Some stuff I have learnt.

1. Safety orange is not a good colour for a one piece ski suit. Nor is clown vomit with polka dots.

2. Jumps are only fun when you land them.

3.Singing to yourself on a ski lift earns you some pretty odd looks. Rapping gets you funnier looks.

4. No matter how many times you ask them if they want to pee at lunch children will always insist on stopping to pee on a tree 5 minutes after you ski off.

More signs.

Vincent: .....you know what the funniest thing about Europe is?

Jules: What?

Vincent: It's the little differences. I mean, they got the same shit over there that we got here, but it's just – it's just there it's a little different.

Hehehe....... I had to throw that in somewhere.

The EU might have a single currency now and freedom of movement across the borders but every country still has it's own deer signs.

The English deer is a pretty solid fellow who likes a run.

The French deer is a bit jumpier and he has a smaller rack.

The German deer is a bit fitter and likes to leap.

The Italian deer has the smallest rack of all - he's more streamlined so he can leap for the sky.


The Austrian deer may have skinny legs but at least he's got genitals :p

The Spanish deer has genitals too and he's possibly got the highest leap of all.


This deer is from Japan so he's totally irrelevant but he's so frisky he deserves an honourable mention.....


This is an English horse! Y5 took one look as we drove by a sign and exclaimed "Look out for donkeys!!" Hehehe, he's not far wrong.

A walk in the woods

We went for a hike by the lake. We carried our poles because we've noticed that all the hikers near the pistes carry them and we wanted to fit in.

At the end of the lake we walked through the woods for a while.


We saw some interesting signs. It seems that weird alien life-forms aren't allowed an the cross-country trail and Y1 tells me that it also says 'No leaving kids behind'.

You're also not allowed to carry a manbag and shop.

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...