A day with the animals.... and a trip to the zoo

Todays grand adventure was "French shmamily goes to the zoo".  We were so proud of ourselves for waking up early and getting the kids ready to get out the door by 8:30... not too shabby for 2 mamas and 4 munchkins.  No major hiccups until we were close to our destination and then started to question Barbara (our GPS) about getting us to the actual zoo.  Unlike a standard US zoo with lots of signs, huge parking lots, and many other people arriving... this little "gem" was a tough one to locate.  It was off a dirt road and it took us quite some time to find, even with a little help from Barbara the Garmin.   We were quite proud that the little Citreon Picasso we were driving made it over some serious bumps and mud puddles.

Because no journey for us can be a simple one, A quick lesson we learned about French driving etiquette (or lack thereof), apparently it's not necessary to stop when one hits another car.  Just as we were about to enter the zoo parking area (calling it a lot would be a stretch), some car flew by us on the tiny road we were on and sideswiped our mirror right off!  Once we got over the initial shock of the impact and realized the window wasn't broken, we looked back to see if the car was going to stop and turn around for us to do the standard exchange of info.  As it turns out, they were apparently not interested in doing that.   Just kept zooming down the little road and we just had to look at each other and have a good laugh.  

So after that little shake up we pulled in, parked, and began unloading our little animals.   Boy was it an interesting adventure.  Aside from us there may have been 10 other people there in the 2 hours or so we stayed.  Another major difference... apparently they don't feel the need for the massive barriers we enjoy at our zoos.  There was a thin glass wall between the kiddos and some huge white tigers - scary!!  But they dug it.  I sat back and quietly peed my pants and the thought of a tiger lurching through and eating my baby.  It was actually kind of nice, relaxing and quiet and they could just run around like the wild animals they are.   So that was our day... after the zoo we did a very American thing and grabbed some take out at Quick (kind of a cross between McDonalds and Jack in The Box).  Mandy and I couldn't resist ordering a side of cheesy balls, an ever so French delicacy.  Philadelphia cream cheese fried balls... oh so yummy. ha!  

After we got home it was nap time for the little kids, relax time for Casey and time for Mandy to get out of the house by herself for a little and tackle the French version of a super Walmart... lucky her.

In other news, thanks to either the garbage strike or the fact that the family's cat went to live with the in laws, we now have a resident rat outside.  The kids think it's fun to look at, we aren't so thrilled.  The French family seems super embarrassed that we are having to deal with it and continues to offer to send friends to try and help catch the rat.

Tomorrow the grand plan is to do very little.  After our mirror "incident" we're thinking some down time at the house might be a nice change.   Off to try and catch some zzz's to keep up with the little people again tomorrow.

Au Revoir

C, G, & C

A big day for Claire - first go at rice cereal

Big honkin turtle.. somehow this scared Gordon but the massive tigers inches from his face didn't

White Tiger

Get a little closer... yikes! 

The kids seemed more into the bunny than the animals that were actually supposed to be there

Holy close giraffe!! 

Mandy and Maya getting up close and personal with the giraffe

What good quality zoo doesn't have a kind of dirty, creepy bounce house?  The Bourdeaux - Passac zoo surely does

How they are not scared shitless I do not know

Yup, the 12 year old in me had to snap a pic of this one... even did a little video for anyone that is interested :) 

Proof that a couple of well exercised kids can indeed sit still for at least a few minutes.. Gordon was perusing through the Bordeaux real estate mags

Locked out and begging for some treats