gabriella & jd (and alex! and vincent!)

FINALLY I downloaded all the pictures.  We had such a great time!  And ate lots of octopus and drank tons of vino verdhe.  yum. Friday Paris to Lisbon, checking into Sheraton.  Lunch at traditional Portuguese restaurant Rei Da Pescada. Back to hotel, naps, drinks at the restaurant rooftop bar, meeting Kathleen and Marek in Alfama, dinner in Fado restaurant. Saturday Room service breakfast (Vincent needed pancakes), pool, more pancakes, pizza for a late lunch, a walk through town, touring the Carmo Convent ruins left after the 1755 earthquake.  Beware, there is a picture of two creepy mummy children in the museum.  We hustled Vincent past them quickly! More walking through the shopping district and Plaza, walking to Alfama area, wine and cheese bar, dinner outside. Sunday and Monday Pool, delicious meal at Descobre, a walk along the water, seafood platter for dinner.  Back to Paris on Monday after finding some sushi for lunch. more  pi...

Alex returned Thurs July 27th from camp, we went to pick him up at Gare Montparnasse he was on the TGV from Toulouse.  Vincent was overcome with emotion and would not stop hugging Alex. Then there was sushi for dinner, ASAP. pictures

pictures Alex is still at camp in the South of France, he returns this Thurs July 27.  We have received email updates and pictures from the camp team, and we can see Alex in a few of the photos. We spoke with him a few times.  He went kayaking and said it was amazing. Alex chose the cinema workshop and they did a remake of "Jurassic Park" -

pictures A nice sunny day walking around Paris with Tiernan who was visiting from Manchester.  Bus into Paris, the scaffolding was being dismantled from the July 14th parade the day before.  Through the Tuileries, to the Louvre, over the Pont des Arts, past the booksellers and over the Pont Neuf bridge to Île de la Cité, past Notre Dame, on to Île Saint-Louis and past all those ridiculous lines for Berthillon ice cream, into the Marais, past Centre Pompidou, and metro back home.  Duck for dinner, and repackaging the sausages to freeze from our butcher who is going on vacation. JD's birthday Vincent blew the balloons up the night before.  A visit to the Rodin exhibit and Gardens exhibit at the Grand Palais.  Lunch at Mandalay in Levallois.  Chocolate birthday cake with lots of candles!

you can actually see "Armee de L'Air" written underneath the planes pictures Walked to watch the military planes fly over Paris for the annual Bastille Day parade (the French call it La fête nationale).  The parade is on the other side of the avenue down the Champs-Elysees.  Great weather, it never ceases to be exciting to see all those cool military airplanes flying directly overhead! "President Donald Trump watched U.S. and French soldiers march together through the Paris sunshine on Friday in a double celebration marking 100 years since the United States entered World War One and France's annual Bastille Day holiday. The Paris parade this year marked the centenary of the United States entering World War I in 1917 and featured 63 planes, 29 helicopters, 241 horses and 3,720 soldiers, including US troops dressed in the brown uniform and gaiters of the Great War. By the end of the 1914-1918 war, more than a million U.S. troops were stationed in Fran...

Lee & Amy pictures Lee and Amy, good friends for a long time (JD met Lee in 1995 at PFCU) were in town with their daughters for the start of their grand France vacation.  We had a nice dinner at Vagenende where Vincent lost his first front tooth on the escargots.  Then we met up with Lee and the girls again on Sunday night for drinks at the Pont d'Alma, and an unplanned but fortuitous trip to the new Five Guys on the Champs-Elysees - 3 stories and they sell beer, I am used to the one in Maryland that does not sell alcohol. A walk around the Arc de Triomphe, a metro ride back down to see the twinkling Eiffel Tower.  We had so much fun and were sad to say goodbye, no one more so than Vincent, who was sad for 3 days.  I know because he told me. singing in basement pictures JD's singing teacher participates in an amateur singing night at a Turkish restaurant Le Kibele in the 10th arrondissement in Paris.  JD was invited to join this month.  There...

last day of school July 7th - It was hot!  After school we enjoyed some cool drinks and food outside at our new favorite spot around the corner, a tapas bar and restaurant some folks we know opened. off to camp Alex heads to camp.  Mahanetzer 4, two and a half weeks in the south of France near Toulouse.  We dropped him at the train station Sunday morning.  He was very excited to go, he went two years ago and had a great time.  Vincent was sad to say goodbye to his brother. playground Then we headed back into town to the Jardin du Luxembourg for some fun at the playground, then lunch and back home. swing video 1 swing video 2 swing video 3 swing video 4 swing video 5 cool swing in the Jardin du Luxembourg playground - realiser des constructions:

pictures Vincent's class was the third class to come outside - it's an astronaut parade! Annual end of school parade at Vincent's school (the maternelle).  His class made their astronaut costumes and were playing the drums.  They paraded around the block, through the park, and back through the elementary school next door where Alex was.  So cute!  Then we had sushi for lunch. 2 more days of Grand Section (kindergarten) for Vincent, then on to CP (first grade) at the elementary school next door.  And Alex is off to 6th grade at the "college", in another part of town. parade video 1 parade video 2 parade video 3 JD pictures   finally! This is Eva his "amoureuse".  He was sad she is going to another elementary school next year.

It was the escargots at  Vagenende  during our dinner with Lee and Amy that did it!

