 2 year old son, Alex. Mae's on my lap and Adi's on Dave's.

Europe V. England with the Agnors

We made it off the continent on a discount Spanish airline and ended up crossing central London on the Underground during rush hour. This was probably the most challenging few hours of our trip and I was very happy to have learned from Kara several 'finger play' kind of games to entertain the girls. They handled the crowds and their parents stress remarkably well but we were all very happy to arrive at Craig and Leah's house in time for dinner.














We spent the next few days exploring their neighborhood-- another amazing playground-- and trying to fit in the British meals we'd been craving. Turns out that having fish and chips for lunch and curry for dinner is a bit much.

Mae and Adi delighted in their baby, Charlie, and we appreciated catching up with friends who we've only seen briefly in the last several years.











Then it was back to Heathrow (for the 5th time). Our flight to Denver was delayed for over three hours which seemed miserable at the time, especially because we were on the tarmac, but turned out to be a stroke of luck because the flight was then an overnight for the girls, who slept solidly for several hours. My parents had to pick us up at the airport around midnight but the girls slept a few hours after we arrived home, allowing Dave and I some precious sleep before we were all awake again, reading a stack of books and having a midnight snack. At least this time we knew what to expect and didn't have to worry about waking our hosts!

The two weeks following the trip were more challenging as parents than was the actual event-- along with jet lag, I managed to pick up a cold that swept through the house. Partly because of this and partly because they were in a comfortable environment, it seemed that the girls let out all of the bad behavior they'd been saving up. But it passed and we were always aware that we'd rather have to deal with illness and behavior issues at home rather than abroad!

Now that we've settled back into our Colorado lives, I'm worried that the girls will forget most of their experiences. But it is a delight to hear pieces of our trip come into their play: they ride the train or airplane to London, they go to visit Russia, their cousins are featured as guests and donkeys are commonly (imagined to be) present. They probably won't remember the details when they're older but I know that their relationships with their cousins were fortified and their experiences were broadened. And it was good for us to realize that it is possible to travel, even largely, with small children, although the cost was prohibitive enough to discourage us from practicing this too often.

Europe IVb. France with Lartigues-- the coast

Our flight from France back to England was canceled due to a general strike, so we flew out of Spain instead. This change in plans gave us the excuse to spend the night at the coast, in the Basque town of Hendaye. I can't imagine planning a beach vacation to the Atlantic coast for the last week of October but the weather was beautiful and the beaches almost deserted. (Apparently it is miserably crowded in the summer).






Perhaps not the best environment for a baby just learning to crawl (and apparently, very interested in the tastiness of sand)




But it was the first experience that Adi and Mae have had with the ocean.




And, of course, there was a horse!



Adi asked me to take a picture of the 'little circles' she found.


My favorite color, even better when reflected.


And my favorite view:

Europe IVa. France with the Lartigues-- Pau

Although we met our nephew, Paul, in July, it was fun to see how much he had grown and have him more interactive with Mae and Adi. He had just started pulling himself around in an army crawl (sweeping the floor, Jean-Marc called it) so it was interesting to see them starting to get used to a mobile baby. It was interesting to compare our last visit, before any of us had kids, with this one but it was still fun.
























Pottery studio
We own several piece of beautiful pottery from Leen and were lucky enough to get to go to the studio to make our own. It was a nice cultural experience for us and fun for the girls. As for the actual pottery produced- maybe it's good we didn't see the final products.


















Donkey ride
Just down the lane from the Lartigues, there are donkeys available for trail rides. After a quick lesson for us on how to control the donkey (sometimes you have to pull with 10 kg of force, sometimes with 40kg) and a brief look at the map, we set off. Adi grinned from ear to ear the entire time. Mae had said she was just going to watch but was indeed willing to get on when we arrived. Her donkey, named Po Pa (certainly spelled differently than that) was more stubborn so Dave ended up muscling her around most of the time.

The most interesting thing to me was the braying-- when we passed a pasture with other donkeys they starting huffing until they'd built up enough pressure to really let loose. But Adi's donkey, Nestor, didn't bray. At first she was upset but we explained that he was shy and now she still talks about it.
























Cave
We toured a nearby cave, which was absolutely massive. This shows the ceiling in a region where an underground river filled the cavern.







Hike
On our final evening in the Pyrenees, Jean-Marc suggested we go on a hike.



I was worried the kids wouldn't enjoy it but there was plenty to keep everyone amused.






I went a little crazy with the camera, trying to capture the beauty of the evening sky above jagged, snow-dusted peaks.













The girls stirred up and stomped on gopher (?) holes and were delighted when a group of equestrians passed us.







And it made their day to see a sheep-herder just before we returned to the trailhead.

Europe III. England with the Morgans

After a week in St Petersburg, we flew back to London




















and took the train to Exeter, close to where my family lived when I was a kid. We stayed with Mat & Marie who are friends of the family from that time and now have two little kids of their own: Charlie (the big boy) and Toby (the "baby").




We were running around with the kids too much to have time to take many pictures but we had a great time there. We caught up with Marie's family and explored the River Ex and the Exeter Cathedral. We're looking forward to their visit to Colorado next summer!

Then it was back to the air-- this time on a discount carrier from the small Exeter airport to a garage in Bergerac, France near a runway-- the smallest airport either of us had ever been to.

Europe IIb. Russia with the Coes-- The Finnish Gulf

We took a weekend trip to the Finnish Gulf, just outside of St Petersburg. It was beautiful; again, such a scenic time of year.

The woods




The beach









Ella

Danya


Tima


Sand falls out of your hands when you open them!



Probably Adi's favorite part of the Finnish Gulf