Heaven or Hell? A Day At The Beach In The South Of France With Our Kids

You know that expression “ A Day At The Beach? ” It implies that something is easy or simple right? We spent a day at the with our kids at a beach in Le Pradet in the South of France in the Winter. It should have been fun and easy but it wasn’t. To me that day

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet

You know that expression “ A Day At The Beach? ” It implies that something is easy or simple right?

We spent a day at the with our kids at a beach in Le Pradet in the South of France in the Winter. It should have been fun and easy but it wasn’t. To me that day at the  beach symbolizes what Life abroad can be like. Living in France isn’t going to magically make your children agreeable or enthusiastic about the same things you are enthusiastic about no matter how great you think it is. You just have to roll with the punches and move on.

Here is what we saw at our day at the beach.

We saw a boy on a unicycle playing the guitar and  we walked,  talked and took in the scenery.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet walking

We wore our galoshes.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet galoshes

We saw the tinyest Yacht Club ever

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet Club Nautique

It was cold and windy but we enjoyed the sounds of the Mediterranean Sea.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet looking towards Toulon

We looked around.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet looking around

We walked around

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet walking around

We wished we had Sea Kayaks.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet sea kayaking

But then the Moody Teenager emerged

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet grumpy kids

He did not like the day at the beach in the south of France

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet grumpy kids

So we decided to go home.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet Garonne bus stop

The air was thick with tension as we waited for the bus.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet Garonne bus stop

But we made it home and the grumpy teenager was happy again.

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet sidewalk

That was “A day at the beach in the south of France” in the winter with our kids!

A day at the beach in the south of france: Le Pradet winter with kids

There is a lesson to be learned when travelling with other people

Things are not always black and white when you travel with other people.  “A DAY AT THE BEACH” is not always the proverbial “DAY AT THE BEACH”.
If the kids aren’t into it,  if the kids would rather be somewhere else doing something else…it can ruin an otherwise lovely time and a day at the beach can turn into a day in hell.

This was a true story:

In all fairness, my son Kieran isn’t always grumpy, I just wanted to make a point!  And In case you are wondering where we were, the beach is called “Plage De La Garonne” in a town called Le Pradet.  It’s a beautiful small beach town here in the south of France just five minutes on bike from where we live.  A great place to spend time or spend a year or more on your next career break or family sabbatical.
Here is a link to the office of tourism in Le pradet.

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Annie André

Annie André

About the author

I'm Annie André, a bilingual North American with Thai and French Canadian roots. I've lived in France since 2011. When I'm not eating cheese, drinking wine or hanging out with my husband and children, I write articles on my personal blog annieandre.com for intellectually curious people interested in all things France: Life in France, travel to France, French culture, French language, travel and more.

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