Vincent as a French astronaut pictures Kermesse (Carnival) at Vincent's school Friday night.  Vincent enjoyed the water balloon toss with his teacher Silvi from petite section.  Then he showed us his space book and did Legos with Alex. Vincent's space book Vincent's class spent an entire trimester on the subject of outer space and the planets, solar system, and constellations.  Part of this was because the first French astronaut Thomas Pesquet was in space and just returned after 196 days on the International Space Station. pictures Sunday, Vincent attended Antoine's birthday party in the Jardin d'Acclimatation.  JD and I went to visit the cool new museum Fondation Louis Vuitton .  Vincent had a great time, the theme was superheroes and Antoine's mother made them all capes.  We walked all the way home. more Antoine party pictures Tuesday was orientation for CP (first grade) in the cafeteria of the elementary school and a visit to a CP class...

It's gone!

Vincent's class each grew an avocado plant from a seed and brought it home last week.  He was very proud.  We gave it lots of water and it perked up right away.  Lincoln likes to nap by it in the sun.

pictures Finally, he has about 5 that are loose.  He lost it in the bedsheets but I found it thank goodness.  He last lost a tooth one year ago.  Some more are ready to tumble.

Thurs and Friday Summer heat is upon us, so we were relaxing in the cool breeze at the Anjou - where Vincent brought me my margarita and the local dog was hanging at the bar.  Vincent brought his avocado plant home he grew in school all year.  He was very proud of it. Friday, Alex's 5th grade (CM2) chorus concert at school.  They practiced all year and sang about 12 French songs including "La Marseillaise" and "Douce France". Saturday Annual Summer Fair (Fête de l'été-Ville de Levallois) in our town, theme was 70's, 80's, and 90's.  They go all out with games, music, rides, entertainment.  Lots of fun and we had great weather, lots of sun.  Vincent ran into some of his friends from school which was nice.  Vincent was playing with a water balloon until it exploded.  There was as disco dance party until midnight but we did not stay. Sunday Vincent and I went back to the fair so he could do the trampoline and water bubbles. videos tr...

morning pictures Opening gifts before school.  Good times! More pictures coming,  Vincent loved all his gifts, especially the n-spinners from Lincoln. (Mom, how did Lincoln tell you that's what I wanted?) rest of the pictures from Vincent's birthday celebration Presents, going to school, our lunch while Vincent was at school (yum), snacks, sushi, cake. making the yogurt cake We practiced making the yogurt cake that Vincent was going to make in school with his teacher on June 6th to celebrate his birthday.  Delicious!  He said the one at school was even better. afternoon - Vincent's pick of sushi for dinner, then chocolate birthday cake!

Plaza Mayor A 3-day trip to Madrid (Gab only) to visit a good friend Jeff who was visiting Madrid from San Francisco for vacation.  Jeff and I realized we first met through John McArdle in 2002.  We had some fun times in between, including Bodega Bay 2005 (run like the birds are chasing you) and Cape Cod 2004  (I think this table will hold you) but I digress.  He looked us up again in Paris in Oct 2015, then I saw him this past January in San Fran, and now Madrid. We had a great time, lots of sun, warm weather, tapas, delicious inexpensive wine and cava, walking, and we were there when Real Madrid won the Champions League Saturday night, and saw the tour bus bringing the players to their celebration party on Sunday.  How cool. Friday Leaving Paris, bus to Orly past the Eiffel tower, arrive Madrid, hotel Petit Palais Tres Cruces in the busy downtown area, dinner with Jeff - sangria and tapas of course. Saturday morning Jeff was staying around the cor...

pictures Another beautiful sunny day.  Breakfast, more soccer in the field, driving back to the town of Vimoutiers for coffee, a walk around, and lunch, then driving back to Paris.  Drinks and dinner outside at the Anjou because it was still over 90 degrees! JD pictures all Mickey enjoyed his apple juice and trip to Normandy- cool drink outside when we returned

pictures Breakfast at the cottage, then second breakfast outside.  A visit to William the Conqueror's castle in the town of Falaise, wonderfully restored with interactive displays.  Then lunch in town at Restaurant Le Jardin, easily our best meal of the trip with the tarte tatin flambeed with calvados (apple brandy). pictures A drive north to Arromanches-les-Bains and one of the D-day beaches.  This was a quick visit since we already toured the area and the American cemetery in 2010 pictures here .   We even stopped for beer and onion soup the same place we ate 7 years ago!  Back to our country cottage, pizza for dinner in Livarot. JD pictures Falaise and Arromanches pizza, bath, evening pictures And some sheep!

Paris to Livarot We love the Normandy region of France and keep returning to visit different areas.  We were lucky to have sunny and hot weather for the 4-day holiday weekend (Ascension).  Drove 2h 45 m west of Paris to stay just outside the cheese town of Livarot, renting a holiday cottage on a 16th c. cider farm .  The countryside was beautiful and the cottage was very rustic.  Lunch outside at a roadside restaurant with pâté, duck, apples (regional specialty), champagne, wine, and regional cheeses (camembert, livarot, pont l'eveque). Onward to the farm, some soccer outside, a quick rest, then into the town of Vimoutiers for dinner with some artisinal flatbread pizzas, vegetable lasagna (Alex), and blackberry sorbet crumble.  We all slept very well! cottage on cider farm where we stayed - WW2 German Tiger tank:  The Vimoutiers Tiger tank is a restored World War II German Tiger tank on outside display on the outskirts of Vimoutiers in th...