gabriella & jd (and alex! and vincent!)

We had a quick weekend jaunt to Dublin. A nice time, lots of good food and beer and late night dancing - we stayed in a hotel above a nightclub that we discovered was the hot spot for Stag and Hen Weekends for folks popping over from England on Easyjet. There was some good people watching. We also managed to find some decent Mexican food and a great wine and cheese bar. Alex liked the hotel, jumping on the bed, watching cartoons in Gaelic, and the fact that the bars played a lot of ABBA. Pictures.

The weather finally turned from freezing cold to blazing hot (82°F) over the weekend. It has since cooled down a bit. We had a nice 3-day weekend (Monday was Pentecost) where we enjoyed walking around our town and trying out a local butcher for veal sausage with basil (not pictured) and lamb kabobs (brochettes). Alex has also been practicing putting his ears under the water in the bathtub. Champ de Mars and go karts. Weekend hot sunny margaritas and burgers. Weds in park after school.

Alex in his new room It was a big week this week. We moved to a new apartment in Levallois. Everything went well with the move and took very little time since all we have is clothing and books and some electronics. Alex loves his new bedroom and the bathtub! Lincoln is still busy exploring the new space, and we are all looking forward to living in the heart of Levallois, right across the street from the market and in the pedestrian and retail area of the town. Another bonus of the new apartment is that we are on the 1st floor (second in the US) and underneath us is a store, so Alex can run and make as much noise as he wants. And there are 2 boys in the building who are 5 years old that we need to meet. Cleaning old and new apartment. Moving Day. School and playground. New apartment. Weds afternoon Valentina's.

We did a lot during Toots & Poppie's last 3 days in Paris. On Weds we went to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, then they walked around Les Halles and the Marais again. They also ate at the best falafel place in Paris, L'As du Fallafel. On Thurs we went to Versailles and toured the Chateau and Petit Trianon. On Friday we walked all around the 7th arrondissement, including the Rue Cler street market. Then we headed over to the 6th where we went to Bon Marche and the Jardin du Luxembourg. Then it was one last stop up to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur. Unfortunately it was mobbed with people so we hastily went back down the hill to the Moulin Rouge and then back to the apartment. Arc de Triomphe. Versailles. Toots Versailles pictures. Arc de Triomphe Marais Rue Cler Bon Marche Jardin du Luxembourg. Montmartre.

Omaha Beach We took a 4 day road trip with Toots & Poppie to Normandy. We stopped in Rouen for lunch the first day. Then we toured the D-Day Beaches, including Arromanches-Les-Bains and Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. Then we drove through Bayeaux and saw the Bayeux tapestry . Then we stayed in Honfleur for 2 nights, and drove to the coastal towns of Étretat and Yport and Fécamp. On the way back to Paris we stopped in Giverny. Rouen. D-Day beach, Arromanches-les-Bains. D-Day beach, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. Bayeux. Honfleur. Honfleur Étretat Yport Fécamp. Giverny. Toots pictures: Main pictures. Giverny.

Pictures. Friday May 7th was the "Spring Fling" at Alex's school. My friend Gail was in charge of organizing the event for 200 adults and children, and I helped her, as did other Mom's from Alex's class, including Paula and Elena. We had a raffle, champagne and snacks catered by Air France, and music and entertainment for the children, and adults.

Toots and Poppie are in town to visit! Unfortunately the weather has been really cold, but hopefully it will turn warm again. This week in school Alex was reading "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (Boucle d'Or et Les Trois Ours), and celebrated Alex's birthday in his class. pictures more pictures

We got Alex a scooter(trottinette) for his birthday which he loves and has been practicing using. Other than that, some more of the last days of Spring Break, the weather was hot and sunny so we went to the park and also the amusement park the Jardin d'Acclimatation. pictures: Levallois and scooter. Alex got a haircut and Rachel and Jon leave. La Defense and Champ de Mars. Jardin d'Acclimation. Movies: scooter 1 scooter 2 scooter 3 boat ride Daffy Duck canoes tall grass strange Russian parade

