The view from my bedroom window.
Pictures can't really do it justice--it's so much more expansive than it looks here.
The back of the house.
Henry and Alessio at the beach.
Sorry, I can't figure out how to rotate it :)
Well, we're on day 4 of the holiday in the south. It took us about 5 1/2 hours to drive here. Thank god we took 2 cars, so I was able to get away from the kids for a couple hours on my driving shift in the alternate car. The kids were good for about the first 2 hours, but after that they were just fed up with sitting in their car seats so they were pretty whiney--understandable I suppose. Henry's chicken pox are clearing up finally, and Alessio is still pox-free, so they are both in good condition for enjoying the seaside.
The house that Victoria and Ben rented is beautiful. It's bigger than our house in Geneva, decorated in a kind of spanish-morrocan theme. Very tastefully done, and very comfortable. I have a room in the upstairs corner, with my own balcony, which is really nice when I need to get away. The deck on the back is huge, with a dining table, big square seating area, and an infiniti pool with a view of the hills and the mediterranean. Victoria and Ben usually take the kids to the beach in the mornings, so I've had a few hours everyday to enjoy it by myself. The weather wasn't great in our first 2 days here, but yesterday and today are perfect--about 85, clear blue sky and all that.
We took the ferryboat over to St. Tropez on Tuesday, and that was a lot of fun. You should see the yachts sitting in harbor over there--I've never seen so many huge, luxury boats in one place. There was one that was taller than the buildings on the land next to the harbor. Obviously all of them cost millions of dollars, but they were all just sitting there! I guess gas prices are effecting even the uber-rich these days. There is a great open air market there with food, clothes, etc., and then tons of higher-end shops. I really want to buy one of those big floppy-brimmed hats, so I'm going to take the boat back over on Saturday to spend the day shopping and looking around. I'll take pictures of the yachts.
On a final note, I'm reconsidering whether or not I ever want to have children. They even make a vacation difficult. I tend to write it off by reminding myself that this is my job, kind of a working vacation, and I'm being paid to handle this stuff. But if I was Victoria and Ben I'd be a little resentful of the kids continuing to wake up at 630am, throwing several temper tantrums a day over absolutely nothing, despite this beautiful setting, etc. I know they're little kids, so I don't blame them because they can't help it, but it certainly makes one evaluate whether or not the payout is worth the effort and sacrifices...that's just something kicking around in my head :)
Well, that's all for now. Kids are at the beach, so I'm going for a swim in the pool. Talk to y'all later.
3 comments:
Sympathy while you're tooling around the South of France? I don't think so :-)
I'm fine with you being cool Aunt Betsy...don't worry we won't think of you being like Aunt Lynn. You'll be that cool Aunt we send out annoying kids to who lives in Europe.
I guess you are having a rush of appreciation for your Mother and Father and all the sacrifices they made raising you, eh? Is that what you meant about the kids being so much trouble? I feel the love now...
yes, Dad, I currently feel infinite awe and gratitude for what you and mom must have gone through--particularly with the unique challenges presented by your largely imperfect first 2 children.
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