Stefan wakes up early. Our minivan is finally fixed and ready to be picked up! Whoohoo! To save the kids an extra 6-7 hours in the car, he’s going by himself to trade out the cars. He will drive the 3+ hours to return the rental, then take a taxi the 30 min to pick up our car. I’m so glad I don’t have to go and thankful he’s willing to do this for us.

The kids sleep in so late! I think we’ve been wearing them out, staying up too late. We have cereal for breakfast (a real treat), and then the kids play. I know I’ve said it before, but I love how they play in this apartment! I’m finally washing the car seats. They’ve had some form of dried puke on them for weeks, and Oly reminds me every time I put him in his seat. So I feel very accomplished (and slightly ashamed it took this long).

In the meantime, Stefan returns the rental car and picks up our minivan! When he asks about the service light, they say the car needs an oil change. They can do it Friday. It’s Tuesday, and they’ve had the car for a week! Unbelievable. So we will figure that out later. Stefan drives back to us, stopping for lunch along the way. He thinks he’ll have to settle for a sad wrapped sandwich from the convenience store when he spots a restaurant serving cassoulet at the back of the rest stop! A nice little reward for his hard work.

Before Stefan returns, the kids and I go on a walk, in search of ice cream. We’d promised them ice cream for days now, and this afternoon seems like a great time to fulfill those promises. Our apartment is not in the city center, so we have to walk and ask many shopkeepers if they sell individual ice creams. Finally we luck out.

We plan meet Stefan back at the apartment, clean quickly and get out. But .. of course, i get lost in our little neighborhood. I haven’t been out here by myself, and my sense of direction is terrible. My phone isn’t working, so all I can do is shepard two young kids down blocks until I find my way. Actually Lillian is pretty helpful. Hopefully she ends up with a better sense of direction than me.

Stefan isn’t the happiest when we arrive 20 minutes late. Yes, I was lost a few blocks from the apartment for 20 minutes. Hard to believe. We rush about to pack things up and get it packed into the car. Our host here is amazingly flexible with us. She comes to get the keys and bid us farewell.

We are on the road again, in our own car, and it feels good.

We stop in Nimes, about halfway, to see the Roman ruins there. We don’t have a lot of time, so we devote our attention to the coliseum there. Nimes seems to be a very cute city. We pass several nice playgrounds and many cute bistros with patio seating. It seems far less touristy than Montpellier.

This coliseum was built in the 1st century, and it’s in the best condition of any roman ruin in France. It’s had a lot of restoration work done, but much of the walls are original. It’s pretty incredible. We do the tour so we can walk throughout. I’d recommend this, but not if you have any mobility limitations. I am nervous with the kids because the steps are so tall, and there are lots of ledges and sloped walkways. There is a concert tonight. We watch men set-up the stage and lights. I don’t think we are getting the best coliseum experience because there are so many bleachers all around the edges and tarmac covering the sandy floor.

The kids love listening to the audio guides. It’s funny how interested they are in look for the next number.

We walk around town a little before getting back in the car. It’s cute. I’d come back and spend more time.

There are so many tolls in France! We feel like we are constantly stopping at toll booths to pay anywhere from 2 to 10 euros. It’s ridiculous. If you are driving around France, be prepared to spend up to 10 euros a day on tolls.

Just as the sun is setting we turn off the main road and head up the hill to Ventabren. It’s the cutest little town that you can’t even drive into! We park at the top of the hill and walk down. This time our Airbnb host chose to leave a key for us rather than greet us. We let ourselves in and find an amazing place waiting for us. It’s a home built in the 17th century, mostly stone but with some wooden support beams. The stairs are so charming. There are 3 floors.

//Stefan Note: The place is really cool.