Monday, March 15, 1999
Stopover In Sydney, Jet Lag In France
We arrived back in France safe and sound on 9th March after an exciting time in airports, planes and hotel. The short flight to Sydney was uneventful and the children really enjoyed it. Our hotel in Darling Harbour was lovely, very comfortable and we had room service soup and pizza for dinner, wow a big luxury ! My friend Janine who was supposed to come and meet us was unfortunately very ill with a virus and had to stay in bed. So next day I took the children outside and we strolled and monorailed our way around Darling Harbour all morning.
We visited a ship/floating restaurant with real seagulls wheeling noisily overhead, a hilarious gift and souvenir shop with inflatable Australian animals, an ice-cream parlour (compulsory) and the highlight of the day was the Aquarium. It was really amazing (as it should be at $18 Australian entry fee) and I only wish we’d had more time than two hours to spend there. The sheer variety of fish, sharks, turtles and crocs was astounding and there were lots of open tanks where the children were allowed to put their hands in to feel the water temperature and touch some of the more harmless varieties of crab and sea anenome. I loved the oceanarium which consists of a perspex underwater tunnel which we walked through to watch all the fish, sharks, giant turtles, eels and sting rays swim alongside us and over our heads. The sharks have such clean bottoms!!
After that we had to rush back to the hotel and get our bags onto the shuttle bus for the airport. We boarded our plane on time in the evening, but after waiting on the tarmac for an hour the pilot announced a problem in one of the engines, so they deplaned us. They said we would probably have to wait four or five hours for a new plane to arrive, or else they would send us to a hotel for the night. Luckily there were televisions in the Quantas transit lounge, and cute kid-sized furniture for Kevin and Pauline to play on. So I let them run around until they collapsed with fatigue and slept on the floor. At midnight they announced that they had fixed the engine and were ready to take off. I had to get Quantas personnel to help me carry my sleeping children and two huge bags on board. They cleared a row of 4 seats for the kids to sleep on and I got a fifth seat for myself! It was great, the children slept all the way to Singapore (7 hours), so I was able to doze too, and ate a meal in peace.
At Singapore we only waited 20 mins in the transit lounge and then got back on the plane. The flight to Paris lasted 13 hours and it was really hard because the kids were bouncing around, full of energy and I had to try and keep them quiet while all the other passengers were sleeping. I took them for walks up and down the plane countless times and we even locked ourselves in the toilets to read stories out loud! So it was fairly exhausting and we were really glad to see P. waiting for us at the airport.
The jet lag was pretty bad for the first week, we were waking up at 4 am and having a 3 hour nap in the afternoon to compensate. The cold weather was a shock to the system, but the first spring flowers are just coming out in my garden and that’s a welcome sight. We drove to the supermarket this morning and I was shocked to see our little river, the Loing, completely swollen by rains and the melting snow from the Alps. All the rich people who live in mansions down by the river have flooded gardens, and we won’t be able to go to our usual duck-feeding place for a while. This morning I put on my apron for the first time in weeks and cooked lunch, which was rather taxing. I didn’t have the energy to take Kevin to school until the second week, when we were sleeping normally again! Still, now we’re all back to normal and it’s good to be back in the swing of things again.
We visited a ship/floating restaurant with real seagulls wheeling noisily overhead, a hilarious gift and souvenir shop with inflatable Australian animals, an ice-cream parlour (compulsory) and the highlight of the day was the Aquarium. It was really amazing (as it should be at $18 Australian entry fee) and I only wish we’d had more time than two hours to spend there. The sheer variety of fish, sharks, turtles and crocs was astounding and there were lots of open tanks where the children were allowed to put their hands in to feel the water temperature and touch some of the more harmless varieties of crab and sea anenome. I loved the oceanarium which consists of a perspex underwater tunnel which we walked through to watch all the fish, sharks, giant turtles, eels and sting rays swim alongside us and over our heads. The sharks have such clean bottoms!!
After that we had to rush back to the hotel and get our bags onto the shuttle bus for the airport. We boarded our plane on time in the evening, but after waiting on the tarmac for an hour the pilot announced a problem in one of the engines, so they deplaned us. They said we would probably have to wait four or five hours for a new plane to arrive, or else they would send us to a hotel for the night. Luckily there were televisions in the Quantas transit lounge, and cute kid-sized furniture for Kevin and Pauline to play on. So I let them run around until they collapsed with fatigue and slept on the floor. At midnight they announced that they had fixed the engine and were ready to take off. I had to get Quantas personnel to help me carry my sleeping children and two huge bags on board. They cleared a row of 4 seats for the kids to sleep on and I got a fifth seat for myself! It was great, the children slept all the way to Singapore (7 hours), so I was able to doze too, and ate a meal in peace.
At Singapore we only waited 20 mins in the transit lounge and then got back on the plane. The flight to Paris lasted 13 hours and it was really hard because the kids were bouncing around, full of energy and I had to try and keep them quiet while all the other passengers were sleeping. I took them for walks up and down the plane countless times and we even locked ourselves in the toilets to read stories out loud! So it was fairly exhausting and we were really glad to see P. waiting for us at the airport.
