Il pluet comme une vache que pisse!!

Rain, rain go away come again another day. Preferably in summer when I'm not trying to ski.

Nimes

We stopped for a night at Nimes and liked it so much we made it two.

It has a double decker merry-go-round.....

and an odd fountain with a crocodile (or maybe an alligator, I'm not really clear on the difference). They have the picture of the crocodile chained to the palm on all the street posts.


There's also a 2000 year old arena that is still in use. The amphitheatre was amazing. Whoever researched and wrote the audio-guide thingummy-bob did an amazing job. I learnt oodles about Nimes, the Roman occupation of Gaul and gladiators. For a history nut like me it's a great way to spend a morning.

Holy Toledo

We stopped in Toledo on our way back to France. We didn't have much time to look around which is a shame.


We made a boat with an old paper bag and launched it in the river. I felt bad about the litter but rationalised it by deciding that biodegradable brown paper in a muddy river is pretty much invisible. It survived a goose attack but sank at the rapids. I have a sneaky plan to make another one far away and chuck it in a stream when the boys are looking the other way and then see if I can trick them into believing it sailed all the way from Spain.

More photos.....

My boys have started to demand access to the phone to take photos.

Bee at the Prado with finger. Taken by I3.

Granada with finger. Taken by I3.


Waterdrops. Taken by I3.

Tree and fence. Taken by Y5.

The view from the backseat. Taken by Y5.

A chain. Taken by Y5.

Roxy Sexy

Because nothing says erotic like a plastic cow with realistic udder veins does?!

Granada

I3 was really excited about going to Granada when he found out that it had a pomegranate on its coat of arms. I've never known anyone who loves pomegranates like that boy does. Unfortunately for him we arrived on a Saturday night and the fruit shop didn't open until Monday so he spent most of Sunday nagging us about the 'vommygranite shop'.
We visited the Alhambra. Bee loved it but I was a bit underwhelmed, maybe because there wasn't much in the way of signage or information I found it hard to imagine it back in the day. The boys loved the water features in the gardens they would have loved them even more in summer when I would have let them splash about a bit.

This is one of the rulers of the Alhambra. The kitties own the place (and it kinda smells of cat).



My little man tripped up a few times on the cobble stones. After a nasty tumble we had to go to the first aid station where a paramedic applied a band-aid and sympathy.

Madrid

Chocolate con churros - a.ka. a heart attack on a plate served up with hot chocolate so thick you couldn't drink it. We couldn't finish it.

Y5 and I3 outside the Prado. Taking the boys to a museum is always a challenge but in Madrid they were kind enough to allow us to see most of the Goyas, an exhibition of Dutch painters and The Garden of Earthly Delights and The Triumph of Death.



Y5 posing in the Plaza Mayor. Y5 sees a camera and strikes a pose....... he's the oddest odd-bod I have ever met. He got it from his mama hehehehe...

On the road.

We did a lot of driving in Spain. Barcelona to Madrid, Madrid to Granada, back to Toledo and then to Bayonne on the coast of France.

Yasin gave this roadhouse the thumbs-up.

Barcelona

We went to Spain for a while.

In Barcelona I3 wanted to ride the bus. So we did.

It didn't take long for the novelty to wear off.



We looked at lots of Gaudi's work and took some photos....

but not as many as 'photoman'. This guy was the master of indiscriminate photography, nothing was too boring for his lens, not even 1980's red-box architecture. I was worried that we would end up with his brains splatted all over us but luckily his trusty assistant kept him appraised of upcoming obstacles and held him by the belt to keep him safe from unexpected bumping and braking.

Whilst obviously I could never hope to emulate him I was inspired to take a photo of a starbucks! I have no idea why there are so many Starbucks in Spain when their coffee is so good.

I'm not sure why the council chose to decorate with cabbages either but it looked good and edible streetscapes seem like a good idea to me.

Kabul

We got lost and ended up in Kabul.
Huh?

Mountain boy

It comes in a bottle??!!

Freshies

Bee on his favourite run.

Tycoon?!

"Mummy which drawing do you like best?"
"That one"
"OK, you can have it for thirty dollars."

WTF?!

"Mummy we're making toys with the play doh."
"Look what I made, it's a fox."
"We can take it to shop later and sell it to the other kids who need to buy toys"

Huh?!

Roadhouses

Personally I prefer Italian cooking to French but when it comes to roadhouses the Germans, Swiss and Austrians have it all over the French and the Italians.



Soups, awesome juices, grills, veges, fresh breads, espresso, hot chocolate and barely a chip in sight.
Mmmmmm....... I feel hungry just thinking about it.