Walking Weak

The Semaine Pedestre (Walking Week) in Bourg wrapped up today with a 15 km hike up to Les Arc ski station. Crucially, an 800m climb.

T and I wore our not so little legs to stumps to get across the finish line in 2 hr 25 mins. It.was.hard.work. The sight of one of the runners in the 70+year old category crossing right after us....having left 1 hr later...was um ...motivating.

So I've done all 3 hikes and loved it. There is such a family and community atmosphere. Lots of volunteers manning the various check points, drink stations.
One lady last Sunday looked at least 100 years old. She was happily dishing out polenta and diots (dodgy sausages) from a giant saucepan for the post-race lunch.

Lots of husbands and wives, fathers and sons and daughters doing the walk/runs. Participants ranged from 11 yos to the aforementioned 70-something.

They really know how to make exercise fun here.
The weather helps of course. They would retreat to a cosy pub too, if there was driving horizontal rain every bloody day.

If we stayed, I could almost imagine losing my middle-weight status.

My 40th Birthday Pressie!

Random photo of my 40th birthday present....yep the Tent!
I'm delighted with it. From my favourite shop in the world...Decathlon.
We've tested it in rain and its stayed dry, it's simple and quick to erect and dismantle...although you do need two people to get it down.

We/I had planned to do a bit of camping in Slovenia.(8 hrs drive from here)
But the time is racing by and there is so much to do here that it seems a waste to up-sticks for a week. My sister and friend are coming next week and then we have the Tour de France coming right by our house...look out for us on the telly!

So our third camping trip is going to be a local mountain village, with a few friends and their kiddos.

Stitchs Out

Sonny boy got his stitchs out today..warned to have complete sun block on the scar for a year...just as well we are heading back to Ireland!

Bike Crash, Hospital & Ferraris

Well we decided to do an easy 10 mile cycle on a local bike path with 5 yo sonny on his newish bike (€25 in a car boot sale) and 3 yo Princess on a seat on the back of mine.

It was really a really glorious day.
Sonny was inclined to look behind to talk to me and his sister.
I warned him to look ahead and stay on his side of the bike path.

As we approached a tunnel he turns around to tell his sister to scream going through the tunnel...as he is looking back, he cycles up a rock and then a low wall and somersaults landing on the corner of the wall on the top of his head...I screamed like a banshee, as I saw it all happening in slow motion.

He really landed on the top of his head. Thank God he had his helmet on and I had refitted it before we left as it was wobbling a bit. He would definitely have a fractured skull if he didn't have the helmet.

As it was he left a chunk of his face on the wall and has friction burns on his face and required 3 stitches on a hole that almost went right through his cheek. I have to say I was sooooooooooo relieved that he didn't have a head injury though.

We brought him up to a nearby rafting centre and two different people volunteered to examine him....one seemed to be a paramedic and was advising me to call an ambulance (for transport..its wasn't an emergency thing..honest Granny!) and the second guy seemed to be a doctor.

Dh had cycled home to get the car...and discovered I had the keys....so I had to ring a friend to come get us and bring us to the hospital.

We were seen straight away. They gave him entonox and the a local anaethetic and sewed it up...it was too ragged for glue. He laughed like a drunk right through.

On a financial note we presented our European Health Insurance Card at reception and we ushered right through. This free card covers any EU citizens for emergency care in another EU country.

And we will all live happily ever after...thanks to bike helmets.
(His sister was wearing her ski helmet..yes I'm a tight wad.)

On the upside...
Ds is absolutely obsessed with Ferraris and has never seen one up close in real life. After the hospital we drove back to get the bikes and there was a ferrari club at the rafting centre....about 20 ferraris...he was blown away...and probably still drunk from the entonox!

School's Out

Kiddos finished school today and mammy cried.

Their school has been so fantastic. Sonny's teacher is so patient (tough, shouts and strict) but patient. The trips they have been on are just amazing. I offer these photos (click on the word photo) of their trip to the Vanoise National Park as one small example.

The 30 little blighters are only 5 and they snow-shoed all day from 9 30 to 3 30pm with an hour for a picnic lunch. We saw bouqetin, chamois, eagles, fake marmottes!
Another morning I dropped sonny in late, she was teaching them about rhythm on drums she brought back from Senegal.

Most mornings she had a selection of world music playing, including irish!

In terms of concrete outcomes for the year sonny learned to:

• Understand and speak french well from scratch.
• Write (badly, but his teacher says with computers now, not to worry)
• Ski Alpine, cross country and snow shoe.
• Swim (badly)
• Appreciate nature in the flesh.
• Discipline
• Make recycled paper
• Make natural paints
• Present the above at the County Science Expo in french.
• Understand about their twin school in Senegal and the different plants, dress, culture, lifestyle.
• How to make apple juice from the local farmers

All this on the public education system.

We paid €33 for them to have breakfast at school for the year (obligatory)

Really I cannot see the irish education system living up to this.

I am destined to start every sentence in future parent's committee meetings with ...

"When I was in France...."

Our Tour Du Beaufortain

Words fail me really.
My legs didn't. Training paid off, no blisters.
But it was really an incredible experience.
Nine 40 year old women on the trail, between us, 19 kids and nine-plus husbands, four nationalities and two languages. Amazing. Wonderful. Spectacular. Fun. Smelly. Sweaty. Hot. Cold. Hungry. Thirsty. Dirty. Breathless. Weak. Proud.
Re-match in Scotland next year. I can't wait.

Click Here for the photos.

I couldn't even thank the organiser properly without getting the sniffles. The kids and hubbies ran to meet us as we arrived into town and we had some champagne and a shower and a jacuzzi with more champagne. Then a BBQ at the lead gal's parent's beautiful gite.

Hubby kids and I slept in our tent in the garden.

We did let the side down badly a few times.

The dog poo'd in prominent places which I hadn't discovered, requiring them to be pointed out to me, twice. (She was tied 99% of the time) Their dog was loose but apparently doesn't poo in these places.

All the kids were really really really excited about getting into the big jacuzzi.
So hubby put on princess's and sonny boy's swimmers on and they dived in with the rest.
As they were splashing around I remembered with horror (see champagne reference earlier) that he has molluscum contagiosum and isn't supposed to swim/bath. Aghh. Tried to coax him out but couldn't. Eventually got him out.

Confessed problem to friend...she reassured me that these jacuzzi's have chemicals that will kill anything and I won't be responsible for literally spreading the pox. (I knew for a fact one of the other kids has it too) I felt slightly better but still bad. When I researched it, Dr Google said its spread by sharing towels...not through the water.

In the the morning when dressing the kids in the garden the host saw sonny's skin thingy and asked about it and if it was contagious. I said um, um yes. I think I got a look...and wished for the ground to swallow me up. I'm sure she'll be out with the flame thrower tonight.

Ranks as one of my most embarassing moments. Ever.