Prepare the Cabin for Take-Off

Today the smell is decidedly me. I admit it, after a red eye back from CT, I stink. I'm ripe. I need a shower. It was a bitter sweet goodbye yesterday, as we were all sad to leave our very good friends who welcomed us all week long with parties, playdates, sleepovers and Martinis. It was really a non stop fiesta del grande. And the week before we got to have some super nice hang out time with cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents and friends. However, daddy was waiting patiently in Paris for us to come home to him and we missed him too, so last night we boarded the red eye on Air France to bring us back to the City of Lights, otherwise known as the The City of Dog Poo. Knowing we would be back in the Good ol' US of A in five months helped soften the blow a bit. So, sad to have left but happy to be in my own bed (with my husband, instead of my 6 year old), use my own shower and visit my cheese guy.

I've stolen the computer from my mom, locked her up, and gagged her in the closet. Just kidding! Now, I probably don't have to write about my vacation, because everybody who reads this blog, I've seen over the vacations, and they've already heard the 411, the most important stuff. I will, however, write about the plane ride, and our arrival, and... I could go on and on, and on, but I'll just get to the point. So, anyway we say our good-byes to the McHughs, and Warren drove us to the Maxwells so we could hitch a ride to the airport. The ride was long, and I think I might have slept, but I'm not sure. When we got to the airport, it was practically deserted. The guy at the baggage check-point just opened one of those ropes, and we went straight to the front. The security the line was zero, zip, zulch as well. afterwards we went to get paninis, and then the toy store, and then I wanted to get my nails done, but it was $25, so mom said no, and then she fretted over whether or not she was going to get one of those neck rest thingies.... she ended up getting one for her and me. When we finally boarded the airplane, I was ready to take off, and by the time we actually did, I had read about 1/4 of my book, possibly more, and I was switching off with my french book that I have to read for Monday. After the plane had taken off, and we had some turbulence the captain, or one of the flight attendants announced that someone was not feeling well, and they were looking for a doctor. The guy next to mom said something about passing out. I didn't sleep a wink. Noa slept like a log, she had her head in mom's lap, and her feet in my face, pleasant, isn't it? Anyway, I needed more space than Noa, and she was taking up about half of my seat, so to me, sleeping didn't seem like an option. I actually slept through dinner, and I wasn't awake when they served breakfast, but besides that, I was UP and READING. My mom and dad are cutting my reading time to a limit of 1 hour on weekdays, and 2 on weekends and Wednesdays. I was so sad when I heard, I started crying, no joke. Ask my mother. Anyway, we're having dinner soon, so I gotta go! I'll write as soon as possible!

Lili(an) Belle in PARIS

I Surrender!

How's it going people? It's been a while, I realize, but at the top of my lame excuses list is I am sick! Finally, after everyone else in our family had seemingly succumb to some type of foreign germ (for some of us, more than one), it was finally my turn to surrender. It all started a week ago friday, when my throat was feeling a little but itchy. (Ironically, I had woken up that morning, looked in the mirror and said to myself, 'I can't believe I haven't gotten sick here yet'. Big Mistake.) So the plan for the weekend was to go to the Loire Valley and see some Chateaux. Saturday morning , we piled into our rental car and headed south. The first place we stopped was at the Chateau of Cheverny. The fun thing about this place is that they keep a hunting kennel with about 100 dogs and during hunting season (I'm sure there are several throughout the year) they take the dogs out on a hunt. Let me tell you though, 100 french hunting dogs make a lot of french merde! The other super cool thing about this Chateau is that it was heated inside. We could comfortably wander around the furnished rooms, admiring the paintings, dishes and armor. When we left, it was lunch time and we searched for a place to eat. We knew that January was not high season for the Loire Valley, so that meant the Chateaux would be less crowded but we hadn't counted on not finding any open restaurants. Lucky for us, I had booked a room for the night with a view of the Chateau at Chambord and I knew they had a lovely restaurant. So after a few failed attempts at finding something a little less formal in town (I use the word town loosely, but having just purchased a house in Chester, I'm hardly one to talk) and getting a little bit lost with the help of Mabel, our GPS assist, we made it to the lovely, if not a little run down Hotel Saint Michel in Chambord. And they do have a wonderful restaurant and were willing to serve us some of their beautiful cuisine. After a nice lunch, we went to explore the Chateau Chambord which is an enormous medieval chateau and certainly not heated. They did have an enormous fireplace going on each floor but that was only for temporary thawing out your fingers and hands before exploring deeper into the many nooks and crannies of the huge stone castle. After we finished with that we went to warm up for a bit in our room and then it was time to go to the bar for a drink and to dinner. (All the while I am trying to nurse this cold, let's not forget about poor old me). The next morning we drove to visit Chenonceau, which is a gorgeous structure built right over a river, lending itself to amazing views both of the chateau and from the chateau. Again, however, not heated. We toured the place with our gloves and hats on, visited the cool kitchens and walked the gardens and labyrinth for a bit until we were too frozen to stay outside (or inside for that matter) any longer. After lunch at a local cafe (Chenonceau is probably the most visited of the Chateaux so they had to have something open in town for starving tourists) we decided we would head back to Paris. The next day, I had a tour of the Concierge where Marie Antoinette, among others, was held prisoner during the French revolution. The tour was great but the building, originally built in 1310, was not heated. By Tuesday, my cold had gotten so bad that I decided to cancel my tour that day titled, 'Meet the Cheese Maker'. Can you imagine having to cancel something like that? I was heart broken. By Wednesday I was in bed and have remained there ever since (can you actually hear a miniature violin playing?) There is my big story for my big lame excuse about why I haven't written in the blog. I'm sure I will recover soon, and yes, if I'm not better by monday, I will go see a doctor but I swear it was just a cold! (First 2 photos are Chenonceau, next 2 are from Cheverny and the last is from Chambord).