France roadtrip - part 3 'Death by formule menu'

After a wonderful time in Jersey it was time to head back to France. This trip reminds me of our honeymoon – getting back to the hotel after dinner and trying to work out where to head to the next day. Although of course Lily adds a whole new dimension and I won’t lie it isn’t always easy but I think she is enjoying all of the travels. She is still always smiling even when it’s 11pm and she doesn’t want to go to bed (we are generally not smiling at that point). She is a little spoilt getting her own way since we have been staying in hotels on this roadtrip and we can’t really let her cry too much so she has us eating out of the palm of her hands! Plus she has been spending way too much time in our bed but we love it!

Lily is really enjoying her three solid meals a day and her two teeth make her look grown up and it’s hard to believe that she is almost eight months old! She has such a personality and she is very used to getting a lot of attention here – I think it’s the eurasian factor. We even get stopped in Carrefour with people saying ‘magnific bebe’, ‘tre jolie’ and ‘tre belle’. If a waitress or shop assistant does not at least smile at her she follows them with her eyes staring at them with a look on her face as if to say ‘what is the matter with you? Why won’t you pay me some attention!’. It’s quite funny to watch her in action.

We had a very brief stop in Nantes for nothing more than a place to sleep and a stroll around the food markets the next morning. It was all we really could do since it was a public holiday in France – they have more public holidays than anywhere else in the world.

When we planned this trip one of the stipulations was that we stay at a beautiful old chateau and we found the perfect one in Saumur in the Loire region - Chateau de Verrieres. We stayed in the Le Papillon room which reminds me of a brilliant French movie of the same name about a little girl, an old man and of course butterflies.

One of the most wonderful things about this trip is driving through the French countryside during autumn. It is hard not to enjoy the vibrant colours of the leaves drifting off the trees – the drive through the Champagne region has been the prettiest by far.

Since we were traveling mid-season we did not expect to encounter any issues with accommodation and plus we didn’t really know where we were going to spend the next night but in some places it has not been easy to find a bed, especially when we arrived into Bordeaux at 6pm on the Friday night of a long weekend! Luckily we found a tiny room so we didn’t have to stay out of town. I was not expecting Bordeaux to be as nice as it was – it has a huge boulevard with the city set along a river and of course there are all the shops the three of us love…like Zara.

The next day we took a leisurely drive to Cap Ferret through the national park and once again found it hard to find a bed for the night. A few hotels in the smaller places are starting to close for the winter even though there are still loads of people around so we ended up in a small village on the coast for the night.

Michael caught the surfing bug when we were in Portugal and Hossegor is one of the best surfing spots in France. A combination of Michael struggling with a lower back injury and there being no surf he didn’t take a board out. But we found a great hotel with a view over the lake so we stayed for a couple of days.

We took a day trip to Biarritz on Monday. Supposedly it is the choice holiday spot for the Paris jetset now. We weren’t overly taken by the place but it has a nice main beach. Once again we managed to arrive after 2pm so found it hard to find somewhere still serving lunch. Plus all of the shops in France close between midday and 3-4pm so we had a nice stroll on along the beach. The opening/closing hours in France take a while to get used to.

Lily still had a bad cough so it was off to the doctor again in Hossegor – once again we were told she just needs to ride it out. She has been her normal happy self so I think it is bothering us more than her.

Latest stats
Weight: 8.5kgs
Length: 69cm
Head circumference: 44cm

I was concerned that she had not put on a lot of weight since she was weighed in Ireland a few months ago but the doctor assured me that she is certainly not wasting away. She certainly still has those cheeks and those beautiful chubby thighs!

We on the other hand are definitely putting on weight. It’s hard not to with all of those croissants, millefeilles and macaroons. Not to mention the formule menu for lunch and dinner! Even though you know you only want one course for lunch the restaurants all serve two or three courses for the same price as a main meal so you may as well get the menu and we’re suckered in to it everyday! We really should know better.