Day 2 –
We started our day with a glorious French breakfast set up by our James Bond looking host (he’s part of the family that owns/operates the chateau). He seriously did look like the new blond Bond guy….what’s his name? Homemade quince jam, strawberry jam, cheese, Brioche, French Bread, yogurt, fruit,….most importantly, coffee. It was great, and the kids slept right up until the time we ate at 9 p.m. Big dent in adjusting to the time change right there.
We then hurried to check out by 11 a.m. and get everything into the car (which is packed officially to the hilt). We hit the road and drove the hour and 45 mins to an area outside Strasbourg where we rented a 3 bedroom apartment. It’s only been two days, but suffice it to say the road trip has already garnered me an awesome lycrical command of all Megan Trainer songs. And before you ask…yes I already tried to bribe the kids to listen to a classic on Audibles. Not. Going. To. Happen.
We did a scout of Strasbourg, but tomorrow we’ll do an in-depth exploration when hopefully the driver (i.e. me) doesn’t feel like I have mush for a brain and jelly for legs. I’m SO tired…I think it might be possible that the jet lag is affecting me the worst--and here I was worried about the kids. Or maybe it’s just that every single thing I’m doing right now feels like more work than it should be and it adds up to make for sheer exhaustion. I’ve got a perma-eye-twitch and it does not make me feel pretty. Going to the boulangerie….should be super easy right? These little towns have no parking anywhere, cars are racing thru, I’m trying to read signs regarding the parking that there in fact “appears” to be available (I still remember the ticket we got last time we were in France….that thing showed up 6 months after our return courtesy of Hertz who felt obliged to turn us in when questioned by the local authorities of some small town where we parked in a space that was illegal (the sign said what??). Expensive parking spot.
Driving so far has been stressful. Getting use to the stick shift again (thanks dad for making sure I had this wonderful and long forgotten skill called manual driving). Everyone drives fast, and aggressive here, and on the freeways passing is a bloodsport. Seriously, I’ll linger in the left lane for a moment too long and some car is right up by butt in two seconds. Everyone is a professional race car driver and everyone is driving a tiny rollerskate sized car that zips around WAY too fast. When I picked up our car at the rental place the guy told me THREE times to keep the emergency kit in the FRONT passenger area—not the back—FRONT. So seemingly when, not if, I get in an accident, I’ll have the stuff handy and “not in the back where it might not be accessible”. Huh? You mean because half my car will be crunched?? Not reassuring.
The kids are easier to travel with in general this time, although Ava and Lucia in general aren’t easier in many ways. I think Romeo and Gia are easier, Ava & Lucia are harder, but Romeo and Gia are “more” easier…so overall it’s better. Ava and Lucia are just demanding, the fear of not being able to keep their “story” alive on snap chat is a deep, all encompassing fear. I’m not joking, we were literally still pushing our bags out of customs and Ava said “mommy, the internet isn’t working on my phone, can you fix it?”. That makes it sound like she asked nicer than she did.
I wore two things Hard Tail today....my black linen slouchy Hard Tail cargos today (which I'm in love with, they are so easy, light and comfortable). I ALSO wore my Hard Tail running capris--yes, you heard me right--I went on a short run after dinner to keep on my 1/2 marathon training schedule (run isn't until September...it's a slow training schedule for novices). I actually RAN...and let me tell you, it did not feel easy. Figured if I fell off the training schedule wagon, I might never get back on though. John asked me at around 7 p.m. if I was going to do my run today (he's training with me) and up until that point I can honestly say I never even thought about running. I rallied though, and I'm pretty proud of myself for it. Tomorrow is a longer run though, we'll see if I can actually muster up enough energy for more.
Signed, ME {lv}
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