La Rentree!

I can almost taste it! I can definitely smell it! It's the moment we've all been waiting for! Drum roll, please... La Rentree! Loose translation: The end of summer vacation and the beginning of the new school year! We went to our welcome picnics on saturday and, mercifully, Lili found a friend. A very sweet girl from NYC, they will be in the same class and they have a lot in common. Not the least of which is that they are both desperate for some new friends, so they are pretty happy to have found each other. She will also only be here for the year so that will save us some tears in the future. Noa met a new friend at her picnic, who she ended the day with by wrestling to the ground and lying on top of him in the middle of the Champs de Mars. Ahh, Paree! We also visited the schools, which both seem very nice if not a little pretentious (and when I say a little, I don't actually mean a little). And schools are very strict in france. On friday we are expected to bring our children to the door, kiss them goodbye and send them on their way. None of this mamby-pamby take your kids inside, get them acclimated to the class and the teacher, then say you're going to quickly buy some gum and come back 6 hours later. Nope. The parents are never to go in the school unless specifically invited for an event. Drop off and pick up are outside the front door. School is from 8:45 to 4:15. Voila. I'm just happy that they each have at least one friend who will be in class with them and at this point all I can do is pray for an easy rentree.

I'm Ba-ack!

Hello. I'm really sorry that I haven't posted in a long time. It's just that I was behind, and there was so much going on, so I sorta hid from the blog. Anyway, since mom already told you about Bordeaux, I'm just going to tell you my favorite parts, and tell you what we have done so far in Paris. So... I guess one of my favorite things in Bordeaux was the opera museum. It was this place where they had operas, and there was an exhibit there, it had a lot of costumes, and how they do the lighting, sound, and the scenery. When we went into the room where they actually did the operas, there were recorded voices telling about the history of the place. That was one thing. My second favorite thing(s) were the cows. 58 of them. They all had really cool designs, and were placed in various places all over Bordeaux. We even got a book with all of them in it. We took the train( which, by the way, was awesome) back to Paris. Now, I'm not sure if mom mentioned this, but she hurt her neck really bad. When we got back, I had to do some of mom's chores( because dad is still in Bordeaux), such as: washing the dishes, taking Chloe when we walk, making dinner(for the most part of it), and sometimes helping Noa in her bath. It really wasn't surprising when mom told me at the pharmacy that she needed a neck brace. I feel like I'm missing a really important part of information, but I can't wrap my mind around it. Anyways, we're getting ready for school(it starts on Friday), and there's, like a picnic today, and we visit the school on Monday. Oh yeah! I remember now!! Mom is trying to teach us some " Basic French" so we're not completely lost. I barely know anything. The days of the week, how to count to thirty, the months, things like; I don't understand, Where are the bathrooms?, I have to use the bathroom, I am(insert age here), my name is(insert name here) What is your name?, my birthday is(insert birthdate here), but, that's pretty much it. Wish me luck for when school starts!!!

Lili(an) Belle in PARIS!!

Scooter MIA

Here's a funny Bordeaux story: We're staying at this hotel in the city center but our room is not in the main building, it's across the road and we have our own door code and key. The room is not huge, so we left the girls scooters right outside the door in the hallway. Our room is on the second floor. There is not a lot of traffic in the building, I think maybe just hotel guests. When we woke up yesterday morning and set out for breakfast, Lili's scooter was missing. Noa's was there, where we had left it. I couldn't believe a scooter had been picked, unbelievable! We tell Lili we'll get her another one. Then something strange happened in Ethan's brain and he started thinking like a college student. He says I'm just going to check on the other floors to see if it's there. What? Why? He goes upstairs. Yep, here it is. How did you know that? He said, well, there was a party up there last night (it was kind of loud) and if I was a kid going on a beer run, I'd borrow one of these scooters. They probably thought they belonged to the hotel. Or not. But, what's the harm? And then they just didn't bother to return it to the same floor. I guess that makes sense but weird that Ethan would think of it. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact the he's a professor and he's needs to be able to think like his students in order to stay one step ahead!

Smells like Ramen!

