three steps forward, two steps back: More Swimming

With temperatures at 89 today, we decided that we needed to go swimming in an outdoor pool. I figured that I could manage a pool now…

We started out a bit rocky when I tried to walk in the door of the pool. The worker told Owen to wait outside on a platform (Owen asked why which really bothered the worker. He switched to English. “Because that is what you do!,” he said sternly. I know asking why is a little rude, but poor Owen gets his feelings hurt. He just doesn’t have to vocabulary to say, “Is that the line?” or something like that…

The platform we waited on was a kind of line. When the pool is at capacity it is the overflow area. Luckily the line went really quickly.

We were pros at taking off our shoes for the foot bath. (An American woman that we met said that her two daughters scaled the little walls on the way in. Opps. At least we’re not the only ones to feel out of the loop.)

We were pros at suiting up in the proper gear.

We were pros at swimming together with no lifeguard. How amazing that this pool is right on the Seine?! I think it is on a permanent barge on the river. Very cool. (and very warm water!)

This pool had a two hour session which included all of the time that you were in the building. So the swim time was limited to about 1 1/2 hours if you were on fast-change mode.

There was a life guard chair here, but the only time I saw someone use it was when one of the workers moved it to face the sun and then he climbed up and played on his phone. The workers must be watching the pool somewhat because when I came out of the locker room with my camera, they yelled something at me. I am not sure if it was because I had a shirt and shorts on then or because the camera didn’t walk through the footbath…

On our journey home, one bus drove passed us for some reason. Since they only come every fifteen minutes, the boys convinced me that they needed an orange soda. Their negotiating skills are getting good here…