Expat Diaries Week 4: Skating, dating, and wrecking my foot

Week of 21 Janvier, 2024

Dimanche

Those who know our son Oliver, know that he is a very determined kid. When he sets his mind to something, there’s no stopping him. This is partially why we weren’t too worried about him moving to France. It’s also why his favorite place in Bordeaux right now is the skate park.

Not a day goes by that Oli doesn’t ask to go to the skate park. Todd usually takes him, patiently helping him as he learns to drop into the bowl and grind. (Don’t worry if you don’t know what those things mean — I didn’t either, until recently.) Sometimes I tag along too, and I love watching him do something over and over until he’s mastered it. He gets frustrated, and gets hurt, and sometimes there are tears, but he won’t stop until he gets it.

Bordeaux’s skatepark recently underwent a major rehabilitation in preparation for the Olympic games this summer; I think it has something to do with being a training center. It’s interesting to watch some of the more advanced skaters interacting with the little kids scooting and skating around. Generally everyone gets along well and acts respectfully toward one another, regardless of age or skill level. More than once, I’ve seen some of the cool older guys cheering Oli on or helping him up when he’s fallen. It’s very sweet, and surprising that these tough-looking skateboarders can be so kind. It’s also fascinating to me that they look as if they were lifted directly from the pages of the Alloy catalogs from my youth (baggy jeans, shaggy hair, Vans or Airwalk sneakers).  

The scenery isn’t bad either, with the Garonne River flowing on one side of the park and stately limestone buildings on the other. There’s a wide promenade along the river that’s popular with runners, walkers, and cyclists, and there’s also a petanque court just beside the skatepark. I do a lot of sitting around and waiting when I join the boys at the skatepark, but it’s a pretty nice place to watch the world go by. 

Lundi

One of Oli’s new friends has a teenage sister who has turned out to be the perfect babysitter, and we’ve been taking full advantage with regular date nights. Todd and I headed out around 6 (ahem, 18hr), surprised that there was still a bit of daylight left, and the temperature was borderline balmy. We went to a rooftop bar and watched the nearly full moon rise over the city while sipping tiki drinks, then walked over to one of the city’s only Mexican restaurants where we ordered every taco on the menu and a pitcher of margaritas. The margs were sticky sweet, and the tortillas were too small for the amount of filling in the tacos, and the amount of chips that came with the guacamole was just sad. We enjoyed ourselves, but it still made me miss the U.S. On the way home, we shared a laugh about the hundreds of wine bottles neatly stacked alongside the overflowing glass recycling area. So Bordeaux.

Mardi

Today I made my first attempt at socializing in Bordeaux, meeting an Irish gal at a wine bar in our neighborhood. She’s been here for decades, is married to a Frenchie, and works as a wine-focused tour guide. I was nervous to go out on my own and meet someone new, but it was refreshing to speak English with someone, get some intel on our neighborhood, and chat about expat life. 

Fun fact she told me: Bordeaux actually gets more annual rainfall than her hometown of Dublin. Obviously I’ve learned that this region is quite rainy in the winter, but I didn’t realize it was to that extent. She said at least it’s very concentrated to this time of year, and it’s part of why the conditions are so good for grape-growing. It’ll taper off a bit in February, and even more in March, and by the late spring we’ll be enjoying that lovely southwestern French weather that we moved here for.

Mercredi

We’re not sure how long we’ll be in this little rental apartment, but we’ve bought a few things to help it feel more like home. Mostly little things, like plants and pillows and candles. After weeks of agonizing over it, I decided to buy a new rug for the living room, since the one that came with the apartment was too small and drab. I found a nice, big rug on sale that’s almost identical to our living room rug back home, and I can’t believe what a difference it makes. I also bought a vacuum cleaner, which makes me embarrassingly happy. 

While the boys were at the skatepark (of course), I grabbed my trusty shopping trolley and walked about 10 minutes to our nearest hypermarche (sort of like a Super Walmart). I was actually going to make a little video about it to share, but my foot started aching soon after I arrived and I spent the entire shopping trip hobbling around the massive store, trying to gather everything I needed. The more I walked, the more my foot hurt, and the trip home with my full trolley was extremely slow and difficult as I could pretty much only walk on my tiptoes on one foot to avoid excruciating pain. I think it was my body telling me that it did not appreciate my unusual attempt at running yesterday. 

Jeudi

I felt a bit down this morning, so I did something that always lifts my spirits: Trip-planning! Kids in France have six weeks of classes followed by two weeks off throughout the year, which means we’re already approaching Oli’s winter break. We went back and forth about where to go for a while, finally settling on Portugal’s sunny Algarve region. I booked the flights a few days ago (under $100 per ticket), and today I booked all of our hotels. I can’t wait to hike the stunning Portuguese coastline and eat some amazing seafood. 

By the afternoon, the sun was out and the sky was a brilliant blue, so we decided to go for a walk despite my still-aching foot. Halfway to the Jardin Public, limping along agonizingly slowly, I began to regret my decision. But once we arrived and found a bench in the full sun, I was glad we’d made the effort. We just sat there chatting for a little over an hour, soaking up the Vitamin D, people-watching all of the others doing exactly the same thing. 

Todd tried to convince me to stop by a patisserie on the way home, and I had to put my (very sore) foot down. I can’t keep eating pastries every day, as much as I would love to! And this was after he had already brought home a baguette and croissants this morning. Oh, to have his metabolism. 

Vendredi

French farmers are striking across the country currently, but it was business as usual at our neighborhood farmer’s market this morning. I’m embarrassed to admit that this was the first time we did any significant shopping at the market, which takes place weekly a couple of blocks from our house. With accordion music playing in the background, we browsed the stalls and filled our canvas bags with fresh bread, bags of fruit and fresh-pressed apple juice, olives and homemade hummus, and a heaping serving of paella that was packed with mussels, calamari, and giant prawns. Lunch was paella, and dinner was a generous spread of toasted bread, baked camembert, beet salad, olives, and crisp white wine. It’s far too easy to eat incredibly well here.

Samedi