first day off for Maggie

The boys have school today and tomorrow, but all of their work has been completed, so these last two days are purely social time for them. Maggie and I are enjoying a little time at home with just the two of us before the boys' holidays begin. We're doing some research today on how we will spend this summer, our first one in Europe.

There are a number of activities that we are investigating for both boys. There is a day camp type of thing run by the commune that costs around 7 euros per day, including meals, that we are planning to put them into for a week or so. Also there is a tennis camp for a week that includes tennis for two and a half hours in the morning, and then lunch, followed by their choice of art class, multisport, music, dance, and so on. That is a bit more expensive than the day camp but it would seem that the Belgian government reimburses parents 11 euros per day for camps and vacations, so if the price is 150 euros per week, that works out to only around 85 euros, which isn't too bad. When we consider that daycare costs per day were approaching $50 back in Toronto, it puts it into perspective. Malcolm has inquired about golf camp; there are a number of sessions, and the golf course is right across the street from the boys' school. I don't have a price yet, but am looking into it.

As well we are looking into Corsica as a vacation destination for later in July. All of France vacations in August, so we hope to benefit from going in July when the crowds are less. Corsica is also much less touristic than mainland France, so that should be nice. Maybe we'll have time to visit Marseille or Montpellier around the same time.

We had a good weekend, but it was very busy. Friday was the end of school party for the boys, and then on Saturday we received some bunk beds and a secretaire from friends of ours who are leaving Brussels for Singapore in a few weeks; after a potluck lunch with them, we went in the evening to the house of Duncan's friend for a barbeque with his family in their garden. On Sunday afternoon I gave Simonas his last guitar lesson, and then our two families enjoyed tapas in their garden, with some tastings of Lithuanian beer, and then a bottle of rosé champagne that we had bought on our trip there last February. They are heading back to Lithuania in a week or two so we are making the most of the time before they leave. As you can see our social calendar is very full!

But today we have some work to do... we just finished lunch together and are going grocery shopping now. I swam this morning and have to do some singing after we get back. Likewise there are a few houses that I have to call that might still be auditioning singers in July.

I hope the weather in Canada is as nice as it is here right now (subject to change without notice; c'est La Belgique!). For the moment the forecast for the next week is lows of 14 and highs in the upper twenties, with sun. Time to go to the beach!