gabriella & jd (and alex! and vincent!)

Pictures. The open house for Alex's preschool on Sept 4th was dark, cold and rainy - hope that's not what the Fall is like in Paris! We had a nice time visiting Alex's new class, where there was an escargot station, among other great toys. There are 20 children in the class, 15 boys - it will be a fun year (especially for those teachers). At the apartment there was cape time, and we got Lincoln a new brush he desperately needed. On Saturday we tried to go to Jardin des Plantes but is was cold and rainy, so we went shopping at the Grands Magasins (Galeries Lafeyette and Printemps) which have great rooftop views. On Sunday we enjoyed the marche in our town and playing in the park, where Alex walked across the spiderweb climbing thing all by himself.

Pictures. Alex's friends from school last year are all moving on - Jamie back to Australia, Carson to the US, and Grey to another school in Paris. We all gathered at Grey's apartment for a good-bye party. Alex and I went to the Cite des Enfants one more time for the summer. It was the day after schools went back in Paris, so it was empty! We also went outside to see the "geode", and discovered a submarine we could go inside. Alex found a Space Shuttle in the gift shop he really liked.

Giverny. On the drive back from Normandy, we stopped by Giverny. Montmartre. On Carrie's last day in Paris, we went to Montmarte. Alex walked up all the steps himself which was great. We had escargot and onion soup for lunch, and then walked down by the Moulin Rouge. It was a nice, hot, sunny day. Little did we know that the next day, September 1st, would dawn cool and gray and rainy, exactly as Carrie was leaving.

Normandy - Etretat. On Saturday we headed across the Pont de Normandie to Le Havre, a busy harbor town. We weren't sure where to drive next. The ferry to England would take 5 hours, which we didn't have. Then we saw signs for the town of Etretat, and JD said a woman he worked with suggested we go there. After a short 20 minute, we pulled into town and parked near the water. Carrie got out of the car, walked up the street and some steps to investigate. She came back and said "I can't tell you what's up there, you have to go see, right now". She had this look of awestruck amazement on her face. From the pictures you will see what we discovered - the most amazing white cliffs and natural arch, and the stone beach. We had a wonderful time in the town, walked around, had wine and cheese as the sun set, and mussels for dinner. All the hotels were booked, so we headed back to Le Havre to stay in a hotel. On Sunday, we drove back to Etretat and went up to th...

Normandy - Honfleur. We rented a car last Friday when Carrie was here and decided to go to Normandy, a 2 hour drive. We drove to Honfleur, where JD had been for a work meeting in late June. We didn't have a place to stay but decided we would find one when we arrived. We were lucky and found a room at the Hotel Dauphin, up many flights of skinny stairs to the top floor, with a cute room we could not stop taking pictures of, including the view of the rooftops of Honfleur out the window. We proceeded to have a great meal that night sitting outside at a restaurant in a cobblestone alley. Alex liked the house special fish soup. Saturday started out gray and rainy, so we walked around the market and had snacks. Then the weather cleared as we took off for the Pont de Normandie, a very cool bridge across the Seine to Le Havre. We had no idea where the day would take us....

Carrie in Paris. Carrie came to visit us for a week! We had a great time, and these pictures are only from the first two days. After a jet lag nap, we hit the Trocadero for a view of the Eiffel Tower. On Thursday, we decided to take an open top bus tour to cover most of Paris. It was cloudy and drizzled a bit - but that was the worst weather we had the entire time. Of course we introduced Carrie to our "wine and cheese course" before dinner.

Week of August 26th. On Sunday we went to the Bois de Vincennes to meet Liliane for lunch, my former manager who hired me way back in 2000! She's from Paris and we met for lunch and decided we both looked the same, even though we haven't seen each other in seven years. She took us to a great outdoor restaurant on the lake in the Bois de Vincennes, then we walked around. It was very hot that day. During the week, Alex and I went to the Jardin d'Acclimation again with his friends from school - Carson, Jamie, and Juan Martin.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye. We went to a small town about 10 miles outside of Paris the weekend before last, Saint-Germain-en-Laye. We walked around the park(which had a great view of Paris and La Defense)and the town, and had a nice meal in a quiet courtyard. Then we headed back to Paris to watch the Manchester United Game at a bar, and then walked a bit since it was a nice Saturday night.

Week before last. I am behind in posting, we had great weather all of August so lots of playdates with Alex's friends, and then Carrie was here the past week (those pictures are forthcoming). A day at the Tuileries where they were having a summer carnival, including trampolines. Then we spent a very hot day (95°F) in the Jardin d'Acclimatation with Carson. The boys went in the water sprays and rode the rides. On another day, we met up in the Jardin Luxembourg, then went to Anne-Marie's beautiful apartment for lunch and a party for Juan Martin's birthday.

