Three Boys Alone

I travel frequently, so Emma has had plenty of time alone with the boys. Last weekend we did something different . . . Emma went away, and I had the boys to myself from Friday at 9am until Monday lunch. We had been warning the boys this would happen, and I had some ideas of what we would do together. It went pretty well!

Day 1. Take Emma to the train station, and watch her pull away on the TGV. Then it was off to a castle! We went to the chateau of Grandson. I won't bore anyone with tons of pictures of swords, guns, armor, spears... Instead here is a puzzle picture. Can you spot what's wrong with this picture?


One more picture. Boys and knights.


After walking the castle walls (a nervous experience with two boys by myself...) it was time to leave and look for lunch. Grandson didn't have a boulangerie near the castle . . . but there was a truck parked nearby selling roasted chickens and jambon croissants. So we went to buy a chicken. Turns out you have to make a reservation to get a roasted chicken in Grandson! So I got some of the croissants and we headed home. When I got home I discovered Allie and Toby had shredded the croissants and spread them all over the inside of the car. Hmmm.

Alasdair had requested his "favorite dinner" -- pizza, and for veggies, broccoli and cauliflower. So we made some pizza dough then went to park while the dough rose.

Allie on top of the big cheese. He found his way up by himself, and found his way down by himself.


This picture tries to express what it is like eating dinner with the two. Alasdair sits and eats slowly, but making a big mess . . . Toby can't sit still, wiggling, jumping up, sitting down, somehow swallowing.


Then bath and bed.

Day 2. I went back and forth about this day . . . finally decided to just do it. I had been wanting to go for a hike at one of the local gorges. You can take a train to the upstream side, and then walk down into the gorge. (We had done this from the downstream side awhile ago. Emma did a post about the gorge d'Areuse.) So, I packed a lunch, jackets, water. Got the boys dressed, shoes on, down to the train station. In 30 minutes we were getting off at Champ du Moulin.

There's a little hike down from the station into the village, next to the river. You then hike along the river to the pont vert where you start to enter the gorge. Our hike involved walking a bit. Then stopping for a snack. Then walking a bit, then eating more. Then deciding we better turn back. Going back involved walking, arguing over who got to be in front, falling and scraping knees, cajoling kids back up the hill. The train only comes once per hour, so you don't want to miss it! We made it with ten minutes to spare, just enough time for another snack.

Along the river.


Snack. Pizza, yum!


Tunnel past the pont vert.


Halfway up the hill...


The train station is up by the flag...

We left at 9:00 am, back at home about 2:30 pm.

And, once we were home...

Toby fell asleep watching a DVD.

Day 3. We had a real Swiss picnic! Our neighbors had invited us to a picnic, around noon on Sunday. So the morning was spent cleaning since Emma would be back the next day. First up, clean the car of all the croissant crumbs. Off to the car lavateria. Then some laundry. Around 10:30 I decide to start packing for the picnic. Ding-dong! The neighbors are here, ready to go. Also our friends Herb and Vero. Turns out I hadn't been listening to our voicemail... So throw everything into the car and go. This means I forgot the camera. The neighbors lead us in a caravan up the hill to a middle-of-nowhere field, pulled over, and set up a picnic spot. Including a fire ring for a true Swiss picnic. This involves grilling sausages over an open fire, then having an alfresco afternoon. We saw cows, played frisbee and footie, ate food, had a good run around.

Again a tiring day for the boys. A job well done.

Day 4. Mark time until we can get Emma off the train. Quiet morning. Boys were happy to have Emma back. Emma had a good trip. Successful all around!