The Tan return of the Translucent Woman!

Can you believe it? I actually got some sun and sand. Time sure flies here and even faster in the South of France! I had sooo much fun in France and the family did too. I am not sure how to tell you what went on besides a day to day run down! Sound good?! Brace yourselves it might be long! I will try to keep it short though...


Day 1 (Friday, July 11th): This was our first day of travel. MAX HAS THE CHICKEN POX!!! 700KM of our 1200 was the goal! The car was packed up the night before and we were on the road by 8:30am! The drive should have taken us about 7hr. Instead it took 11. You see, EVERYONE in Holland finds France a hot spot for vacation. So, they call most saturdays in July "Black Saturdays" for traveling. We hit a lot of traffic. Not a lot of complete stand stills, but we did run into a ton of slow moving areas. It really slowed us down. However, it was expected and the scenery was georgous! We stayed in a hotel that had been reserved ahead of time. I forget where. It was cute though. The VanZelms were so nice! They got 3 rooms! 1 all to myself. Sheesh I felt spoiled!!! It was well appreciated though.

Day 2 (Saturday, July 12th): MORE DRIVING! We had another 500km to go before we hit Saint Tropez. This treck took us from 9am-5pm to complete. We arrived in Saint Tropez excited and ready for a vacation after the long haul. Everything there is so lush and green. Oh and the second we spotted the bay we were all celebrating that we were there! Our home for the following two weeks would be a cute little california style bungalo. 3 bedrooms/ 2 bath/ nice size living room/ and hallway style kitchen. Once again I had the pleasure of my own room! The VanZelm's must really love me or something! Haha Anyhow, we stayed in a place called Park Oasis on the way to Cavalaire. We were unpacked before you knew it and enjoying a nice meal on the poarch of our quaint bungalo. *oh BTW Max is a trooper and slept a lot in the car. By the time we arrive he is already healing and in better spirits!

Day 3 (Sunday, July 13th): Our first official day in San Tropez we decided to spend relaxing by the resorts pool. It had a nice beach front entrance and was fairly large. The funniest part was that the life guards were more of a wardrobe patrol! Haha They wouldn't allow board shorts in the pool! This means that the men had to buy some tight trunks! Poor guys. However, they seemed to take it well and have fun with it. Sadly Max hated the idea and cried because he didn't want to wear them. How sad to make a 4 year old cry over such a stupid rule! Sameless french! Eventually he got used to them. We had lunch at the pool side restaurant that is there for only the people who stay/live there! Decent food too! Also, I got to meet the Gwillim family. They are from London and would spend the first week there in the same resort (different house) with us! I loved their lil fam! There was the mom-Joni, Dad-David, Son(8)Tom, Daughter(8 yes twins though you wouldnt guess)-Charolette,Daughter-Mary.


Day 4 (Monday, July 14th): Beach Time! We got up, slathered on some sun block and headed to Pampelonne Beach. Actually Tiki beach, but it is all fairly close together in the gulf! We also had lunch at the beach! I believe L'Ongarie on this day. Everytime we were at the beach we had lunch there or another nearby restaurant! It was quite a treat and gread food.

It was a pretty windy day, but nothing we couldn't handle. All we needed was sunshine! After a nice day in the sun we headed home and made some dinner with the Gwillims family! They are great company and David is a great cook as well. Also, this day was a Holiday in france. Kind of like an independence day. So, we got a nice firework show as well!

Day 5 (Tuesday, July 15th):Another nice day by the pool!

Day 6 (Wednesday, July 16th):We were back at Beach Pampelonne. When we first arrived the water was pretty empty. By noon the bay was filled with HUGE Yaughts! We think we even saw Naomi Campbell waving hello to us from her sugar daddies boat (Riiighhht)! What a breathtaking view (the beach not Naomi)! Also, some other friends joined us from London. The Mun-Gavin Family is Mom-Allison, Dad-David, Daughter(13)-Ella, Daughter(8)Lara. I got along really well with their kids. They have a house in Saint Tropez that they spend summers in (what a life)!

Day 7 (Thursday, July 17th):Back to the pool and the Speedo patroling life guards. By now I am getting red with even SPF 50! Haha So I took a break inside or in the shade whenever possible! This turned out to be a great technique because I didn't burn!!!

Day 8 (Friday, July 18th):Beach Pampelonne. I got a little more red, but with tons of sunblock I still didn't fry! The sunshine was so nice! I enjoyed every minute of it!

