We are just getting back from Juliette's very first Holiday to Provence (Southern France). Andrew's family has a lovely home in Pont Royal and so we packed up our stuff (with the essential help of our vacuum bags), hopped on the Eurostar and headed for sunshine!
True to her style, Juliette was amazing. The first leg of the trip was London to Lille, France - 1 hour, 30 minutes - piece of cake. Once in Lille, we boarded the second train that was going to take 5 hours to Avignon in Provence. We bought tickets in the Standard Premier cabin to give ourselves a little extra room and we soon realised this was a VERY good decision as the cabin was empty for most of the trip and the seats were big enough to keep Juliette in her carseat in between the two of us.
Like I mentioned earlier, she was amazing even though she didn't sleep a wink for the majority of the trip. With about an hour and a half left, Juliette started getting a little hysterical. Andrew put in some good time calming her down, but with not much luck, so I took over with the "magic bounce" that my new friend Helen (and mother of 3) showed me. Worked like a charm and Juliette was asleep within 15 minutes for the remainder of the trip.
Andrew spent the first week with us in Pont Royal and then Juliette and I spent the second week with his family on our own.
The first week, we went to lunch twice in near by villages and then spent the rest of the time lounging by the pool and eating gourmet meals made by Dea and Hubert! The most unique thing was that we made ice cream (more like sorbet) every single night with all the gorgeous local produce. No flavor was the same even if we used the same ingredients. It was such a wonderful treat!
Most days were too hot for Juliette to be outside even in the shade (found out by Juliette not pooping for almost a day which of course freaked mommy out to no end). So when she wasn't napping in her cool, comfy bed, we were playing in the house on her new princess play mat! It was hard not doing the pre-mommy thing of baking in the sunshine all day long, but my baby needed me inside. It was way better for my skin anyway... that's what I'm telling myself at least!
She acclimated quickly to the sunny, laid back lifestyle getting on her first consistent routine! We went to bed for the night at 10:30 - 11:00 pm, waking up between 4:30 and 5:30, and then again between 7:00 and 8:00 am. This is when I would usually get up, but she would go back to sleep until 9:30/10:00 AM. Then there was a morning nap for an hour, a 2-3 hour nap around lunch time, and then another catnap before dinner. My baby loves her sleep!
She really blossomed while we were there - interacting with all of us, talking up a storm, rolling from side to side (not quite all the way over on her belly yet), and conquering the bath - she loves it now! She watches faces intently when she's being talked to and is batting at her toys. She's got the cutest little personality developing and always wakes up with a smile on her face. It's amazing how much can change in two weeks!
It was such a lovely and relaxing time and a really good first holiday. It's given me the confidence to do just about anything with my mini!
We will tackle our first plane ride next week for Jill's wedding. I hope it's as positive of an experience!
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| Summer Clothes! Thanks Auntie Steph! |
True to her style, Juliette was amazing. The first leg of the trip was London to Lille, France - 1 hour, 30 minutes - piece of cake. Once in Lille, we boarded the second train that was going to take 5 hours to Avignon in Provence. We bought tickets in the Standard Premier cabin to give ourselves a little extra room and we soon realised this was a VERY good decision as the cabin was empty for most of the trip and the seats were big enough to keep Juliette in her carseat in between the two of us.
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| Blurry but cute :) |
Like I mentioned earlier, she was amazing even though she didn't sleep a wink for the majority of the trip. With about an hour and a half left, Juliette started getting a little hysterical. Andrew put in some good time calming her down, but with not much luck, so I took over with the "magic bounce" that my new friend Helen (and mother of 3) showed me. Worked like a charm and Juliette was asleep within 15 minutes for the remainder of the trip.
Andrew spent the first week with us in Pont Royal and then Juliette and I spent the second week with his family on our own.
The first week, we went to lunch twice in near by villages and then spent the rest of the time lounging by the pool and eating gourmet meals made by Dea and Hubert! The most unique thing was that we made ice cream (more like sorbet) every single night with all the gorgeous local produce. No flavor was the same even if we used the same ingredients. It was such a wonderful treat!
Most days were too hot for Juliette to be outside even in the shade (found out by Juliette not pooping for almost a day which of course freaked mommy out to no end). So when she wasn't napping in her cool, comfy bed, we were playing in the house on her new princess play mat! It was hard not doing the pre-mommy thing of baking in the sunshine all day long, but my baby needed me inside. It was way better for my skin anyway... that's what I'm telling myself at least!
She acclimated quickly to the sunny, laid back lifestyle getting on her first consistent routine! We went to bed for the night at 10:30 - 11:00 pm, waking up between 4:30 and 5:30, and then again between 7:00 and 8:00 am. This is when I would usually get up, but she would go back to sleep until 9:30/10:00 AM. Then there was a morning nap for an hour, a 2-3 hour nap around lunch time, and then another catnap before dinner. My baby loves her sleep!
She really blossomed while we were there - interacting with all of us, talking up a storm, rolling from side to side (not quite all the way over on her belly yet), and conquering the bath - she loves it now! She watches faces intently when she's being talked to and is batting at her toys. She's got the cutest little personality developing and always wakes up with a smile on her face. It's amazing how much can change in two weeks!
It was such a lovely and relaxing time and a really good first holiday. It's given me the confidence to do just about anything with my mini!
We will tackle our first plane ride next week for Jill's wedding. I hope it's as positive of an experience!
Great update!! The pics are adorable (love the sunglasses one)! So glad you had a great trip--making homemade ice cream each day sounds awesome! It looks like a beautiful area too and lots of sunny weather! Can't wait to hear what Juliette does next!
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