It was the first day back from February break and parents bustled in and out with their students in tow.
One father in bright yellow jeans arrived with a plastic fish carrier and two goldfish...he was glad, he said, that the pair had survived the vacation and this morning he was returning them to the classroom where they live. The are the class couple.
Soon the future swimmers arrived pair by pair, holding hands and following their teacher.
Maya's school is located in a former convent so the grounds are enclosed and the building is beautiful and old.
We helped guide the class out to the sidewalk to cross the street for the bus which would take us part of the way to the swimming pool.
Once we had them all on the bus we had to make sure everyone was buckled in and ready for the ride. I felt like a bee keeper herding a buzzing group of little bumblebees. They were all so darling and excited for the event.
Don't you find this school bus to be plush??? The seats are soft and upholstered and for every passenger there is a seatbelt. We just glided out of the parking lot and onto the main street of Carpentras. When we got off the bus, another busy street to cross and then we helped everyone wind through the streets of the old city looking out for cars and the occasional doggie "present" which got lots of remarks.
As we walked along I thought I would take pictures of the various backpacks the children were carrying. In the picture above you can see Maya's ladybug backpack that I found for her in Santa Fe.
In this picture it is the Disney film about airplanes...
..his friend had a cute little bear pack.
Then a robot and a smiley face. There were more but most of those pictures were too blurry.
We were headed here to this wonderful art deco pool.
Outside the building there were some wild cats watching us arrive.
The pool is great inside, warm and sunny and we got really busy getting everyone into suits and those tight latex swim caps (I had to wear one too and had to buy it from the dispenser in the lobby...I thought my brains were being squeezed out!) We had to make sure every child had their clothing items together and a towel for later. Whew! One little girl brought her school bag instead of her swimming bag so we had to figure out a way to make it work for her. I was with another mother (much younger than me) and the teacher and JC was with the three other fathers. JC was in his swim trunks and the Maître Nageur warned him that next time he would be required to wear a Speedo like everyone else!!! Swim trunks are not allowed at the pool.
The water familiarization went splendidly...there was a wonderful course set up for the children so that even the least able (in water) felt great by the time we were done. For me it was just so much fun watching those cute little faces as they made their way across the floating pads etc. Worth getting wet for me at least!! Sorry no photos in the pool I was too busy in the water.
Then back to the winding streets...
We headed back to the bus once everyone was showered, dried and dressed...
It was quite a morning and I am so glad we got to be part of it!!
Driving back to our apartment I spied this cat on a balcony keeping an eye on a cage full of canaries!
When we got home, we actually took a nap! It was a very good adventure!
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