After only one day in Bordeaux eating out every meal, we felt the need to switch to another food theme. It's kind of like weight lifting, 2 days on 1 day off. This was really a preemptive strike though because we know we're going to be eating out a lot in the next week. And in Bordeaux that means a lot of duck fat, cow fat, chicken fat and most of all, the lovely, endearing and ever so loyal pork fat. So tonight we had Ramen noodles at a very cool, tiny little place called Fufu where we sat at the bar, sweating just a little from the heat coming off the kitchen that was behind the bar, slurping our noodles and, yes, pork. Noa in particular loved the pork. I has to ask them for an extra serving for her. She especially liked the chewy parts. It's hard to escape the other white meat in France. Earlier today, in fact, we decided we wanted to have a lighter lunch after a somewhat disastrous dinner last night (not for everyone, just me) when I had the worst meat ever, so chewy and greasy but it was late and I decided I would eat what I could so as not to disturb the harmony of the meal. My stomach, however, was not in agreement with that decision. My body has been working really hard to digest that piece of rubber, keeping me up all night and I'm pretty sure it will take 5 to 7 years before I'm completely finished with that meal. Isn't that how long it takes to digest a piece of chewing gum? Anyways, back to our "light" lunch. We both got salads, his-greens with duck confit and a wedge of fois gras and hers-greens with ham, sheep's cheese, some red peppers and a couple different sauces, just for fun. They were both delicious and so light! As far as we can tell, all there is to do in Bordeaux is eat, drink and shop. Too bad for us that our kids are only fans of eating. The city center is made up of a labyrinth of small walking streets lined with thousands of restaurants and shops. Around every corner there is a Place and they are all packed with the one billion tourists that are in town. In other news, Noa got her staple out today, very easy, no drama, healing beautifully. We did go to the Mirror d'Eau which is an open area next to the river that is covered with about half an inch of water for kids and adults to splash around in. It looks as if you're walking on water and every 15 minutes or so the ground spits up more water and mist to keep the ground wet. Tomorrow, I think we'll hit a museum after a light breakfast of hot chocolate and croissants. And maybe if we're feeling lucky we'll take them to a wine bar for a tasting!

Trial and Error

I know you think that all we do since we've moved to Paris is wake up, start drinking coffee and eating croissants, then go to a museum, have a leisurely lunch, drink more coffee then go to a park and ride the carousel until dinner time at which point we start drinking wine and eating cheese with baguettes. This is not the case. Well, some of it is true, although we haven't been to a museum yet (I'm not counting Papillorama in Switzerland as a museum) and we haven't ridden any carousels yet. I admit to drinking and eating all aforementioned food and beverage items. However, this isn't all we've been up to, life in Paris for new arrivals isn't that easy! It seems that the most mundane tasks take incredible effort and even then you may not succeed at what you set out to accomplish. Here are some examples: #1. Because we only have an American credit card and not a euro one, sometimes it doesn't work, even at an establishment it previously worked at...and no one can tell you why. #2. Ethan rented a van to go to Ikea. We checked online to make sure Ikea Sud had the items we wanted. When he got there, not only could he not get the van into the parking lot (too big, he had to park with the 18 wheelers) but they actually had nothing we wanted! He had to drive to Ikea Nord to get the furniture. #3. We don't know how to pay our phone bill or change our cable plan. #4. I've been to a gym 3 times to try and join but keep having to bring more paperwork. I just want to workout! #5. I schlepped my kids on a 30 minute walk to the town hall to ask about a list of classes for adults because I couldn't find it online. When I got there the not too happy helper at the info desk said, yes they are online but was not really interested in telling me how to find them. So we turned around and went home (I didn't make them walk though, we took the bus).

Yesterday, I went to the pharmacy to get a Benadryl equivalent and some prescription medication. I came out with the antihistamine (for children and adults) and I was able to buy my medication over the counter that I need a script for in the states. I was so thrilled, I felt like I should open a bottle of champagne. But you need to understand, this was a huge victory. I only went out once and came back with what I wanted...brilliant. Unfortunately, to balance out the amazing success of the pharmacy, Noa bumped her head last night and got a little gash. In France, unless it's totally obvious, you always go to the pharmacy first where they can evaluate you and either give you what you need or send you to a doctor or hospital. Noa's diagnosis was for the hospital so they told us where the closest one was and sent us on our way. It was, in fact, close. However, they don't treat children at that hospital so we had to metro it to the children's hospital, 20 minutes away. You would think the local pharmacist would know this info but this is what happens when you aren't a local...everything is trial and error. Mostly error. Noa is fine, although she needed a staple in her head to seal herself up. The moral of the story is, you can't let it get to you, eventually things will work out, you will succeed. But until then, drink the wine, eat the bread, whatever you need to do to make it to the next challenge.

Ikeas of France

Ikea, that's not really the first place that comes to mind as "fun." Yet, that is what this post is about. The day started up bright and early, breakfast at about 7:00, normally on a school day, that's not unusual, but these days I've been lying in bed, reading from 6 to 9. At about 8:30, dad and I went to rent a truck. The truck was huge. The trunk was so large, it could have easily fit all the things we needed, and with room to spare! The front had three seats, so there was a seat for anything that might be to delicate to put in the back, or maybe just dad's backpack! So, it took us a while to get to the first Ikea, 15 minutes or so. We got there, and we looked all around for parking for big trucks, but the only place there was, was for 18 wheelers, delivery trucks for Ikea. We went around, and around, tried the normal garage, but our vehicle was to tall. Dad just decided to park in the back, and hope those gates were still open. We went inside and looked around the top floor, we were looking for one thing there, an egg chair, and they had it. We went downstairs to look for the other things we needed, we couldn't find them on our own, so we had to ask some people who worked there for help. Dad showed them the papers, and what we needed to find, they said they had none of it. "But we looked online, and they had it all!" Dad protested. The people said, "Nope, don't have it" (in French, of course.) They said they had it at Ikea Nord! Ok, so right about now, I think I'm missing a few things about the car ride, and some other things. I'm going to see if Dad will take the mic for a minute to fix things up, and to tell of the next car ride.

