Our Tour de France 2014

I am so grateful to Jason who insisted we go on a family holiday this year. Usually I plan everything like this but this year I was too ill, and had to leave everything to him. At the time he booked in March, I was too ill to even register where it was we were going, so after my works meal in July when he came to pick me up with the car packed and the kids I still didn't really know what to expect.......

So during family home evening on Monday, we discussed our favourite moments from our holiday. We were all unanimous in our agreement that this has to be our favourite holiday of all time. The main reason for this being that we loved the area so much that we bought a house here!!!

First lay over: Paris, Neuilly sur Seine

Whilst daddy recovered from driving us admirably through the night, from Telford to Paris I took all three children around the city. We took the metro to the Louvre, walked from there to the Pont Neuf, where we purchased a lock to put on the bridge of locks. We then took a batobus and got off at the Eiffel Tower. From there we walked back to the Metro. It was a hot day, but I was so proud of how the kids behaved.

It was their second time in Paris, but they were still so enthusiastic about discovering all the little gems Paris has to offer.

Second leg: Lyon

Because of the busy roads due to holiday season in France, we left Paris at 04:00 and drove to Lyon where we met Aunty Anne-Isabelle. After having breakfast, we left daddy to catch up on some Zeus and went with Jerome and Anne-Isabelle to the Basilique and roman amphitheatre. The kids really enjoyed the view. Eden and took a Mummy/son trip here last year and he enjoyed showing his sisters where to go as he remembered some of the paths we took.

When we got back to the apartment the sun was up so we took advantage of being able to spend time in the swimming pool. The children and a lovely swim and we ate lunch and then hit the road once more.

Third pit stop: Cap d'Agde

Due to the various health issues I've been dealing with, I couldn't even think about planning a holiday this year. Luckily, Jason could and did and rented us a beautiful villa in the area of the Cap d'Agde. The place was truly amazing, beautiful beaches, lots to do and so much unspoilt coast.

Our little villa had two bedrooms so the children got to sleep upstairs whilst we slept downstairs.

The beach was a 10 minute walk from our villa, and it was so child friendly. The kids loved playing in the nearby park.

They also got to watch several games of "pétanque" (boules) at the boulodrome en route to the beach. We had to pass aqua,and on the way there and they loved watching people going down the rides. We promised them that when they were older we would take them.

The beaches were stunning and the kids and I enjoyed collecting shells! playing and dancing I. The beach, body boarding and swimming. We treated the kids to body boards and as Eden found the salt water too painful for his eczema, daddy got to spend some quality time boarding with his girls. 

We also enjoyed some relaxing time in the mornings in the villa, the girls and I painting nails and daddy and Eden reading or playing games.

Church was interesting, mainly due to Eden screaming all the way through sacrament!! Luckily, daddy was on hand to deal with this.

We took them to Beziers for the day as this was close by. When Mia and Ismay were babies we'd come here on holiday with J's parents and eaten in a restaurant in the city centre. We took them all to the same restaurant and they enjoyed eating a meal here.

Our friends, the Lelong family came to visit us and we spent the day climbing Mont St Loup, a dormant volcano and collecting volcanic rock. We visited a typical Southern French village called Pezenas and enjoyed seeing each other again. These children were 3 and 5 when I first knew them. Now look how tall they are!

Part of going on holiday is allowing the children to earn some pocket money to spend. After a week of careful perusing, the girls decided they wanted to spend theirs on getting their hair done, whilst Eden opted for the toy/ice cream date with mummy option. :)

We have enjoyed introducing the children to whole new palate and have been thrilled led to see them trying new things. We have also been encouraging them to help us with dinner by asking them to make the salad. Here are some of their efforts which we are very proud of:

Fourth stop: Toulouse, Toulouse oh la Ville rose

Toulouse has long been one of our favourite places. We go back as often as we can, even if it is just to see this crazy family's lots of laughter was had, kilos of meat eaten and more memories kpcreated.

And home

After a hideous journey home (we were all sick over the weekend and. Iz in the car!!') we made it home in one piece - in spite of several sick incidents!!