We had a relatively quiet week; there is really nothing to report for the first half. I guess it is a sign that things are really starting to settle down for us.
Thursday, we left for a long weekend in Nice, France. We were originally supposed to go over the weekend of Ryan’s birthday in July, but our flights were cancelled because France wasn’t fully open yet so we rescheduled for this weekend.
We dropped the pups at the kennel on Wednesday night and had time to pack our bags that night so we leisurely made our way to the airport on Thursday. This is so out of character for us because our house is usually a scene from the Home Alone movies prior to every flight.
This was our second time flying out of Stuttgart Airport and the first time at the beginning of July was so easy, we decided we only needed to arrive two hours prior to our flight this time.
This was a HUGE mistake! The airport was a mad house! Most of Europe is open to German travelers again and almost everyone is afraid of another imminent lock down so everyone seems to be getting as much travel in as possible.
Because Ryan is 11 and not old enough for a Covid vaccine, we had to collect his boarding pass at the airport instead of electronically, like the rest of them. So, we had to wait in line for almost an hour just to get his ticket. Then, it was another hour to get through security. We almost missed our flight and arrived at the gate just in time to board. We made it to the flight though and one hour later, we were in Nice.
Why were we going to Nice for Ryan’s birthday? When we were going through the process of trying to convince the kids to move to Europe, each one had requests of things they wanted to do. Ryan’s was to go back to “AC Hotel” where we stayed on our France trip in 2017, when he was almost seven.
He remembered a big hotel room, rooftop pool, and watermelon on the beach and that’s what he wanted to do again. We struck out immediately when we checked in because we didn’t get upgraded to a “big room.” Once we were settled, we headed up to the pool which Ryan guessed had been replaced with a smaller pool since the last time. The pool was exactly the same but his memory was bigger and we reminded him he was four years younger when we were here before. Luckily we did come through on the beach watermelon the next day. We were laughing to ourselves the whole day; you win some, you lose some with the kids.
We had dinner in an Italian restaurant. Ryan couldn’t keep from falling asleep at the table but kept insisting he wasn’t tired. After dinner, the kids went to bed and Matt and I went up to the rooftop bar for some rosé and live music.
Friday, I got up early and made us reservations at the beach club across from the hotel. This is the club we had visited years earlier and we wanted to come through for Ryan. The beaches are different in France. At most places, the beaches are more like organized clubs. You have to rent a chair and it comes with towels, music, walkways through the pebbles, and waiters.
We spent the whole day at the beach; breakfast, lunch, watermelon, and dinner. Ryan spent most of the day playing in the water despite the pebbles and Brooklyn did her favorite activity; collected beach glass. It was a windy day with some pretty big waves which gave the water the most beautiful color. It was a great day. the kids crashed in the room so Matt and I had more rosé on the rooftop.
Saturday, I was getting antsy. I don’t do well without a busy itinerary. So, we spent the morning walking around the Old Town and going to the markets. The kids got fruit that they said was amazing.
We stopped for lunch on the way back to the hotel at a rotisserie chicken restaurant Ryan had scoped out on Thursday. It was actually really good and the cheapest meal we had there. We spent the rest of the day at the pool at the hotel.
We had dinner at ‘Le Cocodile,’ where we had eaten four years ago.
After dinner, the kids went to bed and Matt and I had one more rooftop date for a last round of rosé.
Sunday, we left the hotel two hours before our flight and after the 10 minute trip to the airport, I spent the next two hours stressing about missing our flight because of the huge lines for airline check-in and security. Again, we made it in the knick of time but I think this is going to be a trend now as more people start traveling and we’re going to have to give ourselves more time in the future.
It was only an hour flight and we were home by three. We even went grocery shopping in the afternoon. It was so bizarre to start the day in France and then end it at the commissary.
Next week we have some pool dates lined up with friends and next weekend, my uncle and aunt are driving up from Italy.
Gilcrests Abroad 