So this is Ethan (Dad) and I'm going to try to set the story straight.... I mean Lili got it right for the most part but there are subtle nuances....like the fact that I asked for a small delivery truck and got an enormous van, or that the frickin' Ikea didn't have a parking lot for anything bigger than a Honda Accord. Honestly, I don't know how anyone got anything home from that Ikea! Then again, since they don't actually carry any of the products they advertise I guess it isn't really an issue. I'm starting to think that the Ikea in the south of Paris is a front for the Swedish mafia. But the point is that after we said goodbye to the truckers parked next to us we took off for an Ikea on the completely other side of Paris. This is where Mabel comes into the story (you remember Mabel? our GPS from the trip to Switzerland and Italy). So we asked Mabel to get us to Ikea Nord and because she has a sense of humor she decided to take us through several small suburbs outside Paris before putting us back on the highway. I mention this because she took us through the center of these small towns and down all sorts of windy roads that definitely were NOT designed for a big honkin' van like the one we were driving! If that wasn't enough, Lili was starting to fade as it was getting close to lunch. She did not look good and to top it all off Mabel decided to do this weird thing where her screen would go dark until somebody touched it...talk about starved for attention. Well finally we found the autoroute and Mabel and I got our bearings. Ikea was in sight and I knew that this one had an outside parking lot that could accommodate our van. I got Lili into the store and as quick as I could into the cafe: "one order of salmon and another of Swedish meatballs STAT! Oh and a soda too, and some fries!". Once we had eaten things started to pick up. We got the egg chair, found the furniture and made it out alive. We even got Lili a really cool lamp but I'll let her elaborate on that. Now we just had to get back to the apartment which we managed in no time and then it was just a matter of getting the 400 Ikea boxes up to the apartment. I'll save the long story of assembly for another day........ I guess that does it. Did I forget anything Lili?

Not much Dad. I can describe the rooms after the furniture was put in. So, Noa's room is really, bursting with color. It's very, woodland fairy-like, just the sort of thing Noa loves. Can't tell you much about Mom and Dad's room, except that they got a dresser very much like the one at home. My room, is very cool, it's pretty much all black and white, except for sometimes when my sheets are green. I have this really cool dresser, that's black, and the drawers are like white, but a little see through. The lamp Dad was describing looks like a fortune ball, which goes perfectly with the dresser. Since it took me a couple days to actually get to doing this blog, more has happened which you'll hear about in my next blog. Please, please, please comment.

Lili(an) Belle in PARIS!

At The Carnival!

Yesterday was quite a blur! We went to a temporary, mini carnival! It was so much fun!! We all split up, I went with dad, Noa with mom. Me and dad went to the carnival, Noa and mom went to the trampolines and the playground. First, dad and I went on the air swings! They were so much fun!!!!!!!!!! We could see evereything, the Eiffel Tower, the d'Orsay, Invalides, and even the hot-air-balloon near our house!!! After we were done, dad was feeling a bit wobbly, but not much. We went on "The Rainbow Ride", it wasn't very rainbow-y, it was like a boat with an arm that put you around in a circle, then dropped you to the ground. Dad was feeling really pukey, and we started calling it "Barforama". So after that, dad was not feeling to good, he wouldn't be going on any rides any time soon! That meant I had to go on the water ride by myself. I was starting to worry, 'cause I couldn't speak French, I thought I might have to say something. I was wrong. They just put me in the car, and were like,'Off you go.' And these car things didn't even have seat-belts, just two handles on either side. The first fall wasn't that bad, though I did get pretty wet. The second one, well let's just say I was thinking,"I wish dad were here, but it's to late to go back now." And this fall was really steep, so I was holding on tight, and bracing myself for it. I went down, and slid so far down the car, I was practically bending my knees. I got to the bottom and SPLASH! So, I got really soaked, and I was shaking, dad says mom was so scared because I practically fell out of the car! I didn't have a bathing suit, or a change of clothes, or a towel! So I had to go to the bookstore wet, and cold. I got three books (yes!), and then we went back home. After we got home, me and Noa watched a movie, and Skyped with Aunt Jody. That's all of it, so until the next blog!

Lili(an) Belle in PARIS!

