gabriella & jd (and alex! and vincent!)

market day in Issigeac Sunday April 24 Celebrating Alex's 10th birthday with the tart we were too tired to eat the night before.  We left the tree house and headed back towards Bordeaux and Saint-Emilion for two nights.  We had visited Saint-Emilion five years ago and really enjoyed it and decided to go back.  We were lucky to have the sun appear it's been a cooler and more rainy April than usual in France - some arctic air mass was stuck over Europe.  We stopped in another wonderful small town Issigeac based on the fact that the Sunday market was going to be there.  Again, a quaint wonderful town.  We had lunch at a lovely restaurant before we headed to some Karting for Alex's birthday. Saint-Emilion Then on to Saint-Emilion, checking into our hotel in town, a small walk around and dinner at a really good Vietnamese restaurant. Monday April 25 A nice sunny day, the petit tourist train through the vineyards, lunch outside in Saint-Emilion.  Driving back to Paris o

 

the tree house -  Friday April 22 Alex's birthday always falls nicely during the 2 week Spring school vacation in France.  We decided to celebrate his birthday in a luxury treehouse in the Dordogne valley of France.  We took the TGV to Bordeaux (3 h 20 min) but alas, we experienced for the first time bad luck on the train in France.  A train broke down in front of us causing a 2 hour delay.  But they gave us a refund immediately and food, so it could have been worse.  We rented a car and drove the 90 minutes to the treehouse Chateaux dans les Arbres .  Really cool!  We ate in the tiny town Chez Edith for dinner (foie gras, escargots, duck, good wine) and retired to the tree house.  There is actually a tree trunk inside the house and we woke up to find something had been scratching at the tree bark.  Nature! Those yellow fields are "colza", or canola.  Beautiful almost neon yellow in April. Saturday April 23 - Alex's 10th birthday Breakfast delivered i

pictures Before we left on vacation Alex opened his birthday presents - books from Z & GG, clothes from Toots, a Manchester United jersey, Euro football cards, and Simon game from us. more opening present pictures

Seems like just yesterday...

Finally Spring has arrived in Paris.  Last Sunday, Square Batignolles - pictures The park, a nice lunch outside, watching a Mancheter United game at Corcoran's Pub. more pictures Writing, eating, cooking, flowers, the market, after Lincoln''s surgery (cyst removal, benign), dentist, headlamp, watching the washing machine. mmm, escargot casserole for Vincent!

MS 7 (Moyenne Section) école  maternelle Jules-Ferry Vincent has had several teachers this year after his first one (Fanny) went on leave end of October.  In this picture on the left is Sarah, the teacher for March.  On the right is Sabrina the ATSEM (assistant).  His other teachers have been:  Yasmina, Marie, and Romane. Group "Fun":

Sorry for the delay we've been doing some computer maintenance.  Today (Tues April 12th) was Vincent's "Carnavale" at school, all the children made masks and costumes and had a parade to the park by school.  Vincent was a bee.  He is holding hands with Lea. pictures from Carnavale parade even more pictures end of March Walking, playdoh, lunch, reading, authentic Chinese lunch at Le Lac de l'Ouest in the Marais (really good and not expensive), bistro meal at Le Valois (an old traditional bistro in the 17th near Park Monceau), making challah French toast, Musée Jacquemart-André, flags tied with black ribbons for Brussels, more reading, flowers. Harlequin's Carnival, 1924-25, by Joan Miro (Vincent studied in class):