Today was a lazily filled day, where we meandered along at a relaxed pace. I'll start out by first saying, I'm SO glad I didn't listen to Ava. The tram stop is literally within a two minute walk from our apartment, and since the very first time we rode it Ava has been insisting that I'm "CRAZY" for paying. The previous guests at this house left three unlimited tram tickets that we have at our disposal, but when we rode the first time the other day I bought another ticket that had 10 "rides" on it (which cost about 13 euros). I bought this ticket hurriedly from the ticket machine as the train was literally coming down the tracks, all with Ava in my ear telling me I was insane for paying, that "no one paid mom!" Everything that comes out of Ava's mouth sounds like it's the gospel truth. She's so emphatic that you start to doubt yourself even when you know she's wrong! I stuck to my guns on the tickets though, and tried to explain (to the other kids because I doubt she really listened) that you have to pay for public transportation, that's what allowed it to function and run properly, so even if what Ava said was true, it was still our obligation to pay for the ride we took. You don't just pay when you think you are forced to pay for something, hello ethics 101.
So this morning we get on the tram, and within 2 minutes the tram police hop on--three of them-and they looked serious. They went person to person and asked for tickets, then they checked the tickets with their radar guns. We witnessed at least 3 people in the car getting tickets because their tickets weren't valid. HA, in your face Ava!! Her response? "Oh, I've never, ever seen THAT happen."
Anyway, we took the tram into town, and walked to the huge public park with our picnic lunch. It was a warm day (think the high was 87), but in the shade it was comfortable and there were big trees and nice grassy areas to sit. We had a lazy lunch, and then walked over to the kids' playground area on the other side of the park. The kids played for a bit, and then we happen to strike up a conversation with a couple next to us who were also American. They were super interesting, and huge travelers. She was from South Africa, and was telling me all about Cape Town and how beautiful it was. We also talked about going to Turkey, but I'm still not convinced the older girls are mature enough to go to a Muslim country and be respectful with how they dress/talk. Don't want an international incident on my hands. We talked a good 45 minutes at least, and their two little boys played with Romeo and Gia. Sometimes I feel like it can be weeks, probably more like months at home before I actually meet someone I don't know that I actually WANT to have a long conversation and get to know them better. Maybe it's a mind frame thing too, I feel like most of the time at home I barely have enough time for the handful of people I already know and love, so it seems hard to fit someone new in. Bad attitude though, it's so stimulating to actually meet new people. I want to have a "cool people know cool people" party when I get home...where everyone you invite has to invite someone they know that I don't that they think is super awesome. That would be fun wouldn't it?
After the park we rolled back toward the center, and we just meandered from coffee shop to shopping, to another coffee shop. I bought some pillow cases at this beautiful linens store, and Lucia finally found a sunhat and declared that it was life changing. She's been squinting for the past three weeks without sunglasses or a sunhat. It was all a very slow process. We'd sit and have something to drink because it was so hot, then we'd walk 20 minutes, then someone would have to go to the bathroom, or was thirsty again, so we'd stop again. Nothing happens very fast, in part strategically because it's less likely we'll lose someone walking slow. It was fun though, Bordeaux has endless streets to walk down with cool cafés and shops. It's just a city to enjoy overall, there aren't a ton of "things" to go see (although I've heard the wine museum is cool), and I like that because you get to just enjoy the flavor of the city itself without a lot of tourist type demands.
The day wouldn't be complete without Romeo losing a tooth. He was so excited to have the FRENCH tooth fairy come. Hope she doesn't forget.
We have one more day in this lovely city, and then we'll be packing up and heading to Paris. Not excited to do that drive solo, but at least John arrives Saturday so I'll be off the driving hook once again. In case you are wondering, that's my miraculous tuna salad at the bottom right corner. Big slices of chèvre, lots of olives, beans, tuna, drenched in olive oil. I would say this salad has the total calorie allowance for an adult female for at least two days because that bowl looks small, but it's about the size of a dinner plate--only bowl style. I need some bowls like that at home.
Signed, ME E{lv}
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