Tuesday and Wednesday brought us some rainy, damp weather and as a consequence we didn't do too much. I think the kids and I did not leave the apartment on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I did go to the store in the morning while Nic stayed home and worked. Although, when I returned from the store he had created a rather nice truck out of legos that will hold Ethan's McQueen car so I am not sure how much work he really did. We were visited again by Veronique (the apartment owner) who dropped off some DVD's that can be played in English and French. The kids already watched Ice Age and Ice Age 2. And I was quite proud of myself for starting up the VCR which included having to connect some wires and for getting the DVD to play in English. We did have plans to go out on Wednesday (while it happened not to be raining) but Ethan rather uncharacteristically fell asleep on the couch at noontime while listening to the Ipod with Gwyneth. By the time he woke up it was raining again so no adventure for us.
Today (Thursday) the weather turned better and so the kids and I got out of the house around 10AM. We were in search of another playground that I had seen on my walk around town by myself. This one was farther away but I thought we could make it. I should have timed how long it took us, but we had to walk farther than the University, but not by too much. The walk is nice in any case and we walked through the mostly car-less center of town, window shopping along the way. Gwyneth went into the Amiens "Claires" and it pretty much looked like home. Here we are almost there .... Gwyneth willing to pose for a picture and Ethan not so much. We were down in the canal area and we quickly learned the lesson of staying on the paths due to all of the canals crossing the area. At one point we tried to take a short cut, but quickly got stopped by the water.
I think we were at the playground around 11AM and here the kids are on the rope structure. This one was more their size. We also had the place to ourselves which was nice. Gwyneth and Ethan started this game whereby Ethan earns "badges" for doing various things. I think it stemmed from the fact that Gwyneth had been playing Pet Society on Facebook and her pet earns badges for doing certain tasks. So there was the climbing badge (which he earned here), the swinging badge, the listen to mommy badge (which got revoked on several occasions), etc.... After they were done with this we moved onto the nearby reflecting pool to feed the ducks. Surprisingly they were not that aggressive although I'm certain they had done it before. They all came swimming once we pulled out the bag of our crusty old baguettes.
We walked a little further and found a picnic spot. Here Ethan decided he would pose for a picture, oh that was because he was going to get a "picture taking badge". We walked over this bridge and ate our lunch on a nice hill that the kids could run up and down several times. There were also some woods nearby that Ethan ran into despite my telling him not too. Basically there were young couples getting cozy in there so we didn't stick around long. At this point Ethan had to go pee and surprisingly he told me so. The nearest public toilet that I knew of was near the cathedral, probably about a 10-15 minute walk. I had plans to do a boat ride around the canals but going back to the cathedral would take us out of the area, so I guess we will do that another day. We successfully hit the toilet for a potty break (everyone went pee) and we paid our 1 euro to the attendant. We decided to head for home at this point, but we would have several more stops along the way.
Our first stop was at this cafe/souvenir shop near the cathedral. I got a cafe (espresso) with some small chocolates. Notice that the kids got the chocolates before I got to sit down and look at the size of the tiny coffee. The kids enjoyed a "fanta". Not long after this photo Ethan said he had to go potty again, Ugh. Luckily the cafe/shop had a potty - well-hidden I must add - but now I know where it is. Knowledge is a dangerous thing. Ethan had to go poop this time and he did successfully. (One thing that happened on this trip is that Ethan has really become potty trained.) Before leaving the shop Gwyneth bought an Amiens souvenir with her allowance and a little help from the bank of mom.
We continued our walk home which included more window shopping where Ethan and Gwyneth both got these balloons. Ethan started playing with one from the display that he found and then the store produced one for Gwyneth which was nice. Of course all of this involved me carrying Ethan most of the way home. I still dared to take them both to the grocery store (the Carrefour) for a baguette and a few other things. Here are the kids in the candy aisle each with their own kid size cart. Ethan mostly behaved, but it is difficult for him to listen and control himself when he is tired. Amazingly he did not smash into anyone in the store with his cart, but it was close. Gwyneth did not forget that earlier in the day I had promised they could pick something from the candy aisle in the grocery store rather than get something at the expensive candy store.
From here we walked straight home, slowly. I was carrying Ethan, the bag of groceries, and a back pack. Once home Ethan took to hiding the balloons in the "cabbage" or the cabinet to you and me. Yesterday Gwyneth was talking about her pet (in Pet Society on FB) wearing a "baguette" on its head. (She meant to say beret). In any case, I thought it was the funniest thing I had heard and I laughed so hard I got the hiccups. I think I had been couped up in the apartment for too long.
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