I have gotten behind in my blogging because we have just been on our first vacation since Maeve was born! With my friend Rachel visiting, we decided to go on a semi-ambitious trip, knowing that the extra set of hands would go a long way in managing our first dual-kiddo adventure. We skipped a road trip, dreading the long hours of a crying newborn and a bored toddler and opted to fly into Bordeaux, France and out of Bilbao, Spain, splitting our time in Bordeaux and San Sebastian. We trained it in between. Overall the trip was a success. Some lessons learned: maybe don't book an AirBnB without reviews, maybe hose your children in bug spray in said AirBnB to prevent mosquito attacks at night, and maybe leave yourself more time than usual to get out the door to make it to trains and buses on time (thankfully we didn't miss any connections, but Pete may have gotten a few grays over the "Amazing Race"- style travel).
Before getting into the highlights of our trip, I have to acknowledge the terrible week it was in the World. It seemed that every morning we were waking up to the latest tragedy. The worst of which hit very close to home, as Rachel and I were out watching Bastille day fireworks at the same time that the attack on Nice was happening. Both of us had moments during the festivities where we were worried about our safety. There was a suspicious man lurking around and there were big crowds and I envisioned something bad happening. I imagined Maeve waking up hungry in the middle of the night and me not being there. It broke my heart just thinking about it, but what is the solution- not to go out anywhere at any time? Where is it completely safe? I try not to stay awake thinking about these things, but its hard not to when cities we have been to in the past two year have all since been attacked (Paris, Brussels, Istanbul and now Nice). We will not stop traveling. Maybe it is counterintuitive, but traveling is my antidote to the sadness in the world.
Enough lamenting and now moving on to our happy memories...
Bordeaux was named the #2 travel destination in 2016 by the NYTimes (though also told by Rick Steves to skip it) and airfare was laughably cheap on EasyJet (some $130 for all 5 of us to travel there one way).
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| Getting ready to board the flight |
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| Maeve's first flight- There was an empty row so we spread out! |
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| Jude looks forward to travel days so he can watch Peppa Pig to his heart's content :) |
Day 1 checking out the sights in Bordeaux on our way to the Public Gardens for some playground time.
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| Lovely playground over the bridge |
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| Ferris wheel time |
Enjoying a 3 course lunch at Comptoir Cuisine. Cheers-ing our first glass of wine in Bordeaux!
On and off showers lead us to an indoor activity- a visit to the newly opened Cite du Vins (Wine museum)- a very cool interactive museum all about wine. Jude was mildly entertained by the exhibits, but was very excited to try grape juice while the adults got their complimentary glass of wine.
The skies cleared and we made it to Bordeaux's number 1 attraction for children- the reflecting pool in front of Place de la Bourse. The first day was a bit chilly and very windy so Jude didn't venture far in. It was a different story when we returned two days later during the start of a heat wave!
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| Place de la Bourse |
Day two was Bastille Day and we did a great side trip to Saint-Emilion to immerse ourselves in wine country. I'll do another post on this later. In the evening, after the kiddos were asleep, Rachel and I went to watch the fireworks set off over the river in front of the Place de la Bourse.
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| Post-fireworks treats |
On Friday we walked all over Bordeaux, stopping to see the churches, towers and town gates.
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| Lunch staples from Jude's favorite place- the Boulangerie |
Maeve also turned 2 months old!
In the afternoon, it was back to the reflective pool for lots of splashing fun with the crowds.
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| Maeve takes in the sights :) |
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| The baby whisperer |
Off for a final delicious French meal. Jude was not too keen to try escargot. I think he had a hard time figuring out why we would eat what was inside the pretty shells we search for. Rachel stayed in with the sleeping babes while Pete and I went to a craft brew bar to end our time in Bordeaux.
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