Bois de Vincennes and Parc Floral de Paris. Last Sunday we went to the Bois de Vincennes and the Parc Floral of Paris. It was a hot, sunny day and we enjoyed walking around, looking at the Chateau, and all the beautiful flowers.

Alex and a sculpture in the Tuileries. More fun last week. Parc Monceau with Alex's friend Jamie. A sand pit and a big tree was being cut down. The Tuileries and the playground and trampolines. Then, on Wednesday we met Jamie and Carson at Cite des Enfants where the boys enjoyed the hands on work zone and water play area. It was really cool! Then on Friday we walked all the way into town, ate and drank at a cafe, then walked to see La Tour Eiffel at night.

Exhibit at Musée des Arts et Métiers Last week. We've been taking walks to La Defense since the weather has been nice, and to meet JD for lunch. Last weekend, we went to the Musée des Arts et Métiers which had lots of gadgets and inventions from several centuries. The café was good, and Alex enjoyed running around the courtyard. Then we met friends of JD's from Delaware at a cafe near Pompidou.

Last week. Our Boulangerie/Patisserie is closed for August, so we made sure we had some desserts before they closed down. A nice week in Paris, more playgrounds. Alex and his friend Jamie from school met up in the garden of the Musee Rodin to play in the sand pit and run around. Then we met JD for lunch in La Defense. Later, Alex enjoyed playing pizza delivery boy.

Munich. We just spent four days in Munich and had a great time. The pictures speak for themselves: Bavarian cuisine (beer, sausages, potatoes, pretzels), gardens (both of the flower and beer variety), architecture, squares, water fountains, fruit stands, bicycles, and swearing in ceremony for soldiers of the German Bundeswehr at Marienplatz complete with anti-war protestors. JD even found an entire store devoted to the cookies from Vienna his Grandmother used to give him - Manner . We also enjoyed the surfers in the Englischer Garten.

Manchester. We just spent four days in Manchester, England. We had a great time, walking around the city, seeing Old Trafford for the first time (me and Alex), meeting old friends. The city has a great vibe to it - the industrial revolution era buildings, the academia, art, and Mancunian spirit. Of course there was beer, fish 'n chips, mushy peas, English breakfast, a curry, and a great dinner at Yang Sing.

Paris last week. Alex met a cute girl at the playground. A few days walking around at the gardens(the July flowers are in!) and playgrounds. Alex has become more adventuresome on the playground equipment. His latest thing is he likes to stand on the "bumpy stones" as he calls them. We went to La Defense to visit Dad at his office, but first, Alex hung out by the water fountain and enjoyed jumping down the stairs.

Pictures from last day in US and back to France. Here are some pictures from our last day in the US. Andrea made a delicious meal, and Alex watched "Mamma Mia". Then Grannie came back from Charlotte, and Alex got some last tricycle riding in. Andrea was able to accompany us to the gate at Dulles which really helped. Then Dad met us at CDG! Back in Paris. Back to our apartment, and it was Dad's birthday July 19. We walked around town, enjoyed the cool summer weather, and just being back.

Pictures. Alex had a really nice visit at Toots and Poppie's, then they took him to see cousins Brian and Lindsey in Frederick. Alex had a great time playing with Brian. Yesterday, we got to see Mrs. Mudd and Maureen and Maisie and Debbie and Matthew and Carrie and Natalie for a girls lunch in Rockville.

Alex's first camping trip! Where to begin? We just had a great 3 day vacation camping with Carrie, Spencer, Mitchell, Natalie, Rose & Beth (all experienced campers) near Ocean City, MD at Frontier Town. We had great weather, not a drop of rain, and lots of fun activities. Highlights included: -the pool, General Store, playground, algae pond, RV park watching, and all around camp experience -Spencer's skills at building the campfire and pitching his tent -Rose & Beth's great food and tents they brought and set up for me and Alex -Bike riding (note the surrey with a fringe) on the boardwalk and the water park! -the Ocean City Boardwalk including arcades, Thrashers fries, and Assateague Island and the horses -just being with great friends who let us tag along on their vacation and seeing Alex have fun with Spencer, Mitchell and Natalie and above all - the fun and flexibility!

Last few days. More playing, a barbecue at Carrie & David's, the DMV, the dump to recycle an old TV, visiting Alex's old daycare, Andrea at the airport, and then Silver Diner where it was children's night and Alex won a dance contest and got to lead a parade.