France Day 2: Homebound Splashing and a Fancy Restaurant
[Written 18 AUGUST 2014. No Bárðarbunga eruption yet.]
Since our first full day in France wasn’t quite as relaxing we needed it to be, our second day was as relaxing as we could make it.
We basically stayed at home for most of this lovely Friday, filling up the splashing pool in the garden for some water-play, and napping while Emma napped and the big kids computerized themselves.
Around 6 pm we decided we really needed to do something about our non-functioning mobile internet, so we went back to street with the cell phone store. As luck would have it, the store was very close to a restaurant our house-owners had recommended in the guide they left us, so that was our designated dinner-place.
It was only when we arrived at the restaurant in question that it dawned on us that it was a faaaancy restaurant! So, just to be sure, I was sent inside to ask if we could a) bring kids, and b) be casually dressed, and if so, then c) could we eat there, please? The receptionist was quite positive, so we booked a table for 7 pm, and spent the time until then at the cell phone store (still no luck getting the MiFi to work). (23 images total)
Emma has the rather disturbing habit of drinking any and all water she comes into contact with, no matter the source or location.
Anna joining in on the fun.
Bjarki sulking about something or other, probably not being allowed to fill the pool.
Splish, splash!
Bjarki finally de-sulked and got busy playing.
A tickling session in progress.
The outside of the house, and Finnur putting the pool away.
At the restaurant.
Anna at the table, looking proper. Bjarki and Emma got “children’s dishes” and their food arrived considerably earlier than ours (which was mostly a good thing!).
Emma devoured her filet mignon, as long as none of the sweet potato puree was on it, and it was still a part of a large chunk of meat. Seriously, what kid is opposed to sweet potato puree?!
Open wiiiiiiide!! (Ok, two more images of Emma chomping down on a large piece of meat… I just can’t resist!)
And BITE!
Much to our surprise, Bjarki really liked his fish and puree of something.
Thankfully, we were the first guests to arrive so the kids got food quickly, and there weren’t many people for them to disturb. We, the big people, had to wait a bit for our food, and meanwhile Emma started getting very impatient. So Finnur and I took turns taking her (and sometimes Bjarki) to the garden to blow off some steam.
When the adult food finally arrived, I happened to be upstairs with Emma and Bjarki, who needed to go to the toilet. This gave Finnur a little bit of time to eat in peace and quiet aaaand he got a head start, which meant he could take Emma out while I finished eating. Of course, the kids menu came with dessert, so there was no quick escape after the main course. But, finally, a yummy desert for all later, it was time to pay the bill, and while Finnur was outside with the kids, I took a few photos inside.
We sat at the intersection of two rooms. This is looking into the other room.
We had fun talking to the kids about all the fancy decorations in the room!
Finally all outside, mostly still sane!
Among the things Emma and Bjarki did while they were exiled outside was to walk on these film festival award plaques. They made a very satisfying metallic sound. At some point the kids also lay down on them, which coincided with some guests arriving, and looking at them oddly. YOLO!
This is probably one of my favorite photos of the trip so far: Finnur standing still in a sea of moving bodies. Whose children are these?!
Walking back to the car, thanking our lucky stars the French tend to eat late in the evening!
Once the kids were in bed, the cat of the house appeared for some quiet time indoors. Smart cat!
One random image at the end. It’s always fun trying to decipher foreign cleaning products. I did particularly badly that day when I failed at both identifying the soap for the dishwasher and washing machine, but thankfully our house-owners were only a hop and a skip away on email and told us what to use. (Not pictured.)