Day 9 (Saturday, July 19th):FUN TIMES...THE MARKET! The Gwillims were planning to leave and wanted to go to the market. So, I hitched a 7:30am ride with them and had a blast.(by the way parking garages are so pretty there!) They were so sweet and paid me for some babysitting I had done(way to generous). This made me less worried about spending a little money. I only spent extra money beyond my regular paycheck(everything else I saved)! The market is HUGE! Plus, it is a lot more diverse. There are tons of different things to look at. Once we got back around 10 am the Gwilliams headed out of town. David gave me the book he was reading (A thousand splendid suns by, Khaled Hosseini). I was very happy about that! ...Then after goodbyes back to vaca. I am still fighting sunburn. I didn't want to spoil the trip with a painfull mistake. This day we stayed home and played a little at the pool. I took a break once I realized how hot my skin was feeling, but mostly stayed out of the water to avoid more! I still had a great time though. Relaxing in a chair under an umbrella by the pool is good enough for me!

Day 10 (Sunday, July 20th): Wonderful Sunday morning! We all slept in. The weather was gray outside. Solwly the clouds gave us random showers well into the afternoon. I loved it. After all that sun it was nice to have some moisture. Nothing like Hollands rains either, more like getting spit on! hahah The rain made for a restful day and smelled just like the desert rains with a little salt in the air. I had been reading Love in the time of cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I spent all day home alone finishing it up while the family visited a nearby town famous for perfume. I enjoyed the book a lot! (Becky and I saw the new movie last night. Not bad just a little silly!). The book is thought provoking, different and realistically bitter sweet.

Day 11 (Monday, July 21st):Tiki Beach again (Pampelonne)

Day 12 (Tuesday, July 22nd): Today we went to the "Fun Fare"! During the day was pool time and then the carnival that is there every summer. It was a bit spendy, but those places always are. We spent a lot of time riding rides. Ella, Lara, and Allison all came with us. It was soo cute because Beaudine was sooo worried for Ella and Neils when they got on the roller coaster! She was crying because she was sooo worried! What a sweetheart! I think she was also scared herself. Those ride cant look nice to a 3yr old.

Day 13 (Wednesday, July 23rd): Pampelonne Beach =D


Day 14 (Thursday, July 24th):HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!! I turned 24 on the 24th! What an event to celebrate Saint Tropez style!
There is a little bakery close to where we were staying. Every morning for breakfast we had FRESH french bread and crissonts. Soo yummy. Well, this day was special. So, Neils and Myriam got some birthday tarts! I ate a pear one. I LOVED IT!!! Then they gave me a present at the breakfast table. A cute little notepad shapped like a silver sandal with 50 Euros in it!!! SOOo GENEROUS!!! I was shocked and really touched that they were being so sweet! Around 9am I got a phone call from Becky singing me the blues clues b-day song. She must have been using her "URI" powers because minutes before I was thinking that all my b-day needed to be complete was that b-day song! It mad me smile and was good to talk to Beck! Around 11 we were off for another day at Pampelonne. The Mun-Gavin family was there and greeted me with a sweet gift. A silver flower pendant hung on a black necklace. Its way cute and something I would have chose for myself. Plus, Ella and Lara made me some hand made b-day cards! I am telling ya' I loved this lil family to death. Later that night after a nap we all went out to dinner at a pirate ship themed restaurant with the Mun-Gavins as well. It was full of people but very nice to sit on the deck with a beach front view! Also, just when I let my guard down they suprised me with a traditional french tart that was on fire! It looked like a cake with pudding in the middle, rasperries and a firecracker on top! haha They Brought it out to the Happy b-day to ya song (beatles clip) and I TURNED RED! I will post pics of it when I can...The fam has them. I had my hands in front of my face and everything. It was sweet. The tart was YUMMY and big enough to share with the whole table. All in all it was a GREAT day and I was treated SOO well!!! Very unforgetable 24th b-day! Oh and I finished a 2nd book since we arrived there. I had tons of time to read at the beaches and pools! haha Its called Bee Season Weird book but I dug it!

Day 15 (Friday, July 25th):Packing Day! We are to leave the following morning! I took some of the kids to the pool to give Neils and Myriam time to pack. Later that evening we packed the car up. Our last dinner was spent at the restaurant by the pool. We mostly all had pizza. YUMMY!!! We we all ready to go home, but sad to end the trip!

Day 16 (Saturday, July 26th): Have I ever told you the Dutch are Crazy?! Well here is proof....(Note: I would have done the same thing...) Its time to drive home! By 8:15am we are on the road and heading back to Holland. This time is different. With high hopes of less traffic the decision is made to do a straight drive home! No Hotel. (Honestly I was kind of excited to just get home as well!) Well we did it! After 1,300 KM, roughly 15.5 hours, a 1hr pit stop included, and minimal traffic we made it home! In decent time as well. It was 12:30am by the time we pulled into the drive way. Yes it was RAINING in Holland! lol Bye bye sunshine! It never felt better to be in my own bed again! I brought back some great memories, dirty laundry, and a tiny tan! I sucessfully avoided a sunburn and even got a little color (not my legs...they refuse to tan!). I can't believe we are back and I even saved some money while I was there!


SORRY ITS SO long, but I had a lot to cover! I hope you liked it!!! I promise to post pictures tomorrow. LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!