Zoe Turns 5

 (Zoe with her present from Anna - a musical jewellery box, complete with rotating ballerina)

Ah, welcome to the Golden Years... I know people say the 'Golden Years' for parenting are when your kids are between the ages of 6 and 12, but I say it starts earlier... Zoe turned 5 on Thursday, and I feel we are well and truly into the golden years now. Although, of course I will admit to feeling a few pangs when I see how big my 'baby' is now... she's a baby no longer. Zoe has really grown up this year in France. 

And I think we made a suitable fuss of her - as Zoe says herself, her birthday lasted 3 days. Toby took all the girls and two friends to the cinema on Zoe's actual birthday (to see 'Madagascar 3 - Zoe couldn't actually tell me what happened in the movie, but she assured me it was 'hilarious') after a birthday dinner of sausages (Zoe's choice), and then we had her birthday party on Sunday. Quite a few invitees couldn't come, but since we contribute three girls to the party right from the start, we ended up with a very respectable eight party guests, and much fun was had by all. A bit of face painting by me, then a few games - Stuck in the Mud, Freeze Dance, Relay Races - then presents, a snack of hot dogs, melon and cake, and then lots of free play. Two hours - the perfect length, I'd say, for 5-year-olds. We're getting old hands at this home party thing, and have learned from past mistakes. It helps, of course, to have a big back yard to run around in, and lots of sunshine. 

 Decorating the chocolate cupcakes for the party

 Check out the brand-new deck, and new table and umbrella!

 Toby is the chaser in Stuck in the Mud

 Scatter!

 Present opening

 Birthday snack

 Zoe and her best friend, Eva

 This season I shall mainly be wearing cupcake

Eva and Zoe

The other news from this week is that Indie lost her other front tooth - giving her an impressive gap. The tooth 'mouse' came (it's not a fairy in France, it's a mouse) and left 2 euros. Pretty good deal, I'd say.

Early Birthday Lunch

Toby very sweetly took me out for an early birthday lunch on Tuesday at my favourite restaurant in Chamonix - Le Bistrot - since the girls are off school on my actual birth day. It was unbelievably wonderful food (not surprisingly, I discovered yesterday that the chef is Michelin-starred). I know I've complained about some of the disappointing meals I've had in France since living here for the year, but, let me tell you, this wasn't one of them. Ah, Le Bistrot, I hardly knew you, but I'll miss you...

My birthday apéritif - champagne, cognac, fresh strawberries

Toby, getting ready to dig in

Our amuse-bouches: a mushroom mousse with hazelnuts, a piece of light-as-air goat's cheese with pistachios, and a biscuit with a smear of blueberry preserve and 'lard'.

 The complementary starter - a red pepper, pear and fish mousse. Amazing.

Excited about the main - lamb (cooked rosé) and an incredibly creamy polenta

My cheese plate for dessert. Toby also had the cheese plate, and gave the poor waiter a panic attack by pointing to the cheese trolley of about 30 different kinds of cheese and saying, 'A little piece of everything please'. I had to quickly interject, 'He's joking! British humour! Ha ha ha!' before the poor guy passed out from anxiety. I'm not sure the French ever joke about their cheese. 

La Corse

(On the ferry)

So - people predicted that we would fall in love with Corsica on our holiday... and they weren't wrong. What a beautiful place! It's that magical combination of mountains and the sea. It reminded me a lot of New Zealand in its natural beauty.
It was a proper summer holiday - lots of swimming, snorkelling, sand-castle building, reading, ping pong, backgammon, and as many ice creams as the girls could eat. There were a few downsides - a lot of development going on, with what seems like poorly controlled construction of ugly buildings, and the few times we ate out were particularly disappointing (no seafood! And clearly they get so many tourists they don't have to count on repeat business...). June was definitely the month to go - hot and sunny, but without too many crowds. Sometimes it did feel like we had a beach to ourselves. But the roads were already congested and certain spots were already really crowded, especially Bonifacio, and I can't imagine what it's like in high season. Absolute l'enfer I would say.
But that wasn't our problem in June - it was magical. We'll definitely be back.

 The view from our terrace

 Ping pong tournament by the pool

 Walking up the to some rock pools

 Indie at the waterfalls

 Bonifacio - perhaps the most spectacular town I've ever seen

The beach we hiked into near Bonifacio - the water was incredibly clear (although cold...)

 The snorkelling was fun

Hiking across the cliffs to Bonifacio - quite hot and tired by this point, but we revived at a café with crêpes, citron pressés, and some pétanque

 'L'Escalier du Roi Aragon' - a hand-carved set of 45 degree steps from Bonifacio down to the sea. Incredible!

Taking a well-deserved rest on the steps (notice the death grip I have on poor Zoe's hand...)

 Beach cake

 More sand cake

 Backgammon tournament by the pool

Boogie boarding

Beach time - and lots of it

 Loving the big surf one day

 Our big treat - horseback riding on the beach one evening

 Gorgeous mountains - Toby did an amazing cycle ride up to this col

 Road trip

 More amazing rock pools we just happened upon, a short stroll from the road-side

 Pool games (spot Indie in the upper left)

Happiness is...Zoe and the remains of ice cream number 1,476...