Gonflable

My last pair of Stuart Weitzman shoes. And, the first really expensive pair of shoes I bought. For a wedding in June 2000. Good party shoes, not so good walking shoes. As my feet were still a bit swollen after Friday's flight, they were good for the walk from the hotel over to Astoux for another seafood massacre. But as the wine drained my body of water, they kept falling off on our way back. So, I ended up walking down the Croisette barefoot last night. Very hippie-chic, I guess.

Today we spent all day shopping for stuff for the house. Unbelievably enough, we managed to get through this without any major discussions. Mr. Incredible hates shopping, but when shopping for things we actually need, he somehow manages to stay calm. I, on the other hand, has been known to love shopping. But not really for stuff we truly need. I worked hard not to fall into the optimization-trap, where I need to evaluate every single item I buy thoroughly to make sure everything I buy is perfect. No time for that with a ticking bomb husband in tow. You know perfectly well that he will only last for a limited number of hours before he has had enough. And then the shopping spree is over. Period.

In five hours we managed to purchase: a washer, a dryer, a Nespresso machine, a regular coffee maker, two hairdryers, an electrical toothbrush, an iron, a vacuum cleaner (nothing sucks like Electrolux), a refrigerator, a wine cabinet (important), a tool box, a hammer, a Weber gas barbecue, a barbecue cleaning brush, barbecue cleaning spray, an apron, a set of barbecue tools, a barbecue cover, an electrical screwdriver thingy, bits for that one, a wrench, pliers, a water (is that the actual word?), a measuring band, four sun beds, two small tables for the sun beds, two sun umbrellas, covers for those, an outdoor dining table, ten outside dining chairs (with armrest = optimal), a Fatboy buggle-up for lounging in the garden or in front of the TV, an inflatable extra bed (since the beds I have ordered do not arrive until the end of the month), and very importantly, an electrical pump for my inflatable toys.

Now, that last item I think I should elaborate on, as I know that certain in-duh-viduals will surely - ON PURPOSE - misunderstand what sort of inflatable "toys" we are talking about. Yes, I know you are out there.

The people that have been on vacation with yours truly before will, however, know that I love these huge silly inflatable toys that you can float around on in your pool. Precisely. The bigger, and more silly, the better. The last few years I have preferred this huge island with a palm-tree on it. Not easy to float around on, but looks amazing. The drawback with these toys is that it takes some breath to inflate one of them. Now, however, we do not need to take that issue into account when purchasing new ones.

The sky will now be the limit. Or, rather, the size of the pool.

Location:Rue Frédéric Amouretti,Cannes,France