gabriella & jd (and alex! and vincent!)

Vincent and his chateau drawing Vincent's classroom Another visit to Vincent's Moyenne Section (middle section) classroom the day before our 2 week winter vacation.  Vincent enjoyed showing us all of his hard work, including his artwork and the lesson related to chateaus and chevaliers. pictures Religious exposition at our town hall, a walk into Paris, Jardin du Luxembourg, Vietnamese for lunch, and crepes au sucre on Rue Mouffetard. a few more pictures here pictures Some older pictures from beginning of February, hanging out, reading, eating, cooking, playing, new glasses.

Vincent learned how to write his name in school and has been practicing. pictures End of January - reading, park before piano, lunch, Anjou, Batman cape and mask fun. pictures Park, lunch when Vincent melted down due to hunger, more Batman cape, more Alex's piano recital,

Alex had a piano recital this past Saturday and played "Comme un blues de Martine Joste". video (starts late oops)   "Comme un blues de Martine Joste" video    applause pictures Vincent's new glasses!

I am going to poke my eyes out!  Don't talk to me!  Leave me alone! - Vincent, Feb 3, 2016 All better after the meal - phew!

galette des rois (king cake, epiphany cake) article :  "A brief history of the Galette des rois" It took us about a week to get over jet lag after we returned form the US, it was so dark in the morning here.  We all overslept one day but thankfully it was the half-day of school.  We've spent January eating galette des rois and many other yummy things.  Alex and Vincent are back in the swing of school. pictures Reading,  Lincoln, cooking, playing with socker boppers. pictures Toys, school, lunch at Au Coin de la Rue, a walk into Paris, pictures Anniversary lunch at Cornelius, school, roses, cheese, a few cold days (20-30°F), then a warm spell and the park. Cheese Salon JD wanted to go to this cheese salon.  It was a lot of fun and we tasted some very good cheese and wine and calvados (apple brandy from Normandy).                                  more cove...

This will go down as the warmest December visit to Washington DC ever.  Some years we were delayed by snow in Paris and arrived to two feet of snow and freezing cold.  Not this year!  "D.C. area forecast: Record-crushing warmth and humid; Wacky weather lasts through weekend". Dec 17-18 Leaving Paris Thursday on Boeing 777.  Air France lounge for some food first.  8 1/2 hours and 4 movies each later, arriving Dulles.  No delays and we were the only plane in customs.  Rental car, quick visit to the Cahoon's, onward to Grannie's. Weekend with Toots and Poppie Trip to Delaware to visit Toots and Poppie.  Aunt Shana came too.  First we stopped at Fado to watch the Manchester United game.  Presents, making gingersnap cookies with Aunt Shana, toys and coloring in the basement, and a nice dinner. Longwood Gardens We only made it through the Conservatory the place is so big, but the decorations and flowers and plantings were beautiful...

pictures Hanukkah - I found some frozen potato pancakes at the store, they were eh (the Jewish store near us was all sold out!), presents, meal at Cornelius (check out that bone marrow), removal of Vincent's stitches, park, marche Noel in our town where Alex did the trampoline jump, Vincent and Alex did the big slide and electric cars and duck grab. bone marrow appetizer at Cornelius - goose for sale at the market

pictures A walk into Paris to purchase new shoes for Vincent.  There was a cool bike exhibit for the Climate Conference where you could generate electricity by peddling.  The we enjoyed the marché Noël on the Champs-Elysees - crepes, churros, vin chaud (mulled wine), champagne, hamburger with foie gras, choucroute Alsacienne, roasted mushroom.  Yum!  We also puchased some really good cheese from a vendor from Provence. Berlin pictures JD went to Berlin to see the Manchester United-Wolfsburg match with Duncan, Ian, etc. pictures Alex's track and field class including the high jump, lighting the Hanukkah candles and eating doughnuts, playdoh, art at school, park before piano.

...points de suture! Vincent fell at school during recess Tues Dec 1 and cut his left eyebrow.  A quick visit to the emergency room in our town (81 euros total before insurance pays) and 2 stitches later, he's fine.  He was very brave and even received a "Courage Award" from the doctor. stitches = points de suture eyebrow = sourcil scar = cicatrice pictures

We cooked our meal to celebrate US Thanksgiving on Saturday - haute cuisse de dinde (turkey thigh) stuffing (French bread, leeks, fennel, turkey sausage, fresh herbs) brussel sprouts with balsamic glaze roasted carrots and parsnips with honey and fresh thyme apple tart, macarons, chocolate mousse (from the pâtisserie) pictures   We did not purchase the 60 euro whole turkey with head and tail (nor the hanging piglet):

