The day before we left the villa was a bit of a lazy day.
It was perfect weather for sitting by the pool, which we did pretty much all day. Most things are closed in France on Sundays, so we didn't have much option.
Dad tried to impress me with back flips into the pool, and then by pretending he was a seal. I was unimpressed - no sardines for you, flipper.
Pete and Benny were also hanging out.
The grown-ups set themselves a challenge to finish off all the booze in the house before we left. Mum got stuck into the Rose - that's French for pink wine - before lunch.
I got stuck into the strawberries - again! Unfortunately I was wearing my Elvis suit at the time, and it got a bit soiled.
Before we left on Monday morning, the grown-ups made us pose for a photo - like they had to ask! The camera loves me. Pete, Wing and Benny then left for Corsica, while Lozza, Geoff and Noah went to Antibes, just down the road.
We, however, were at the start of a 48 hour journey home. Dad was looking forward to seeing the back of all our luggage.
First we drove to Avignon to return the hire car. There was a collective sigh of relief when we made it in one piece. We are still waiting to hear what the bill is and are praying the insurance covers all the scratches that Mum and Dad made. From Avignon train station...
...we caught a train to Lyon, then another from Lyon to Paris. After a day on the road we then had 6 hours to kill in the most boring airport in the world, Charles De Gaulle. It even made Tulla look exciting.
After a pleasant 7 hour flight to Dubai (I actually slept!) there was 4 hours to kill at Dubai airport, and they hadn't served brekky on the plane. Cue grumpy Mum. Luckily Dad changed some currency and bought us breakfast and coffee. Happy Mum!
Mum was even happier when Dad took me off to play and she got to read her book. Dubai airport is cool. Ponds and trees and shiny pylons.
There was so much to look at that I got a bit tired.
Dad, are you sure you're awake?
Soon after this we got on the plane. Apparently it was hotter than expected (really? Dubai hot?) so they made us sit on the plane for nearly 2 hours while they got permission to take off from a different runway. It was REALLY hot so I kind of passed out on Dad. Mum said it was lucky I was asleep as it was about 40 degrees on the plane and we couldn't leave our seats. There were screaming children and bogan Australians yelling things out like "why don't you park in the shade!".
The upside to the delayed take off was that the hosties felt sorry for us and provided excellent in-flight service. Mum got stuck into the G&Ts and I got stuck into the free bananas.
Anyway, we FINALLY got home at 6.30am yesterday. It was 5 degrees, but I didn't care. I was just glad to be home.
Poppy Pete picked us up from the airport and Grandma Jenny surprised us when we got home. It is soooo good to see everyone and be at home again. It was ace. This is Grandma helping me enact Michelangelo's 'Creation of Adam' with Poppy Pete's finger:
Today I also enjoyed cuddles with Nanna Cath and Pa Geoff.
I had a lot of fun on this holiday, even though it was difficult at times. I met lots of interesting people, realised that the world is a very big place and that there's many different ways to do things, saw some amazing sites and made friends everywhere I went. I learnt a lot. But now it's really nice to be in my cot again and to chase Gemima around the house.
