gabriella & jd (and alex! and vincent!)

day 1 Quick three day trip back to the Champagne region and Hautvillers, the town where Dom Perignon discovered how to make champagne.  Leaving Paris on Thursday it was a little gray but warm.  We drove through Meaux and on to a small town, Montceaux-lès-Meaux. for a delicious lunch (duck, steak tartare, brie de Meaux) before continuing to our destination and rented house for the weekend.  We drove into Epernay for dinner and decided to have some old school Chinese which was really good. day 2 Friday, a nice walk around town, to the church where Dom Perignon is buried, then a drive south through the Côte des Blancs champagne vineyards.  Back to a town called Ay for lunch at "Le Vieux Puits"on a terrace overlooking a garden.  The food was amazing, our best meal, and we had champage from Lallier which we then decided to go find for a tasting.  During the tasting we met some nice folks from Wales who knew the tasting host, and we got a private tour of the production area.

Jardin du Luxembourg August 15 is "fete de l'assomption", or the when the Virgin Mary ascends into heaven....a national holiday in France.  As awful as this year has been for France. and last year - weather, terrorism etc. - at least finally there has been some sunny weather in July and August.  It happens so rarely, folks actually enjoy it and don't complain of the heat.  These two months have been a gift. pictures Sunday, we headed out to catch one of the few buses running in Paris (Sunday, in August, try finding public transporation that works for you!).  Luckily the 82 is near us and has a great route past the Eiffel Tower to Jardin du Luxembourg.  But of course it stopped before the normal destination so we had to walk a little.  We wanted to find out if the British bar was showing the first Manchester United game (of course they were duh) but while waiting we found a great restaurant in the Latin Quarter for lunch.  Little did we know we would make fast

courtyard of Palais-Royal pictures We've been enjoying the nice summer weather in Paris and lack of crowds - the Parisians have left town for the South, and the tourists are noticeably fewer this year. Vincent's first real outing since his tonsillectomy on July 20.  End of July, we headed into town, metro to Bourse (the old stock market), a walk through one of the cool covered passages left from about 200 years ago, through the Palais-Royal with the famous black and white column art installation, past the new Les Halles which is still under construction, past the Centre Pompidou, through the Marais which was packed and made us want to hustle out of there, through Place des Vosges, on to our favorite little bar Le Temps des Cerises for some wine, charcuterie and cheese, quick stop by a playground, metro back to our side of town, and finally stopping at a cafe since Alex was craving onion soup and Vincent needed some escargots. pictures Vincent continued his tonsillect

in the Air France lounge at Dulles watching the planes We did so much we are just catching up on downloading all the pictures. pictures Sprinkler fun at Grannie's house, zucchini casserole, and visiting Z & GG at the Cherry Hill RV Park. pictures Meeting up in DC with Shana, drinks and cheese and wine, back to the RV park for more visiting. July 4th Cheese and grilling with old friends. pictures All the hotspots in Montgomery County - Wheaton Regional, the merry-go-round, the train, Mi Rancho, duck pin bowling in White Oak, Monster mini-golf, and finally, Sky Zone Trampoline park! trip to Wilmington ...and France losing the Euro Cup to Portugal. pictures Exercise class, the Tesla showroon at Montgomery Mall, Pacci's, visiting with Mabel, trying to recreate a French meal at Petits Plats (eh), and more Sky Zone! pictures On the last weekend before we flew out, a quick trip to Carlisle, PA to visit cousins Marjorie, Bruce, and Daniel (David and Doug