The view from my window

The view from my window
The view from my window

Tuesday 26 December 2023

Perfick!

Blink and you've missed it - but what a lovely stay we had at the safari park. We got there around mid-day and as our chalet wasn't ready yet we went for a wander round the park first. The weather was glorious and not at all cold - which obviously helped - so we got to see quite a few animals before it was time to head on up to our chalet. The chalet was lovely with two bunkbeds in one room and a double bed in the second room, but the best part was that our balcony overlooked the wolf enclosure! As soon as they heard rustling they came running over to the balcony, although we were under strict instructions not to feed them, of course!


If you can imagine a place designed and furnished by IKEA this would be it, and the design fit so well with the location!

One of the windows in the main bedroom!

My boys get along really well and both have a great sense of humour, so we were treated to their renditions of various songs from The Lion King as we made our way round the park. The funniest had to be at the lion enclosure though, when André raised Charlie above his head and yelled "he's alive" in his best gibbon voice!


At one point we were heading down a tunnel in order to get below the waterline at the seal enclosure when Jen turned her head and came face to face with a hyena. She yelped and they both beat a hasty retreat! I think the seal enclosure was probably Charlie's favourite spot in the whole park, and I must admit we all found it fascinating to watch as they kept swimming past us, "showing off" or probably just playing around!



Charlie really was a little trooper and the only time he whinged was when Jen tried to put him in a stroller. He wasn't having any of it and when my fitbit logged 15,000 steps at the end of the day we had to give it to him - he'd done so well!




The company prepared dinner for us, which they left in the fridge and all we had to do was heat it in the microwave. It was really good - foie gras for starters (not my thing though), roast capon, gratin and green beans for the main course, and tiramisu for dessert, with a chocolate yule log and a bottle of wine to top it all off. After that none of us particularly felt like trudging back into the park for the light show, but we were all so glad we did as they had all the fairytale characters lit up so it took us another hour or so get round it all yet again!

We were also first in to see Father Christmas,
although to be honest Charlie was none too sure!


André and Jordan stayed outside chatting until around 2 a.m. and said they could hear the lions in the background most of that time. I didn't hear that but oh my goodness, at least three times the wolves set off a complete howling cacophony during the night and it was wonderful!

As we were staying in the chalets onsite, the next day we were allowed access to the park one hour before it opened for the day, although even when it did open up it still wasn't busy so we had none of that Disney feel to it where you just get shuffled along with the crowd. This was when we did the car ride through the main park to see the elephants, rhinos (you wouldn't want to cross them, I can tell you), hippos, moose and so on and we were lucky enough to see what must have been a very confused bear lying around in the sunshine, probably wondering where all his mates had got to!



We got back home around 6 pm and were all so tired I don't think anyone really wanted to "celebrate" Christmas Eve. Next day everyone was coming to my place and we'd decided on raclette (basically melted cheese, potatoes, dried meat and salad) to make it easier all round. Presents were exchanged, we all enjoyed a really good meal - and then of course André spotted the whoopee cushions and false noses so off we all went. Jen's mom's partner, Fabrice, is pretty quiet but André had him doubled up laughing, particularly when he unleashed an app on his phone with (I think) 112 different fart sounds! I thought Fabrice was going to fall over, he was laughing so much. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, when I asked André what he was doing for New Year he told me he was off to Genoa in Italy! Huh??? Turns out on his trip to Thailand they met up with a couple who were travelling together with a young Italian designer and they sorta followed each other's circuits and kept meeting up. So now he's off to Genoa for New Year and having dinner with her parents (????) I just hope she's equally enthralled with his farting app, 'cos he's classy like that! If it goes well, she's coming up to France on 18th January to spend a few days with him - so things could be looking up for him. At least I hope so for his sake!

Oh and I also forgot to tell you another bit of news. When we were in the chalet Jen was getting Charlie ready for bed when he came out of the bathroom wearing his jammies and a t-shirt which read "sometimes you've got to be able to read between the lines". I never paid any attention to it because, well, a t-shirt, but Jen's mom read it out several times and said "are you trying to tell us something?" - and she was. It was maybe a little early to be spreading the news but --- Jen's pregnant again, and we're all thrilled. So right now I just can't see how things could get any more ...




20 comments:

  1. So happy for you! Charlie will make a great big brother!

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    1. Thanks Bobbie. I'm so glad they decided to have a second too, but I don't think they were expecting it to work quite so quickly!!!!

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  2. Definitely perfect - trip, Christmas laughter and good news!

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    1. I wasn't expecting much from the safari park because this is France not Africa, after all, but it more than held its own, so you're right. It was definitely perfect!

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  3. Replies
    1. Thank you. I'm delighted (as you can imagine)!

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  4. Oh, I love all of this! I was wondering when Charlie was going to get a new brother or sister. And the park sounds amazing. Glad you had such a lovely, funny Christmas.

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    1. I think they were shocked it worked so quickly this time so it kinda precipitated them telling us maybe a bit earlier than they would have wanted. But they're both delighted (as am I, of course). And as for the park, I really wasn't expecting much, but the lovely chalets and the wolves really made it!

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  5. What a wonderful way to spend time with the family. It sounds fantastic!! Congratulations on another baby. I'm sure Charlie will be an awesome big brother. Enjoy the rest of the week.

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    1. Sometimes I think you build things up and then you end up disappointed. I wasn't expecting too much out of this trip and look what we got!!! It really was wonderful and the new gf and future new baby are just the cherry on the top!

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  6. Firstly, I've seen wolves... they're large. Secondly, I can't believe you're not fond of foi gras... 😎😎😎

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    1. The white wolves were indeed pretty large, but the grey ones were considerably smaller (although meaner by all accounts - I didn't stop to find out)! And no I don't like foie gras (I have a post on here near the beginning of my blog about trying to stuff foie gras into a very willing - and subsequently very gassy - dog). I quite like the pâté, but not the liver itself. I know - I don't eat snails or frogs' legs either!

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  7. OMG! How exciting, congratulations on grandbaby #2! The chalet looks just amazing - what loads of fun! Cannot wait to hear all about what 2024 has in store for you and your family! Excitement ahead :D

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    1. The safari park turned out better than I expected (I didn't expect much), and I had absolutely no idea that they were about to spring the baby surprise on us. Best Christmas ever!

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  8. I have been trying to leave a comment for 2 days! Hopefully works this time. What a neat experience with the animals. I love wolves. Such a cute way to let you know Jen is pregnant! Congrats!!! (OneFamily)

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    1. Seems like my wifi has been playing up a bit so the problem could be either end. In any case, thank you for your sweet comment. It really was a lovely weekend all round!

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  9. Sounds like a wonderful time was had by all and the cherry on top - a new grandbaby! woohoo!! Congrats to the mum and dad and you on your next grandparent adventure! Happy New Year indeed. x

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    1. The weekend absolutely exceeded expectations - and as you say, the new baby really was the cherry on the top! And happy new year to you too!

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  10. What a great time you had. Congrats on the new baby. I am sure Charlie is going to be a great big brother. Good luck with everything in 2024.

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    1. It's great when you really don't have any great expectations and then everything turns out better than you could have imagined!! Well that was that trip - and of course the new baby news was the cherry on top!

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