Summer’s here – and we’ve been hitting the beaches

Yes I know, it’s been a while… here’s a quick visual catch-up of what we’ve been doing since last time

Fouras

March saw the start of the summer, as we shared a beautifully hot day with the Dixies on the beach at Fouras, just south of La Rochelle. We had hoped to cross on the boat to Ille d’Aix, but, in our usual fashion, arrived too late to catch the morning boat. Given the usual two-and-a-half hours for lunch, the next boat was going to be too late to give us any time on the island.

So, we stayed on the beach and enjoyed the hottest day of the year.

A healthy school breakfast

We had a special breakfast at Joe’s school one Saturday morning (yeah, I know, school on a Saturday…Yuk!). It was all part of a “healthy-eating” project. The children all went to school for a “healthy” breakfast, and then they prepared plates for the parents.

All good fun! Not quite so fun was the next hour, where I had to sit on a low wooden bench with the other parents taking part in a healthy-eating discussion with two nutritionalists. Confusing french for an hour and a very numb bum made for a very uncomfortable hour!

Carnaval time

Easter time meant Carnaval time.

St. Antoine had their usual fancy-dress parade round the village. This year Joe went as a magician, thanks to some talented paper-craft by Lisa and a very old cloak that my mum made for me about 15 years ago!

Good fun was had by all again.

Another April Carnaval took place in La Rochelle while we were there for the weekend with the Dixies. It was a big parade through the streets, culminating in a performance by the dancers, drummers and bands that had entertained us on the parade.

It was a great day with some impressive inflatable creatures and some really good bands. The local drummers were particularly good.

Fun and games with with the Baudouins

We spent a day with Nathalie, Thierry and the boys. Another beautiful day, we went for a long walk from their house and qround the countryside near their farm. It really is a lovely area and, although I resisted at first, I ended up taking lots of photos.

We finished the day with games in the garden and a wonderful meal. A very special day with very good friends.

Royan and La Palmyre

When my parents came to visit, we spent a day at Royan and La Palmyre, where we have shared many great holidays together.

When we arrived, the weather was a little grim…

…but it soon turned around and we ended up having another fabulous time on the beach.

La Terriere

And on Rosie’s 14th birthday we made the most of the great weather and went to one of our favouite “local” beaches at La Terriere. Another lovely relaxing day on the beach, and Molly & Joe even sampled the sea for the first time this year.

All in all it had been a lovely easter break, rounded off in the best way possible, sharing the Vendee sunshine together.