Isabella Does the French Riviera

So I know that it has been a while since I posted something but I have to say that I have been waiting for something interesting to happen. I figure a trip to the French Riviera could be seen as interesting. :-)

The flight there was ok. We arrived a little after Isabella's bed time but she was ok. The only problem on arrival was the heat! Travelling from Finland does not prepare you for the heat there at all! But once we found the right floor that the car was on (we went up and down in the elevator a bit) we were pretty much ready to get to the house. On the way to the house we were able to get a good view of Nice and the surrounding area. The house was actually in a smaller town called Biot which is half way between Nice and Cannes.We stayed in a lovely house with 3 floors and a big terrace...and a pool! That pool was very necessary during the hot days. You can see most of the house from this photo of us in the pool. The house was pretty full there was Taneli's step-mom, Marjut (our host), Katriina, Tuomas, Juho, and Kyle. One of Kyle's first functions was to blow up a pool star that was a gift to him from Marjut...Isabella found this very interesting for some reason...probably because his face kept changing colour! We spent an early afternoon in Antibes. They have a nice but crowded public beach...that we never went to. It was too hot. I spent most of my time there (and Kyle and Katriina's time there) trying to keep Isabella out of the direct sunlight which was very hot.
Isabella also had her own transport system while we were there. Not many places are stroller friendly. There are some lovely old buildings in Antibes and a Picasso museum but we didn't go in any of them either. When we went into the new part of town, we came upon a well-deserved fountain display... Isabella had a fun time playing with the water.

We then spent a couple of days closer to home and had fun in the pool. Isabella LOVED that blow-up car. It could go in the water or next to the sun lounger with a little water inside it. I even think that she even liked it better when it wasn't in the water.


A trip to Monaco was a highlight for many people. It was full of fancy sports cars and it was nice and small and very easy to get around. Taneli's step-mom and I went to the Princess Grace Rose Garden. It was small but packed full of roses (4000 bushes so the guide says). That was near another little park that had some turtles and some weird looking birds. You can't really see it in the photo but that goose had a kind of horn knobby thing on its head. Weird. It took a real interest in Isabella and she returned the favour.




On the day we were leaving Isabella had to take a bath to wash off the chlorine...something she did everytime...and I found that the best place to do this was in the kitchen sink. It was close and it just fit her. Although she did splash in there as much as she did anywhere else...I truly believe that she thought that the pool was just a large bathtub...she loved it!

New toys, a party, a sunday paper and a dentist appointment

It is still only the 4th of August and we have had so much fun! Now that Isabella is becoming more independent by the day and the sun has been shining, we have left the balcony door open so that Isabella can come and go as she pleases. She really likes to do that and she has become very efficient in getting in and out.









That led us to getting a large foam puzzle for Isabella to play on since the balcony is made of concrete and it is cold even on a warm day! She loves it and apparently it tastes good too!

Yesterday she was able to read the paper again with her daddy...she had so much fun 'reading'...or was that ripping??? Fun, Fun, Fun!!! We also went to Taneli's cousin's confirmation party. Pretty much everyone in Finland do this at 15 years old. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for you all) I didn't get any photos while I was there.
Today Isabella had her first dentist appt. Of course, she is 8 months old and has two teeth, why wouldn't a dentist want to check out the progress! It took a mere 2 minutes or so since the woman didn't really speak English. So she just looked at her teeth to confirm that they were there (and they were)...and then gave me some papers that apparently tell me all I need to know...in Finnish...but Taneli can read them.

End of July

So many things happened at the very end of July...the weather has been lovely and there has been lots of family around. Not mine, but Taneli's! Like I mentioned before, Marjut was here visiting from France where she has been working for several months. She has a lovely tan which can only come from someone who works hard in the French Riviera. Not that you can really tell while she hides behind the pillow! She is also getting into the celebrity mode (after being in Nice for so long) by wearing her sunglasses inside!

Isabella also got a nice strawberry hat from her grandparents in Tornio. She is even cuter (if that is even possible) when she wears it...that is if you can get her to leave it on for more than a few seconds!
















On a trip to one of Helsinki's most popular cafes, Cafe Carusel, which is right on the sea, we saw a famous Finn- Mika Salo. And as usual, I had my trusty camera...we have to trust Taneli that it really is him because I had no idea!







That same day Isabella and I went to the park while Taneli and his brother Juho played giant chess. Isabella enjoyed the grass while I was able to read...a bit. It has been a great month!