October 2015 école élémentaire Jules Ferry CM1 (fourth grade) 9 1/2 years old Mme AMALRIC Levallois-Perret, France

pictures Lincoln, Vincent, some good meals, a Chipotle opening in our town, park, some funny France pictures (a very tiny car parked, British granola, sauce L'Americaine), Vincent stacking pancakes. pictures Warhol exhibit at Museum of Modern Art in Paris, lunch at La Billebaude in the 7e, Vincent helping to make French toast and helping in the kitchen. Armistice Day Commemorations of November 11 in our town, then a nice lunch. "Armistice Day (Armistice de la Première Guerre mondiale) in France remembers those who died or were injured in World War I and other wars."  Alex had a lesson in school on "Les Poilus" , = Poilu is an informal term for a French World War I infantryman, meaning, literally, hairy one. It is still widely used as a term of endearment for the French infantry of World War I. The word carries the sense of the infantryman's typically rustic, agricultural background. Beards and bushy moustaches were often worn. The poilu was p...

Outside Alex's school on Monday, November 16 - Flag tied with black ribbon for 3 days of mourning, Ville de Levallois-Perret, France - November 13 Friday, a normal day before the evening...JD and I went into Paris to run some errands, buy Alex's new piano books near the Gare St. Lazare, then some errands by the Grands Magasins which were starting to decorate their windows for Christmas.  We decided to try one of the new BBQ restaurants in Paris, Floyd's Bar and Grill in the 10th arrondissement.  The BBQ was good, but of course not as good or as large of a portion as in the US!  We walked most of the way back home. Other happenings of the day - Alex lost a tooth and Vincent fell and smashed his face into a tree at recess. On Saturday, Alex attended a birthday party for his friend Thomas at a Lasergame venue in Courbevoie. November 22 Eating, Vincent, meal at Cornelius (duck and polenta), and JD's chorus concert. November 30 Park, school, rai...

pictures When we first moved to France 6 years ago, there was little to no Halloween celebration, decorations, or costumes.  The big costume holiday here was Mardi Gras.  Now there's slowly more and more Halloween decorations and celebrations.  The UK based department store Marks and Spencer has several stores in Paris, and English folks celebrate Halloween. No full trick-or-treating in Paris yet, but some people give out candy.  We went to the L'Anjou our corner cafe/bistro/bar to celebrate and Vincent had his face painted. "Halloween, from All Hallows Eve (ie. the day before All Saints Day) – a festival which is seen in France as an ‘Anglo-Saxon’ import but which has been gaining in popularity. It is often said to have been grafted onto a Celtic autumn festival called Samhain.  Toussaint  (All Saints Day) is the Catholic Festival honouring all of the saints. It is often associated with  Le Jour des Morts  (All Souls Day), which ...

JD, Gabby, Alex, Vincent, Kathleen and Carrie's big adventure Basel, Switzerland and Alsace Lorraine region of France October 27 - October 31, 2015 Colmar, France / Barr, France / Mount Saint Odile, France Strasbourg, France Vacation to the Alsace Lorraine region of France, which straddles the border of Germany along the Rhine river and Vosges mountains.  Because the region has changed hands 4 times between Germany and France, and runs right next to the border of Germany, it feels and sounds like Germany with a bit of France. A day in Basel, Switzerland to meet up with Kathleen who was in Basel for work and Carrie who flew over to join us for the adventure. Lots of foie gras, duck, cured meat, pretzel bread, munster cheese, spätzle (egg noodles), and flammenkuchen (flat bread pizza with creme fraiche, onion, and lardons.  Yum.  Oh, and don't forget the Choucroute Alsatian which is sauerkraut served with sausage and cured meat all piled on top. Carrie dubb...

pictures A visit to Vincent's classroom (moyenne section 10) before vacation.  They've been working on their letters.  A walk into Paris, pizza for lunch, a fire in our town (a grease fire at a restaurant), reading. pictures Some more meals, a visit to the park, and a late night visit into Paris.

Enjoying October.  The children are into the school routine, just in time for the 2 week Toussaint vacation starting Oct 17. pictures Double yolk eggs, track and field, birthday lunch with our friend Marie, food fair, bounce slide, and a very large swordfish at the local fish market. pictures Champagne and birthday tarts, birthday lunch, Fall foliage.

pictures From the end of September - lunch at Au Coin de la Rue (we had not been in awhile), touring inside the Levallois-Perret town hall and Mayor's office for Heritage Days (when private spaces are open to the public), walking through the park and across town to the Ile de la Jatte and back, Indian for lunch, reading. pictures Walking to school,  Yom Kippur, park, Vincent's skelton costume, Alex's athletics class, scuba bath time. pictures Alex's "appareil dentaire" the orthodontist removed after 6 months, more pink wig fun, lunch, taking Lincoln to the vet in the stroller, perfumed blue toilet paper (only in France), play-doh, double yolk eggs, Parc Monceau and the merry-go-round.

Trying on the Halloween costume already -