living in a postcard-some people actually do it!

if you're going to be a monk, this is the place to do it. Sénanque Abbey. 
Click this to have a peak at their daily schedule. (up at 4:10a!) at least now i know that when the kids get me up before the crack of dawn, somewhere at the abbey, i have some morning friends-albeit in a different time zone, but good company nontheless.

i like to call this one, "if you make us take one more picture...!"

one day, i'd like to go back for a tour. for now, i'll settle for some playtime around the lavender and a visit to the gift shop for a lavender scented calendar and lavender infused mustard-sounds weird, but seriously tasty!

absolute friendship at the arena in arles.

the storming of the dungeon!
the hunt for toothless continues!

 after some serious dungeon storming, the grownups needed to do a little wine tasting in a cave. hey man, searching for dragons in a medieval castle is serious physical work!

and a little french-grape-juice-souvenir to make mama smile.

sunday afternoon provincial market scores!

we got to spend our first sunday in provence at the isle sur la sorgue market. 

after cruising the veggies stands (and grabbing some delicious carrots-i mean my kids ate them! they had to be good!) wy buddied-up with the flower girl and she gave him a 2 for 1 lavender deal (made him very happy!) after that, we stumbled upon a wine bar (and that made p and i very happy). it was a good afternoon.

post-market feast.

besties in provence 

nighty-night.

biarritz

home sweet, biarritz, home

our delicious corner bakery in the St. Charles Quarter (oldest neighborhood in biarritz)
best baguette sandwiches and peach tarts. if my jeans are a bit tight right now...this is the culprit! Whaa! right?

baths, pjs, and...well...donuts! embrace the jet-lag, we say!
you gotta live!

cool kid

happy lady

wooden shutters, beautiful chimneys, and wrought iron balconies-serious architectural eye-candy! can you even imagine if your apartment were directly above a bakery? 

(not as dangerous as it looks. at least, that's what p told me...)

my sweet chevalier!

i miss this kitchen window.

couldn't resist! it was the radishes!

enjoying the view from our home.
this balcony looked out over the beautiful tiled roofs of the st. charles quarter. and yes, i miss it!

we actually got to have lunch at a cafe one afternoon (this was a biiig deal you see, as our children-how shall we say, haven't quite learned the art of dining out as of yet. so, they played on the gazebo with some French Tween Girls, while Pete and I enjoyed a bite to eat. It was heaven!)

my sweet little tree-hugger

"when i'm a grown-up, i'm going to surf with daddy."

the grande plage.
it became our nightly ritual to walk down here and take a little family stroll down the boardwalk, before heading back home for din-din. one evening, both the kids passed out in their strollers and we were able to sit down and have a glass of wine. heaven i tell you.

san sebastian, spain

soaring to great neo-gothic heights

family selfie time.

since we've only been home for a few days, i'm still kind of basking in the last remnants of jet-lag, always something i hold on to. it lets me continue to relish the trip. and oh, what a trip!

we were only 30 minutes from the spanish border, so we took a little day-trip to visit a place i fell in love with many years ago. san sebastian. this city is the perfect mix of coastal land meets beautiful architecture. we took a stroll, listened to some street musicians, had a delicious tapas lunch, and let ourselves get lost in the winding cobblestone roads which led us to one beautiful spot after another. we eventually found ourselves some steps leading up to a church. so we did what any self-respecting  family would do, had ourselves a seat! 

ahhh! the art of sitting down!

to be continued...

my boys and a carousel.

li was so excited to hop on that carousel-can you see him clutching that sweet little pink ticket? it was his first ride. i don't really have a great view on it in this pic (maybe i'll hook you up later.), but it was overlooking the beach in san sebastian, spain. muy bonita!

if i were....

an artist rendering                             or                   a comic book character  

                         

either would be pretty cool. (just amusing myself while i sit in my apartment and wait for my luggage to show up. the kids took pete to the aquarium. although, i think i'd rather be out with them, the peace and quiet is pretty nice.)

the anti-bucket list...

im guessing the look on my face says it all?

after a 15 hour day of travel, with babes, i find myself in line at the bilboa airport lost baggage desk-notice, i am not alone. why am i standing there looking gross and not out and about enjoying every precious moment of this long awaited trip, you ask? because I have just found out my luggage, as well as the boys' luggage is well...lost.

and this is what I look like after letting the news sink in. part of the experience. i think i'll take it & will manage to be just fine-considering the days that lay ahead of me are pretty awesome!

here it comes!

i have been so inspired by this song in more ways than i can say. who knows? it may inspire you as well.  so give your ears a treat treat! (just in case the link is not so obvious, click on "treat".)
and Happy Summertime!

(thank you nina simone!)