The jet lag was pretty bad for the first week, we were waking up at 4 am and having a 3 hour nap in the afternoon to compensate. The cold weather was a shock to the system, but the first spring flowers are just coming out in my garden and that’s a welcome sight. We drove to the supermarket this morning and I was shocked to see our little river, the Loing, completely swollen by rains and the melting snow from the Alps. All the rich people who live in mansions down by the river have flooded gardens, and we won’t be able to go to our usual duck-feeding place for a while. This morning I put on my apron for the first time in weeks and cooked lunch, which was rather taxing. I didn’t have the energy to take Kevin to school until the second week, when we were sleeping normally again! Still, now we’re all back to normal and it’s good to be back in the swing of things again.
Saturday, March 13, 1999
Kevin and Pauline's First Trip To New Zealand
The whole holiday was so wonderful, Mum and Dad were marvellous with the children and never seemed to get tired of their company (like I sometimes do!). It was really heart-warming for me to see how well Pauline got on with Dad, right from the first day she seemed to accept him as a Grandad and enlisted him immediately into all sorts of story-reading, teeth-brushing, playing and rough-and-tumble activities. Kevin and his Granny have a very special bond too. He remembered Mum from her last trip to us. This left me free to go out frequently and enjoy the company of my old school friends. I was quite nervous about seeing them again after such a long absence, but we were delighted to discover that none of us have changed much and we were soon laughing and talking just as we did 15 years ago (and telling the same old jokes!). It was a real treat to go out to restaurants and the cinema so often and not need to pay a babysitter! The most important thing for me was to be back among people who speak my language and have the same cultural background (much as I love France, I just don’t have the same rapport with my French friends).
However, I didn’t leave Mum and Dad entirely on their own to cope with the children, I gave them frequent breaks as I was afraid of using up all their energy before the holiday was over! We also had many many outings together, most notably the trip up north to see old friends. The children loved the farm and the animals, especially the new-born kittens. They thought Lawrie and his antics highly amusing. Kevin even got a ride on Lawrie’s four-wheeler motorbike which was a great thrill. Glennis sat Kevin on a horse but he was terrified and stayed on for approximately 5 seconds, his arms and legs rigid with fear. Strangely enough, at the Karori carnival a few weeks later he begged me for a pony ride and absolutely loved it! A highlight for them was the twice-daily feeding of the orphaned lambs and calf with huge baby bottles of milk.
My friend J. now has four children and a beautiful big house in Hamilton. She always stayed so calm and reasonable even when the children were very loud and difficult, she was a real inspiration to me Her children really looked after mine and Pauline especially fell in love with six-year old Cassie, who took her on the trampoline, played hairdressers with her and shared her bath and Barbie dolls. Pauline followed her around the whole time like an adoring puppy!
Back in Wellington the weather continued hot and sunny so we naturally spent a lot of time at the beach and Karori swimming pool. It was delightful to be able to wear summer clothes and sandals all the time. We also had visits to the Zoo, a Lego exhibition with hands-on games and model dogs, cars and motorbikes, all made of Lego and Duplo, the Lindale cheese farm and animal enclosure, the Raumati chocolate factory, and lots and lots of playgrounds. I don’t think the children had a single boring minute. Mum particularly enjoyed feeding them, as their appetites were excellent. We stayed in good health for the whole holiday, which was a big relief for me. The huge bag of medicines and remedies I had with me at all times remained virtually unopened, apart from patching up the odd scraped knee and cut finger.
As you can imagine, it was hard saying goodbye and leaving again, although we missed P. a lot. I can’t help wishing he could have a career move to New Zealand, even just for a few years. The children are now speaking a lot more English, which I’m very pleased about.
However, I didn’t leave Mum and Dad entirely on their own to cope with the children, I gave them frequent breaks as I was afraid of using up all their energy before the holiday was over! We also had many many outings together, most notably the trip up north to see old friends. The children loved the farm and the animals, especially the new-born kittens. They thought Lawrie and his antics highly amusing. Kevin even got a ride on Lawrie’s four-wheeler motorbike which was a great thrill. Glennis sat Kevin on a horse but he was terrified and stayed on for approximately 5 seconds, his arms and legs rigid with fear. Strangely enough, at the Karori carnival a few weeks later he begged me for a pony ride and absolutely loved it! A highlight for them was the twice-daily feeding of the orphaned lambs and calf with huge baby bottles of milk.
My friend J. now has four children and a beautiful big house in Hamilton. She always stayed so calm and reasonable even when the children were very loud and difficult, she was a real inspiration to me Her children really looked after mine and Pauline especially fell in love with six-year old Cassie, who took her on the trampoline, played hairdressers with her and shared her bath and Barbie dolls. Pauline followed her around the whole time like an adoring puppy!
Back in Wellington the weather continued hot and sunny so we naturally spent a lot of time at the beach and Karori swimming pool. It was delightful to be able to wear summer clothes and sandals all the time. We also had visits to the Zoo, a Lego exhibition with hands-on games and model dogs, cars and motorbikes, all made of Lego and Duplo, the Lindale cheese farm and animal enclosure, the Raumati chocolate factory, and lots and lots of playgrounds. I don’t think the children had a single boring minute. Mum particularly enjoyed feeding them, as their appetites were excellent. We stayed in good health for the whole holiday, which was a big relief for me. The huge bag of medicines and remedies I had with me at all times remained virtually unopened, apart from patching up the odd scraped knee and cut finger.
As you can imagine, it was hard saying goodbye and leaving again, although we missed P. a lot. I can’t help wishing he could have a career move to New Zealand, even just for a few years. The children are now speaking a lot more English, which I’m very pleased about.
