Yes, the heat we foresaw, but our grand entrance into Avignon, no one foresaw.
The TGV (bullet train) ride from Paris to Avignon was a rocky one, in the literal sense. We could have been on fishing boat for all I knew. This was not the first time I was hit by motion sickness so I dealt with it swiftly and efficiently on the train. Chloe, on the other hand, had never had trouble with motion sickness so we really didn't understand why she was crying hysterically as we were approaching Avignon.
When the train stops, you get about 5 minutes to get off the train before it departs for the next stop. When our train stopped in Avignon, daddy had our 2 large bags and a stroller, I had Isaac strapped in front and a backpack behind, and we were both begging our screaming child to get off her seat. Luckily some other people helped us with our luggage while daddy picked up Chloe and rushed out the door.
Thinking she was dehydrated, we gave her some coke to drink. And there it all came out. In a projectile. All over herself, the stroller, the floor. Poor kid had no idea what just happened so she could not stop screaming and crying. We quickly tried to clean up the mess.
Next, we needed to get the rental car. To do this, we needed to step into the full Provencal sun in Khoo-melting heat. As soon as the sunlight touched Chloe's face, she screeched like a vampire -- too hot!!!!! Too hot!!!!! And thusly we wheeled our wailing child quickly to the car park, dodging the sun at every possible tree shade. Finally I managed to fashion a curtain out of my jacket, behind which she decided to hide behind forever, sniffing and sobbing.
While daddy was getting our car, Chloe let our a loud wail again. "I have to poo!!!!!" You've got to be kidding. I ran into the car rental place and made the mistake of asking for a toilet in English. The lady rolled her eyes and pointed at the train station. "But's an emergency!!!", as I pointed at my child whom she can clearly hear the wails from. She rolled her eyes again and pointed at the train station. Ugh. I contemplated leaving Isaac with grandma so I could run faster with Chloe, but Isaac was going through a phase where if I was more than 2 feet away he would scream. No, Isaac stays strapped on my sling. We ran back to the bathroom at the train station.
Finally, we got our rental car. Chloe was terrified of motion sickness and refused to leave her stroller. We finally convinced her and went to our rental home. After arrival, she vomitted 2 more times. She was out like a light that night from all the crying that day.
Vomit aside, Avignon turns out to be as beautiful as we imagined. It reminds me of Hawaii. The blue skies, warm sun, beautiful plants, hardly any mosquitoes. Our home is gorgeous. Our pool refreshing. Everyone is recovering from some form of cold and not enough rest. Chloe was back to normal the next day, and running circles around our house. What a perfect spot to slow down, take a breath of fresh air, and do nothing but just live a good life.