Alex has been enjoying his two week Spring Break (April 17 - May 2). We've been to the playground a lot, and met friends in the Champ de Mars for picnics. Alex even got to ride the "horses" in the Champ de Mars - we think some are really donkeys. Levallois playground. Kinomichi class. Champ de Mars and jamón ibérico (Iberian ham) from Bellota Bellota on Rue Jean Nicot. Champ de Mars and donkey ride. Movies Donkey ride 1 Donkey ride 2 Donkey ride 3 Levallois frog park.

pictures Yesterday was Alex's 4th birthday! He wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, then we took him out to the lunch of his choice, Chinese. We had a really nice day, including opening cards and presents from family and friends. Then it was time for the "homemade"(=store bought and assembled) strawberry shortcake birthday cake. movies up the Eiffel Tower to the summit, Eiffel Tower lunch Happy Birthday

Chenonceaux This past weekend we rented a car and drove to the Loire Valley with Rachel and Jon. We had a great time, eating some fabulous food, drinking some local wine, and touring the chateaus and gardens. Rachel and Jon arrive Vouvray and Chenonceaux Villandry Wine tasting Marc Bredif Cheverny and the hunting dogs movies playground at Villandry 1 playground at Villandry 2 playground at Villandry 3 hunting dogs at Cheverny

We're a bit behind in posting, the weather has turned nice and Rachel and Jon are in town visiting and it's Spring Vacances so...here are pictures from earlier in the month. The Loire Valley trip we just did is coming soon. Alexandre's 4th birthday party. Walking in the 16th Arrondissement. Jardin du Luxembourg. Dan in town. School nice day park. play date at Valentina's. movies => beans in school Jardin du Luxembourg slide JD Go Kart

Pictures. Yesterday we took a day trip to Chantilly , a quick 30 minute train ride north of Paris. We walked and walked and walked around the Chateau and gardens, and had a nice lunch in the Hamlet. feeding the fish and duck crackers

pictures. more pictures. more pictures. Last Tuesday night we attended the second night Seder the Kehilat Gesher held for the Franco American community. We really enjoyed it, and Alex liked the matzoh ball soup. I've also signed Alex up for the Kinomichi class on Wednesdays with the other 4 and 5 year olds and he likes it. Other than that, we've been enjoying some sunny days in Paris.

Pictures. Towards the end of last week it turned cool and chilly again. But we still managed to go to the park after school on Friday. During the weekend we went to watch a game at McBride's, then Alex chased the ducks in Les Halles. On Monday for the first Seder for Passover, JD cooked a chicken and made matzoh stuffing and charoset. We even found some good "Herzog" collection red wine, and horseradish.

field trip to Aquarium de Paris pictures more pictures Alex's class went on a field trip to the Aquarium de Paris. The class had a great time, they loved the sharks, and the Mom's were exhausted afterwards. Alex has caught up on his sleep from being away and is enjoying being back in Paris with his friends. Spring is arriving with sun, warmer weather, and flowers.

Pictures. It was very hard to leave the great week of vacation we had in Mexico. Friday we headed back to Playa del Carmen for dinner. Saturday was another sunny day but with more wind in the morning that we'd had all week. We packed up and headed to the airport. When we landed in DC for our 5 hour layover, it was 75 degrees! Grannie met us at the airport for a few hours to visit with Alex, then we were off to Paris.

All good things must come to an end, but not before a boat ride, a tour of a spectacular 7,000 sq ft private villa in the Puerto jungle (Cahoons/Kurtzes - take note) and more tacos, margaritas, sun and fun. Click here for pictures. Click here to see where you should spend your next vacation.

Pictures. Tuesday night we went into town in Puerto Aventuras for dinner. On Wednesday, it was cloudy and rainy so we drove to Tulum, a small town south of where we are staying. We found a great folk art store, then had a great lunch at The Mezzanine and walked along the beach and went swimming since the weather cleared. movie - running on the beach

We've spent the past few days enjoying Puerto Aventuras and the house we are renting - the pool, good eats, and walking around the town and marina. We enjoyed BBQ and karaoke at Gringo Dave's on Sunday night. On Monday we went to the beach for a bit. Tuesday we drove to Playa del Carmen, a great town where we had ceviche and beers by the water. Pictures. Dane pictures 1. Dane pictures 2. Dane pictures 3. Dane pictures 4.