Today was a relatively quiet start – after a quick run and some bagels we hung around the house and let the kids entertain each other. Patrick was heading to New Orleans so we bid him farewell then took the train to the Alexandria old town for a wander. It’s a lovely part of the city, lots of craft shops and little cafes and restaurants, and being a sunny Sunday afternoon there were lots of people enjoying the day. 

 We found a really good running shop and I had to exercise iron discipline not to buy more shoes. The harbour area was lovely, with magicians and portrait artists plying their trade. We considered lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants but both had quite expensive buffets, and I’m always suspicious of bain-marie prawns on a hot day, so we selected a place called Virtue a short stroll from the waterfront. This proved to be an excellent decision, with a delicious brunch and great service.

On the walk back to the train there was a choice of two ice cream places on opposite sides of the road. One had a queue out the door and the other only had a couple of people lining up, so we took this as a sign and braved the longer queue. It was worth the wait.

Back at chez Garrigan we all crashed after a couple of action packed days. The kids were exhausted and we took it very easy – a long drive coming up tomorrow.