Etretat

Our last holiday stop off was Etretat, also in Normandy. What a pictoresque town. It was beautiful and we had an amazing few days there too.

The beach close to our hotel wasn't much good for swimming but the pebbles provided a lot of entertainment and the view of the cliffs, which ever direction you look in, is spectacular.

Cheeeeeeeeeeeese!

The cliffs of Etretat were painted by Monet...

Dylan and Marko ventured up the cliffs one evening. Here is Dylan striking a pose at the top.

 And another...

and another!

 The view from the top

We did manage to find a small beach nearby with a bit of sand which meant we could swim again...and make sand castles, and run about and splash,

 and of course mix up 'vieze drankjes'.

Time to dry off. 

The playground at the beach was worth a few visits too.

the beach at Arromanches

Our first summer holiday beach stop off was Arromanches in Normandy. A lovely, big, flat, sandy beach. At least at low tide. At high tide there wasn't much of a beach left at all!

Here the boys are checking out the beach on the afternoon we arrived there.

In for a swim the next day!

The water wasn't very warm!

Ah, that's better.

Dylan couldn't get enough of the water.

Luckily, he had a partner in crime.

We kept it dry.

Football to warm up.

We visited the beach every day and the boys kept themselves busy.

Lots of hard work!

Dylan takes charge...

We need to stop the water taking over the beach!

Lots of play!

Lots of swimming.

We loved the sand and the water! Luckily our next stop off was also near the beach!

camping

It seems that (almost) everyone we know, with children, goes camping, so we decided to give it a try... I found a small farm camping in Brittany. They had a fully equipped tent available. So off we went for the first week of our holiday. Now I understand why people with (young) children go camping. It's so easy! It's so much fun! And the best part of all... as a parent you get to relax! Anyway here are (quite) a few photos from our farm visit. The boys loved all of it!

Our accommodation

The boys loved having their own rooms

Lazing outside the tent

Just being silly

Asleep? I don't think so!

Every morning the boys fetched breakfast from the farmhouse

Travis took his job very seriously!

I did say every morning!

The boys helped collect eggs and feed the animals every day as well. Travis LOVED the pigs.

Neither of them dared to pat the horses.

On our way out for a walk... past the tractor,

down the road,

and around the farm where we picked mulberries and followed butterflies.

The football goals where outside our tent. Dylan couldn't have been happier!To add to his joy, every evening every one joined in a big game of football. He made loads of friends there and was so sad to leave that he ended up in tears!

Travis tried his hand at... Tennis? Hockey?

Cool!

It's amazing how much fun a tractor can provide.

The boys first words every morning were 'buiten spelen'. They really enjoyed being outside all day even though the weather wasn't great. We will definitely do this again sometime but I think we will stick with the easy option of the ready standing, fully equipped, made-up beds tent.

hello!

I know it's been a while but I am slowly working my way through photos from before and during the holiday. Hopefully a blog post or 2 to follow shortly.

In the meantime my favourite photo, of the boys together, from our summer holiday! (Etretat, France)