Day 3

For breakfast, we headed to an unreal patisserie to get some pastries and éclairs. Nothing healthy about it, but truly delicious. It would beat a Marks & Spencer éclair any day. The morning bevvy of choice was freshly squeezed orange juice… a holiday essential if ya ask me.

Oh, by the way, it’s Anna writing today’s blog.

After breakfast, we decided to head to Claude Monet’s house and gardens. We thought we were being smart heading early to beat the queues, but unfortunately every other tourist in France had the same idea.

We had a quick stroll around the art museum while we waited, although Alexander was VERY enthusiastic about every painting he looked at… so enthusiastic, in fact, that one of the workers silently pointed at the “quiet please” sign from across the room. We made a quick exit. He was just inspired by the artwork I guess. Can’t wait for him to start his own impressionist phase back home — especially for Granny and Grandad’s living room walls and sofa.

We then queued for about half an hour in the roasting sun to enter the pond and bridge area. Yano… the one in the famous painting. Japanese bridge, water lilies, artsy vibes etc. It was long, sweaty, and far too warm, but thankfully Alexander stayed in good spirits by playing peek-a-boo with the couple behind us and handing strawberries out to nearby art enthusiasts. Absolutely stole a few American hearts, that’s for sure.

The gardens and pond were beautiful. We took some quick pictures and videos of the bright wildflowers, but Louis was overheating and the pace of the elderly tourists walking in front of us honestly wasn’t helping. I’ve seen mobility scooters move faster. We decided it was time for a dunk in the pool instead.

Alexander had a quick nap in the back of the car, topping up his energy for an afternoon in the pool. After a quick bit to eat — nothing fancy, just bread, cheese, crackers etc — we spent the rest of the day chilling by the pool. Louis and I took turns in 20-minute shifts: one sunbathed while the other caught Alexander launching himself into the pool with absolutely no fear whatsoever. Future Olympian or future A&E regular, hard to say at this stage.

We showered and headed to a bar along the Seine for a drink and a bowl of chips. Alexander actually fell asleep on the way there, so we enjoyed the drink VERY much, mainly because we could sit down for more than thirty seconds without chasing him.

He woke up approximately three seconds after the chips hit the table. Definitely got the nose — and stomach — of his dad. Couldn’t risk missing out on carbs. Alexander happily ate his chips while watching the little river cruise boats pass by. He was absolutely in his element.

On the way back to our Airbnb, we stopped at Lidl to get halloumi. We had grand plans of making a halloumi pasta salad, but after discovering there was no halloumi and a serious lack of vegetables, we abandoned the trolley and headed to a bigger supermarket down the road. Surely THEY would have halloumi…Nope. Not entirely sure why France appears to be anti-halloumi, but it meant we had to settle for risotto instead.

We got home, got Alexander fed, and started getting him ready for bed. Louis was on bedtime duty tonight since I did it last night, which meant I could prep dinner in peace. After about 45 minutes, I went in to investigate and found BOTH of them asleep. I woke Louis up, but less than five minutes later, out pops Alexander’s head demanding Mickey Mouse on the TV and another bowl of dinner. We admitted defeat and just let him chill, eat more, and stay up with us for a while.

Not long after, we all headed to bed and fell asleep listening to one of Louis’ stories… and if you’ve ever been lucky enough to hear one of Louis’ stories, you’ll understand exactly why none of us stayed awake very long.