Vacation Daze

Hi! Wow, it's been a long week. Mom has told you all the basic stuff, so I'll explain all the details. Firstly, mom left out one minor detail. Okay, forget about what I said about it being "minor", it's a major detail! Our friends, the Maxwells accompanied us, for the first 3 days anyway! It was so much fun!!!!!!! When we were exploring, my dad found a bunny hutch! The rabbits were so cute! We fed them pieces of grass and pet them. Dad also found that right next to the rabbits, was where they fed the cows, and milked them (we think)! After that, we walked, and found ourselves facing about a dozen baby cows! they were adorable!!! We pet them on the head, though we didn't feed them anything(none of us were really willing to get slobbered on by cows). In the first hotel we stayed in in the Swiss, was really cool! The first night Noa and I were in one room, Mom and Dad in another! The next 2 nights we stayed in a suite! It had two stories, just one room each(except for the bathroom), but still, it was pretty darn cool! The next hotel, wasn't quite as fancy, but the food was SO GOOD. I am not kidding, we had breakfast there the first day, and I was like, this is(as quoted above) SO GOOD. So that covers the food part of it. The room though... let's just say it was small and slanted. The manager(also the chef, I think) was really nice, he even did a couple fireworks for us! They rocked, it was like looking at a fountain made of fire! The only problem: Mom's eye got stung by a bee. Long story short: Mom took a nap, left window open, bee flew in, major owie. I put some pictures up of her eye. When we decided we'd had enough of Switzerland, we headed off to Italy! The condo was awesome, me and Noa liked playing at the pool, plus, we met some nice American girls who were about our ages(more or less, one was 7, the other 8), so it worked out. The food there was delicious! Pasta, pizza, gelato,fresh fish, bread, cheese, chocolate filled bread, milk candies! It was all amazing, until one day I ate to much and... well, it wasn't pretty. The next day we started home. Want to know my definition of "not fun"? A 9 hour car trip with Noa, Mom, Dad, and Chloe. The 9 hour car ride, was not my idea, we were going to stay at a hotel on the way back, but mom decided against it. It was pretty and all, but who wants to be stuck in a car with practically no entertainment(except for a couple books you've read 1000 times, and ipods with low battery), and their sister randomly growling, due to her games, and saying random comments from TV shows on the ipods. Well, it was finally over, and now we're back.

Apartment, sweet apartment.

Lili(an) Belle in PARIS!

A Road Trip Through The Alps

If there's one thing we learned on our trip, it's that the French have some tough competition with the Swiss when it comes to eating cheese. Our first night in Switzerland we were guests at our friend Sandrine's home with her family in Dombresson, a small farming village near Neuchatel. We had fondu. It was very melty and cheesy. And there are rules. #1. Do not drink any cold liquid with cheese fondu (wine is exempt because they also like wine) or the melted cheese will form a gelatinous ball in your stomach, becoming very difficult to digest. #2. Do drink hot sweet tea, helps the medicine go down. #3. Do dip your bread in some Kirsch before dunking and swirling in the cheese, also helps the medicine go down. #4. If you drop a piece of bread in the fondu pot you drink a bottle of wine as punishment. Now, the first 3 or 4 bites of fondu are delicious but after that one starts to wonder about a meal that has so many rules and regulations for safe consumption. While in La Suisse, we did not go a day or dare I say, a meal without cheese. We also saw our fair share of cows. And with the cows, come the flies. A small price to pay for all the lovely dairy products, depending on how you look at things. We went on some beautiful drives through the countryside, hiked in the local hills, had some great meals (did I mention the cheese?), saw some fireworks (it was Switzerland's National Day last week and there are a lot of festivities and free white sausage, the "other" national food) and spent time with friends. The one road bump on the trip was that I got stung by a bee, on my right eyelid (I meant big road bump). Ouch! For those of you that know me, you can only imagine, it wasn't pretty. Long story short, eye swells shut, go see local doc, get meds, all better. Then we were off to Italy! We had a beautiful drive through the Alps, stopping at Chillon Castle (very cool) in Montreux (yes, smoke on the water) finally arriving at our borrowed condo on Lago Maggiore. Side note on the Alps, they make the Santa Monica mountains look like the hills of Madison, CT. Really breathtaking! The lake in Italy was stunning. The girls loved hanging out at the pool, which was also special...fully tiled, lounge chairs, grass, warm showers and plenty of wealthy italians on vacation. If we didn't get our fill of dairy in Switzerland (HA), we made up for it in pizza and gelato. Note to any other travelers: food is much more affordable in Italy than in switzerland and it's not too hard to find good food! in case you were wondering, Chloe got to enjoy it all with us and she was a very good girl! (Note: The children in the above photo are Camilla and Max Yust, daughter and son of Alex Yust and Sandrine Junod. The photo was taken at Saut du Doubs.) Stay tuned for more stories from The Road Trip and more photos!