The Best Saturday

It's true what they say, French people spend more time at home than at work/school during May. 
Over this past week alone, Marilie has had three days off and the others two. Of course, those days didn't coincide much. Mar had Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off, while the older two had Thursday and Friday. 
It's safe to say that this week was a lot to deal with. Marilie has been ill, so decidedly more grumpy. I suggested she steam herself to clear her sinuses, as that's what my mum has always told me to do, but she just ended up wet and sweaty without feeling many positive effects. 

I managed to get her out and about on Tuesday. We grabbed the bikes and headed off to the park, mini picnic in tow. We hadn't got much actual food to take, so I just shoved a load of nibbles in the bag, along with some water. Praise the lord that she found two friends to play with, because it gave me a much needed break. I sat while she played for what seemed like an eternity, although it was a mere few hours. Nevertheless, it burned off a decent amount of her energy and she didn't give me much gyp when we got back. Essentially, I just plonked her in front of the TV praying she'd fall asleep. 

On Thursday, I spent most of the day hiding from people. Somehow we ended up feeding ten people for lunch, which included two feral children. As soon as lunch was over, Mel and I retreated to a safe zone so that we could watch the latest episode of Riverdale in peace. My god, that was some gripping stuff! I highly recommend, if you don't watch it already. (I know it seems rubbish at first but keep going, it gets better I swear!)

After her friends had left, Marilie had the tantrum to end all tantrums. While screaming that she hated me and that I was horrible, she managed to threaten smashing a bowl over my head. Charming, I know. I swiftly switched the TV off and told her to pick up all of the things she dropped on the floor. 
Later on, her mum fully admitted that she can't cope anymore and that boarding school may be the only option. As well as this, she told me that she finds herself actively avoiding her in order to swerve any potential conflicts. Basically, I'm caught in a bit of a war zone at the moment, where everyone is quickly running out of time and patience. It can't get any worse though, surely?

As you can imagine, I rejoiced when the weekend finally arrived. Krisztina and I have decided to stop moaning about being here and start trying to enjoy our last few weeks here. It's about time really...
To begin our new quest, we chose to go to Les Gorges du Pont du Diable which, for those of you who don't speak French, is a cave where there is a "Devil's bridge". Allegedly, the Devil constructed the bridge but, in return, wanted souls to pay for his service. The people tried to trick him and sent animals across the bridge, but this only angered him more. He told them that if they didn't bring him the souls he required, he would destroy the bridge. Unsurprisingly, they sent some poor old ladies across the bridge to be sacrificed to the Devil, which pleased him enough to keep the "bridge" whole. 

Our tour guide was super lovely and tried to explain in both French and English, which was great for me. I got to try and understand in French first, then either had my translation confirmed or corrected. After the trek back up to higher ground we went to Lac du Jotty to take some awesome pictures and have a bite to eat. The scenery was absolutely stunning and looked a bit like the setting for the French TV series, Les Revenants (The Returned), which is another must-see! 

When we'd finished up there we decided to head to another lake, Lac de Montriond. When we arrived, we were shocked to see that there was still snow around certain parts of the lake. We took a slow, muddy walk around the lake, being careful not to fall in the flooded parts. On the side opposite to where I parked the car, we sat down for a bit on a picnic bench. That's when I noticed that there was a waterfall from the very top of the mountain down into the lower levels. Krisztina even caught the moment on video and it's quite amusing. Sadly, all good things come to an end and we had to make our way back up the anxiety-inducing mountain roads before we lost too much light. (One thing I can say about driving in France/Switzerland, it hasn't half boosted my confidence in driving!)

Kriszti's host family was at their chalet, so we were planning on having a bit of a film night. However, the diabolical WiFi had other ideas and we ended up watching Eurovision instead. I'll just take this time to appreciate the Czech, German and Irish acts, who were certainly better than Israel in my personal opinion.
Saturday was 100% one of my best days here, which was something we could both agree on wholeheartedly. Sadly, Sunday was a bit less incredible. The weather was a bit miserable and your options are limited here as soon as it rains. Krisztina and I finally utilised our free tickets to The Olympic Museum in Lausanne, while we still have the chance. I have to admit, I don't quite understand the hype behind it. Sure, parts of it were pretty interesting, but for the most part it's just a bunch of sweaty clothes worn by Olympians. Let's just say that we were both glad we didn't pay 17CHF for a ticket!

The Olympic Torch - London 2012

Usain Bolt's jersey

Chris Hoy's outfit

Torvill and Dean's winning outifts

Medals from London 2012

My favourite medals - Sochi 2014

Then we're back at Monday...already. Where on Earth does the weekend go? They always say "time flies when you're having fun" and this weekend was firsthand evidence of that. I spent Monday morning cutting up a sort of Rocky Road traybake for Marilie to take to school (for her birthday, which was ten days ago). I cut it into teeny tiny pieces, so her classmates will be utterly disappointed in their portion size. Think of your teeth kids!

After my French lesson in the morning, I swindled a piece of birthday cake before it all disappears. It's the first cake that almost defeated me, I think I'm sick! Anyway, it was delicious so a big shoutout to Mel's friend, Hanna, who is a fourteen year-old baking genius.
I have everything crossed that this week is a breeze compared to last week, but I won't hold my breath.