Today Caroline and Mathias had to work, so Jeanne (Louis' girlfriend) and her father came and took us to the Parc de Floral, which is in the Bois de Vincennes and a fifteen minute drive away (it is in the middle of the park). It is a botanical garden, but with a golf course, heaps of huge and amazing playgrounds, rides, cafes and and attractions such as a butterfly house! So we took a picnic lunch and spent the day there. Louis loved playing in one of the sandpits and they ended up building a garden out of sticks which was pretty cool, but I had to break it to them that we either had to spend the entire day guarding it or it was going to get destroyed... Louis' love of sandpits isn't surprising as every night for desert he makes a château with his tub of yoghurt tipped into a bowl and decorated with jam - trust me it can be a loooong and messy artistic process, but he is always very proud of his creations! I followed the children from playground to playground, so I was exhausted after spending 5 hours there, but it was a good way to spend a day. I also managed to 'go to the toilet' which was quite a walk away and maintain my sanity and enthusiasm by sneaking an ice cream :)

Then Jeanne came home with us for a play in the evening and I got Aurore and Louis fed and in bed (almost!) before their parents got home. Caroline had an appointment after work so didn't get home until late, and Mathias never gets home before 8 but was later that night. Of course Louis and Aurore were exhausted and dopey eyed after three stories (two in French and the wombat one I brought over) but as soon as they heard their parents, they bounded out of bed and were fully hyped up again! So it was another forty minutes before Louis was asleep (another French story and the Gruffalo) after which I went straight to bed too! It was a good day, I spent most of it in the sun and have a nice tan coming along! :)