Et que vive le CIRQUE!

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We were off to our next destination in the South of France, this time the train ride was more enjoyable...maybe because it was only a few hours or maybe because we actually had a seat of our own. When we arrived in Hyères we were a little too early to check into our timeshare (Thanks Aunt Sue and Uncle Brendon for setting that up), so we sat outside ate lunch, played cards etc. When we checked in there was a bit of confusion over our booking but we were able to get our room and settle in for the week. It was nice to be able to unpack and settle down somewhere for a little while. While we were unpacking we noticed a little circus being set up outside our room and were pretty excited to have front row seats.

Hyères seems to be a very popular vacation spot for mostly people from France (who take their August vacation time very seriously). We haven't heard very many other languages being spoken and not many people speak English in the area. Which I really like, except that it means I do most of the ordering and asking for directions. I have to say Rob has really improved on his "Merci"...and has even picked up, "les frites", "deux mojitos", "deux pain au chocolate" et "un café".... so really all of the important things.

The First night in Hyères after being overwhelmed with restaurant choices we settled on a little restaurant called Mojitos... of course nobody was eating dinner yet because as we have learned Rob and I are consistently ready for dinner about 2 hours earlier than everyone else... we really had to get the hang of cocktail hour before dinner. Anyway since we found our perfect restaurant ..... Mojitos, which served a variety of different mojitos we decided to eat. We were happy to learn that not only was this place one of the cheapest in the areas and served amazing mojitos with Havana Rum, it also had super great food. Since the menus have no English translations and I am not familiar with a lot of the sea food or fancier food items in french... Rob dared to just pick something random off the menu. I chose a 3 cheese hamburger....yes three cheeses. I was in heaven. The burgers here are delicious because the meat is very tender and closer to medium rare. I had to eat it with a fork and knife because it was so tender. We made it back in time to watch the final circus performance from our deck with a bottle of wine and really enjoyed the evening. The boardwalk is full of street vendors selling all sorts of things and many street performers are in the area. Lots to keep us entertained.

Basically for the rest of the week we spent at the beach during the day, lazy afternoons of reading and relaxing on our patio, walking the boardwalk, eating gelato, evening mojitos and trying to push dinner as late as we could. We started to learn the timing of everything by the end of the week.

We were also surprised by the circus performance happening every evening.... and guess what it is the exact same show...with the exact same costumes, music and baby crying when it is time to clean up. First we start with Leslie and her random ribbon twirling (which I have seen done with fire so the ribbons are not really that impressive), then onto Jennifer and her tight rope walking act to the song...LIVE and Let die (I was stoked the first time I heard the song but after 2 performances a night it is kinda just stuck in my head now). Then its back to Leslie with a juggling act featuring everything from bowling balls to tennis racquets, then Jennifer again with the best part of the show featuring some smooth moves by the guest star Cadeaux (a baby goat), then a magic trick performed by the mom and dad, lets just call them Mr. and Mrs. Niglos. So this makes up the nightly NIGLOS circus.... ending with ET que vive LE CIRQUE.....ta da. Oh and Leslie's baby daughter Lily who collects the money at the end of the show. Rob pretty much hates them all but I have grown fond of the whole family circus gig, minus Lily who screams most of the night (although she was born into a family circus so maybe she has the right to scream).

So otherwise our days have been filled with the beach our evenings spent eating, drinking, relaxing and wandering about. We also did ventured into the Vieux ville of Hyères which was very cool, lots of neat streets, churches, a castle and a cool garlic festival. We have immensely enjoyed our time here it has been a nice break from the crowded tourist filled towns and busy sightseeing days. The rest and relaxation ends tomorrow as we pick up our rental car and have 4 days to drive to Paris with a few pit stops and many castles on the way. I am both excited and nervous to explore the streets of France.

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Photos

Hyères
Great view of Hyères, the town all the way to the water and islands in the background.

Comments

[Jacquie Rougea]

What no pictures of the circus???
I want to see what Jennifer, Lily etc look like!!! Love the 1 litre Mojito and wow the Bronchettes look delicious!!! Glad to hear that you had a nice relaxing time in Heyeres! Love Mom XOX